I have a question about centaur babies.

[BerthaKit]

Would the human section be all floppy and helpless like a whole human baby, while the horsey but be able to walk around like a horse baby? Or would both half’s be either humanly floppy and under developed or Horsily matured?

and how would mama centaur birth something that shape?

I think it would be the body of maybe a 4/5 year old child otherwise you’re right the baby bit would be useless and floppy! Good question though!

Soft stubby horn with a sort of feathery padding like actual horses soft stubby feathery hooves at birth?

Foals normally run in the right direction when required don't they? That would make it at least 4 in human development. Imagine a mother centaur chasing a foaly strong word toddler

Do Baby Narwhals Have Horns?

Male narwhal calves’ tusks develop slowly after birth and are not present at the time of birth.

Philostratus the Elder (Imagines 2.3) gives the following description of baby centaurs in an ancient art work:
’Of the baby Kentauroi here some lie wrapped in swaddling clothes, some have discarded their swaddling clothes, some seem to be crying, some are happy and smile as they suck flowing breasts, some gambol beneath their mothers while others embrace them when they kneel down, and one is throwing a stone at his mother, for already he grows wanton. The bodies of the infants have not yet taken on their definite shape, seeing that abundant milk is still their nourishment, but some that already are leaping about show a little shagginess, and have sprouted mane and hoofs, though these are still tender.’ Trans. Fairbanks

I've never actually seen a representation of a female centaur.

Does the baby centaur drink milk from the mum's boobs, or her under body teats?

Have you never seen the meme? Feast your eyes on this
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They are in the Disney film Fantasia.

Surely centaurs have bigger problems than this...extremely long spine bent at an awkward angle., two sets of ribs, potentially 2 pelvises, and the need to keep flies away.

However I am now visualising the horse bit cantering skittish around whilst the child but flails and flops around in an ungainly manner.

This certainly brightened my day!

Humans are born less well developed because of our upright form and our relatively narrow pelvises so assuming the baby centaur is coming out of the horsey end then they can be more gestated and have more developed (bigger) brains/heads so therefore should be equal development level

Do mermaids have live births?

That would make sense. It would seem (to me) that the human half would need to be developed enough to properly support the upper body and especially head.

So quite a lot of neck and core strenght. Especially considering how foals can run, jump etc.

On the other hand: Foals need to be able to run due to being flight animals / the threat of predators, AFAIK. Would that still be an issue for centaurs?

Oh goodness, what a though. I imagine that a centaur foal / baby may not be able to properly reach the human breast of the mother?

They lay giant eggs which they sit on for 3 years (why you so rarely see female centaurs) and then the young centaur bursts out bypassing the baby stage.

There area few ancient images of female centaurs like this late Roman mosaic from the Bardo museum.

Both, obviously, they need human and equine milk to nourish their two different parts.

It's their digestive systems which are a puzzle (a horse is bad enough). In Narnia centaurs need to eat human and horse food but how does all that hay etc get to the horse end? (I'd rather not think about the other plumbing issues)

Not my image.

I like this thread!

Do centaurs have two sets of rib cages? This is the burning question.

The anatomy of centaurs:

No.

Mermaids give birth to eggs, like frogspawn, that need to be put in ponds to grow.

Then arms and tails sprout like tadpoles as they develop.

Do centaurs have to be vaccinated against equine flu, or human flu, or both?

Foals are born with really weird hoofs - they have a sort of rubbery covers called foal slippers to protect the uterus and these fall off during the first day after birth.

https://horseyhooves.com/foal-slippers/

I reckon the baby would be born head first like humans and horses then the horse part would follow on and the slippers would drop off. The relevant bit if the mother would be horse so wouldn't be so bad if it was THE OTHER WAY ROUND 😬

Following on from this, do mermaids have sex, or do they also have external fertilisation like lizards andt-rexes?

used to wonder where the mermen kept their pricks