Meet the Yearlings on a Real Kentucky Horse Farm

A Day in the Life of a Yearling

Kentucky is horse country, and if you love horses, there’s probably no better place to visit than a real Kentucky horse farm. These are places where thoroughbred horses are born and raised. And if you want to know a secret, it’s where they learn to be horses. It’s where they eat, sleep, play, run around, and as they grow and get stronger, it’s where they begin to learn how to race.

What exactly is a thoroughbred horse? A thoroughbred is an athletic breed (or type) of horse most commonly used for racing and jumping. By definition, their ancestry can be traced to one of three original mares (female horses) that were brought to England in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. That means you can trace the family tree of any horse you see at Mill Ridge Farm back to one of these mares.

Touring a horse farm is a totally Kentucky thing to do. Before you decide if you want to visit a farm like Mill Ridge, maybe you want to know a bit more about what happens at one. One thing you’ll see a lot of is yearlings.

About Yearlings

A newborn horse is called a foal. A boy foal is called a colt, and a girl foal is called a filly. These baby horses are known as foals up until their first birthday; once they turn a year old, they are called yearlings.

Here’s where it gets a bit tricky. A boy yearling is still referred to as a colt all the way up to his fourth birthday. And a female yearling is still called a filly until her fourth birthday. 

With us so far? Now hang on, because it gets trickier. All foals become yearlings on January 1, regardless of when they were born. It’s true—all thoroughbred horses have the same birthday. 

This is because thoroughbreds have historically been raised for racing, and since most races have age requirements, having the same birthday makes it much easier to determine which races qualify for which races. 

So what’s the life of a yearling like? And what will you see when you visit a Kentucky horse farm like Mill Ridge?

Daily Schedule of a Yearling

Believe it or not, yearlings stay outside all night. They like Kentucky’s mild climate! Like adult horses, they can sleep standing up, lying on their side, or on their stomachs with their legs folded. 

In the morning around 7:30, the yearlings are checked over for any signs of injury. Then they go inside for breakfast; grain—also called pellets—is their favorite. The yearlings get to spend the rest of the morning indoors. 

At lunchtime, they get some more grain. They receive gentle handling from caretakers, who brush them, clean the mud out of their hooves, and generally get them used to human touch and interaction. After this, they get to go back outside, where they remain until the next morning.

While outside, the real fun begins. Kentucky horse farms are known for their rolling hills, and that’s important. Running around these hills helps the yearlings develop strong bones and muscles. You try playing all day on a hillside, and you’ll get stronger in no time.

When they are first turned out—that means “put outside”—for the day, the yearlings are fresh and run around quite a bit. Sometimes they run around on their own, but often they’ll run around and chase each other, just like human kids do. 

This is called socializing, which means interacting with others of your kind. Socializing is important to yearlings because it helps them learn good behaviors and skills they’ll need throughout their lives. They learn to make friends with horses and people, they learn good manners, and they learn other things like what to be afraid of and what not to be afraid of. 

Outside is where yearlings also get to really see what their bodies can do! When you’re free to run and jump and play all day, you get to learn your limits, and how to push them. Horses are herd animals, and competition is in their blood. You can see the natural competitive spirit in these horses as they begin to race and play with one another. It can be fun to watch. 

Fun fact: yearlings are known to get a little rowdy when playing. That’s why when human kids do it, we call it horseplay. 

Throughout the day, the yearlings will graze on the rich, healthy grass that Kentucky is known for. In winter, we put hay outside in the fields for the yearlings to graze on as well. That’s because hay has a high water content. In winter, horses drink less water, so this helps them stay hydrated. 

Oh, and we almost forgot—once a month, our yearlings get sort of a “spa day,” when their hooves are trimmed. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see that on your visit as well. These yearlings are treated like royalty.

Visit a Kentucky Horse Farm: Be a Part of a Yearling’s Day

As we’ve said, part of a yearling’s daily routine is exposure to people. That’s how they learn not to be afraid of us, and how to enjoy human touch. 

That’s where you come in.

Mill Ridge, like other Kentucky horse farms, offers tours to humans. Not only is it fun to visit a horse farm, but the yearlings need you to come see them. 

Our tours begin in the breeding shed, where you’ll learn about the farm’s history and why Lexington—and Mill Ridge in particular—is so well-suited for thoroughbreds. 

From there, you’ll hop in your vehicles and follow the tour guide caravan-style around the farm. You’ll stop at different spots along the way to interact with horses of all ages—not just the yearlings. Make no mistake, these are the best parts of the tour. You can get up close to the horses, and possibly feed them carrots!

The tour will wind up back at the breeding shed, where you’ll get to meet our two resident stallions, OSCAR PERFORMANCE—a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner with racetrack earnings of more than $2.3 million (and who currently holds the world record for the fastest mile on the turf)—and our newest stallion, ALOHA WEST, a Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner with earnings of more than $1.5 million. These are two very impressive horses.

Oh, in case you were wondering: a stallion is an adult male thoroughbred who may breed with an adult female, known as a mare. Geldings are adult males who cannot breed. Now you know your horses, and there’s only one thing left to do—come visit Mill Ridge Farm.

Interested in learning more about broodmares, foals, weanlings, and two-year-olds? Want to see how they are raised for yourself? Schedule a tour of Mill Ridge Farm today through Visit Horse Country.