Foaling and the Moon

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This article originally appeared in the June 2014 edition of Fell Pony News from Willowtrail Farm.

Highlights:

  • After my two foals in April, I began to wonder about foaling and the phases of the moon.  Then after I looked at the patterns in my own herd, I began to wonder about the breed as a whole.

  • The moon is known to have influence over water, such as the tides of the oceans, and given that the birth sac is filled with water, it’s reasonable to wonder how the moon might influence the birthing process.

  • In my own herd, I observed that foal dates did not cluster around moon phase transitions (new, full, etc.)

  • When I looked at the breed as a whole using the 2007 foal crop, I learned that foals are born on every day of the moon cycle.

  •  There are slightly more foals born during the waxing crescent moon and just before full than on other days in the cycle.

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