Happy (belated) Birthday to all of
my equine pals!
January 1st is the
birthday for all race horses and many non-racing breeds of horses as well in
the northern hemisphere! (For the race horses “down-under”, it’s August 1st!) Our birthdays are
celebrated all over the world! Our two-legged friends even throw lavish parties
and raise glasses of champagne at midnight just for us! However, the decorations are always spelled
wrong. I tell my owner all the time, it’s
“Happy Birthday”, not “Happy New Year’s”!
Anyway, regardless of a
horse’s actual foaling date, it is considered to be a year older on January 1st. Even if a horse is foaled
on December 28th, it would be considered a year-old within 3 days. As a
result of this system, breeders will often try to have foaling dates in early
January in order to have a competitive advantage. This way, when January
1st rolls around, the horse
will be as close to a “true” yearling as possible in terms of physical
maturity. This system helps keep things simple when grouping horses together
by age for races and competitions.
For MY birthday, my owner brought
me a very special treat: CUPCAKES! Mmmm…I love my sweets. Well friends,
I’m off to plop down and take a cat nap…all this celebrating can sure make a
guy tired! At my age, I am entitled to it. After all, I just turned 42!
Your Pal,
Lord Nelson
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