小马成长记——出生到早期训练【附马与人年龄对应表】

小马驹（foal）指的是从出生到一岁的小马。





马的妊娠期为11个月，由于它们属于被捕食动物，大多数于夜间诞生。小马驹天生就懂得躲避食肉动物。在出生一小时内，小马会站立起来并吃第一口奶；几小时后小马就能快步、慢跑；第二天小马就能自由奔跑了。显而易见，刚刚出生的小马都有令人羡慕的大长腿，大约是成年马腿长的90%

Foals are born after a gestation period of approximately 11 months. Birth takes place quickly, consistent with the status of a horse as a prey animal, and more often at night than during the day. Foals are born with an ability to quickly escape from predators; normally a foal will stand up and nurse within the first hour after it is born, can trot and canter within hours, and most can gallop by the next day. A newborn foal's legs are almost as long (90%) as those of an adult horse.



出生健康的小马驹生长速度飞快，高达一天增重3磅，当然这也离不开一个健康的饮食规律和一部分的遗传因素。

小马出生的第一周，它所需的全部物质都从母乳里获得。在分娩后的几个小时内，初乳提供给小马抗体及多种营养物质。而母马也需要更多水来帮助她为自己的小马驹产更多的奶来补充营养。

Healthy foals grow quickly and can put on up to three pounds or over a kilo a day. A sound diet improves growth and leads to a healthier adult animal, although genetics also plays a part. In the first weeks of life the foal gets everything it needs from the mare's milk. Like a human infant, it receives nourishment and antibodies from the colostrum in milk that is produced within the first few hours or days following parturition. The mare needs additional water to help her produce milk for the foal and may benefit from supplementary nutrition.





出生10天后，小马开始食用固体食物；8-10周后，母乳已经不能提供给小马所需的全部营养，小马不得不吃其他东西来补充营养。而在此期间需要慢慢给小马加量，喂食不当可能会使小马有生长障碍。可如果营养不足也可能导致小马的发育不良等一系列疾病。

A foal may start to eat solids from ten days of age, after eight to ten weeks it will need more nutrition than the mare's milk can supply; supplementary feeding is required by then. It is important when adding solid food to the foal's diet to not feed the foal excessively or feed an improperly balanced diet. This can trigger one of several possible growth disordersthat can cause lifelong soundness problems. On the other hand, insufficient nutrition to mare or foal can cause stunted growth and other health problems for the foal as it gets older.





4-6个月时，管理员会帮助小马断奶；自然断奶可能会晚一些。

It is typical for foals under human management to be weaned between four and six months of age, though under natural conditions, they may nurse for longer, occasionally until the following year when the mare foals again.





4个月后，母马的奶并不是小马驹重要的营养来源。如果多喂几个月的奶，并不会对母马造成什么伤害反而会给小马带来心理上的安抚。而且大多数家养小马都在北半球的秋天时出生。

Mare's milk is not a significant source of nutrients for the foal after about four months, though it does no harm to a healthy mare for a foal to nurse a month or two longer and may be of some psychological benefit to the foal. And most domesticated foals are weaned sometime in the autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.





刚断奶的小马是没有生殖能力，对于马来说，青春期就是他们一周岁的时候。当一些小马两岁的时候人们会对他们进行人工繁育，特别是对母马，不过可能会对他们的生长发育造成伤害。一般来说，三岁前生育小马是不可取的。

Weanlings are not capable of reproduction. Puberty occurs in most horses during their yearling year. Two-year-olds sometimes are deliberately bred, though doing so, particularly with fillies, may put undesirable stress on their still-growing bodies. As a general rule, breeding young horses prior to the age of three is considered undesirable.



对于骑乘，一岁的小马太小了。然而人们会在马很小的时候就教他们一些基础训练，叫做halter-breaking，包括梳理鬃毛、修蹄、用电推字修剪鬃毛和熟悉一些生活中必须接触的东西，如进入拖车或穿上马衣。训练小马很重要的一点是要知道小马有卓越的记忆力，所以训练他们的时候不能把它们当做小马，而是当做一个成年马。

A foal is too young to be ridden or driven. However, foals usually receive very basic horse training in the form of being taught to accept being led by humans, called halter-breaking. They may also learn to accept horse grooming, hoof trimming by a farrier, having hair trimmed with electric clippers, and to become familiar with things it will have to do throughout life, such as loading into a horse trailer or wearing a horse blanket.One of the most important aspects of working with foals is to remember that horses in general have excellent memories, so a foal must not be taught anything as a young horse that would be undesirable for it to do as a full-grown animal.



对于应该从什么时候开始训练小马一直有很大的争议。一些人认为应该从小马一出生就开始训练，被称为“胎教” 而一些人认为胎教会使小马和母马产生隔阂，更倾向于在出生一周开始训练。理论上说，小马在离开母马后会更乐意与人在一起。抛开理论，大多数人还是会在马很小的时候开始训练，并认为这比训练一个半野生的成年马要安全简单。

There is tremendous debate over the proper age to begin training a foal. Some advocate beginning to accustom a foal to human handling from the moment of birth, using a process termed imprinting or "imprint training". Others feel that imprint training of a foal interferes with the mare and foal bond and prefer to wait until the foal is a few days old, but do begin training within the first week to month of life. Theorizing that a foal is more willing to bond to a human as a companion at the time it is separated from its mother. Regardless of theory, most modern horse breeding operations consider it wise to give a foal basic training while it is still young, and consider it far safer than trying to tame a semi-feral adult-sized horse.



马在4-5岁才完全成熟，但大部分早已开始工作马的生涯，但仍要注意不能运动量过大对小马的骨骼造成伤害。两岁的小马在生理上并没有完全成熟，但很多人已经给小马备上鞍子开始训练，大部分马应该在三岁开始训练，有些甚至四岁。

Horses are not fully mature until the age of four or five, but most are started as working animals much younger, though care must be taken not to over-stress the "soft" bones of younger animals. Physiologically young horses are still not truly mature as two-year olds, though some breeders and most race horse trainers do start young horses in a cart or under saddle at that age. The most common age for young horses to begin training under saddle is the age of three. A few breeds and disciplines wait until the animal is four.





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来源：马语狗说

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