foal

A foal is a baby horse, especially one in its first year of life. You will often see one staying close to its mother, moving on shaky legs at first and then quickly learning to run and play. This is the usual word people use for a very young horse.

If the young horse is male, it can also be called a colt. If it is female, it can also be called a filly. In everyday use, both are still foals while they are very young.

The word "foal" means a very young horse, usually one less than a year old. It is the standard word for a horse at this early stage of life, much like "calf" for cattle. In many contexts, the word can also be used for the young of related animals in the horse family, but most often people mean a baby horse.

A foal usually stays close to its mother in the first months of life. At first it may stand and walk unsteadily, but it grows fast and soon learns to run, graze, and explore. This image often appears in stories about farms, fields, and springtime, where a young animal is taking its first steps beside a mare.

There are also more specific words based on sex. A male is a colt, and a female is a filly. Even so, both can still be called foals while they are very young. After about a year, the animal is usually called a yearling instead.

You may also see the word in forms like "foaling," which refers to the birth of a young horse, or "foaling season," the time when many mares give birth. In plain use, though, the core idea is simple: a foal is a baby horse at the beginning of its life.