How does a foal develop inside its mother?
Day 9 With the naked eye, you can see only the “embryonic vesicle” which houses the embryo. The vesicle looks like a shimmering, firm, translucent bubble, less than inch in diameter. On the ultrasound screen, you will see it as a black circle in a sea of grainy gray (your mare’s uterus). At this point, the embryo is no larger than a pinpoint. Day 24 The vesicle has grown to 1 inch in diameter. It’s a shimmering, flabby, translucent bubble with a dark red dot (the embryo) at one end. A network of threadlike blood vessels emanates from the inch dot. You can barely make out the beginnings of animal features: a head, tiny bumps that will become eyes; a fleshy tail nub; and four little buds that will eventually become legs. On the ultrasound monitor, you will see the vesicle as an irregular, guitar-pick shaped black blob in a sea of grainy gray. Generally, around Day 24 an embryonic heart is large enough to be seen on the ultrasound screen. To find it, focus on the “floor” surface of the bl
