August 1: Every horse’s birthday

Newcomers to racing have often been confused by the fact that thoroughbred racehorses all have the same birthday.

Every foal born is given a ‘birthday’ of August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere (January 1 in the Northern Hemisphere), even if foals are late and are dropped in the first week of December.

Since before Federation, breeders, trainers and owners have abided by August 1 as the date that will differentiate between a horse’s age.

Long-time veterinary surgeon Glenn Robertson-Smith maintains that it is vital to have a collective date of August 1 when dealing with racehorses.

“That date is set so that mares will begin foaling from early August and in some cases, may still be going in December. But despite the disparity or distance of, say, August 3 and December 2, the December foal, while some five months behind the August foal, both will be categorised by the same age,” he explained.

“The breeding industry and the dates that work around it have proven by and large to be successful.

Sure, you are going to have those November/December foals at a disadvantage, but potential owners and trainers often look beyond a peculiar date, especially if they are going to give horses time before they come to the races,” he said.

Robertson-Smith pointed out that once a foal is born, it will stay with its mother for four or five months, until the foal is taken away with other foals to be weaned.

After this process, these horses become yearlings, where they are taught to be led and handled prior to going to sale.

After the yearling stage and until they all become two-years-old, they are usually sent to a horse breaker in order to be trained to be ridden for the first time.

After some weeks, most of the broken-in two-year-olds will go to a racing stable for some light education and a possible look at the barrier stalls.

This is a crucial time.