Chapter 2: Horses in Size
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•Foal: a horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling. Most domesticated foals are weaned at 5 to 7 months of age, although foals can be weaned at 4 months with no adverse effects.
•Yearling: a horse of either sex that is between one and two years old.
•Colt: a male horse under the age of four. A common terminology error is to call any young horse a "colt", when the term actually only refers to young male horses.
•Filly: a female horse under the age of four.
•Mare: a female horse four years old and older.
•Stallion: a non-castrated male horse four years old and older. Some people, particularly in the UK, refer to a stallion as a "horse".
•Ridgling: or "rig" is a male horse which has an undescended testicle or is improperly castrated. If both testicles are not descended, the horse may appear to be a gelding, but will still behave like a stallion.
•Gelding: a castrated male horse of any age,though for convenience sake, many people also refer to a young gelding under the age of four as a "colt".
In horse racing, the definitions of colt, filly, mare, and stallion may differ from those given above. In the UK, Thoroughbred horse racing defines a colt as a male less than five years old, and a filly as a female less than five years old. In the USA, both Thoroughbred racing and harness racing defines colts and fillies as four years old and younger.
