Low heels in 3 week of foal and color/markings

[a_new_breeder]

I’m new to foals, and I have two questions for which I hope someone can provide some perspective/feedback.

Three week old foal with seemingly very low heels in the back feet, particularly the left hind. The breeding barn doesn’t seem concerned, and the vet is very hard to get a hold of unless it’s an emergency. Would you leave as-is for now and monitor? At what point would you engage some corrective measures? Otherwise no conformational faults - she was born very correct and moves well.

Secondly, for the color experts - I’d like to go ahead and register her, but I can’t quite tell what these leg markings will be! The right front is very clearly demarcated between the white sock and brown leg, but the other feet have a slow blend from white to brown. Will the other limbs darken, or do you think there will be more white?

And a bonus question - any guesses to what kind of chestnut she will eventually become? I know chestnuts can be very tricky (and I’m certainly no expert). Dam is a liver chestnut and sire is black.

[exvet]

At three weeks with these pictures I would not worry yet. Ample exercise and turnout will be the foal’s best friend.

As for markings, looks like 3 white pasterns or at least partial pasterns; but, we always either bathed or clipped to determine where the markings began and/or ended. You can always correct them on the paperwork later on, most likely with a fee, in regards to most registries. If I had to do that it was usually when I updated gelding dates if appropriate.

[Scribbler]

The skin under a true white sock is pink, whereas the skin under a “mealy” or pangare light point on a chestnut or bay is black. So if you can handle his feet, you can part the hair and see what the skin looks like.

I believe that the genetics behind the exact shade of chestnut or bay are not defined yet. However if the foal is chestnut, then it didn’t inherit black from the sire. Colors don’t mix like paint so a black sire doesn’t make the chestnut darker. I would look to the mares family to see what kinds of chestnut exist there.

[JB]

The “low heels” are partly the rest of the leg that hasn’t really stood up yet, and partly just a foal foot, nothing to be concerned about at this age.

That said, by week 4 or so I would start having the farrier do things, even if it’s just picking up each foot and tapping the rasp to the toe. Foal toes can get long and pointy fast in most places, as the footing isn’t abrasive enough and/or there’s not enough turnout on that type of footing. I’d want a farrier taking little swipes here and there at most every 4 weeks for the first year. Those lower leg bones are growing fast and closing quickly, so you don’t want any imbalance to alter that

I agree it looks like 3 white pasterns. Check the skin - pink = white marking. And agree that if you can get the leg soaking wet it’ll be come pretty apparent.

@a_new_breeder

any guesses to what kind of chestnut she will eventually become? I know chestnuts can be very tricky (and I’m certainly no expert). Dam is a liver chestnut and sire is black.

No way to know until they shed their yearling coat, or even later. The first shed coming up is all but guaranteed to be quite dark, that’s just what babies do, especially chestnuts and the darker bays. But there’s nothing that says that will be the adult shade. Liver is very uncommon in general, and while you do have a greater chance since the dam is liver, it’s not guaranteed.

The sire being black doesn’t play into this. What would matter more is whether any of the chestnuts behind him (sire) are liver. Obviously his extension genetics is Ee - the E made him black (and his agouti is aa), and he also carries an e which he passed on to hook up with one of the dam’s 2 e’s, to make this foal ee chestnut (same as dam).

So the sire’s e came from somewhere, and since E is dominant over e, an e can hide for a LOT of generations of bays and blacks.

[a_new_breeder]

Thanks everyone - for the reassurance on the feet. I’m keen to get her handled and feet sorted asap, so will prioritize that for sooner vs later. I also didn’t think about clipping or wetting the legs to see exactly where the white ends (smart thinking!).

And while I realize that coats aren’t like paint, where adding chestnut and black make a darker chestnut, I also didn’t think to look back to behind the sire to see what kind of chestnuts (there are a few) are there! (Not that color matters, beyond my friends wanting to buy us stuff in her colors, so knowing what specific shade of brown here would be helpful.)

Thanks again! Always impressed by the knowledge on this forum.

[JB]

Even if you do find the shades of chestnut back in the pedigree (and even behind the liver dam), this foal is still a few years away from showing her true adult shade, so each new Spring shed will show you something closer and closer, after this upcoming foal shed.

[4horses]

This is an excellent video on foal foot care and should address some of the concerns you have about the low heels. Jump to the 1 hour mark for the part on lax tendons. A farrier trim should be able to fix this.

FOAL FOOT CARE