After parturition, and if mare and foal are getting on well, warmth, comfort, cleanliness, and a plentiful supply of good food are all that are necessary while they are under cover. The most favourable, and therefore the most natural, time for mares to foal in is during the months of March, April, and May, when the weather is, or should be, propitious and grass is plentiful. At this period, if the mare has been pastured before foaling, she and the foal may soon be allowed out of the loose-box to the paddock if the weather be fine, as nothing can be more invigorating for both than a run at grass, if only for an hour or two at first, though they must on no account be exposed to rain or cold winds if such exposure can possibly be avoided.

In the loose-box, good hay and a small allowance of crushed oats two or three times a day should be given; and if grass is not available, and especially if the mare does not furnish a sufficient supply of milk, mashes of boiled barley or oats, to which coarse sugar or treacle has been added, may be allowed frequently, and with great advantage. Crushed oats is especially to be recommended for the mare when the foal is a few weeks old, as the foal begins to nibble at and soon to eat them, and thus to prepare itself in the best way for being weaned, while this addition to its food will greatly tend to its robustness and development.

The foal itself is not liable to many diseases if properly cared for. At birth the attendant should give it his immediate attention if it does not immediately breathe, as unless he then acts promptly it may die. When it fails to inspire after the navel-string has been divided, he should at once open its mouth, seize the tongue, and pull it gently forwards a few times at some seconds interval, blowing hard into the mouth and nostrils while the tongue is forward. Flicking the sides of the chest with a wet towel at intervals may also produce the desired effect.