# Advice please on 5 week old foal



## Vikki g (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi I'm all new to this breeding/foal scene as I bought a mare in August to find out she was actually in foal. The colt born 13 may is proving to be a handful and as I am inexperienced I feel like I'm not giving him the best start. I do have help at hand but more as manpower rather than experience. I have started to handle him inside the stable away from his mum for 10 15 mins a day (started this at about 3 weeks old. He's improved an awful lot but is still wary of us humans and sometimes will put up a fight. He's started to wonder off from his mum when going from field to stable and back again. So for the past 3 days iv been attaching a lead rope to his foal slip and walking slowly around the stable for him to follow me this is working but out of the stable he rears and backs off causing himself to panic and get worked up ( I am always calm and never pull /force him). Am I doing the right thing? Is it too early? Or did I just leave it too long? He's 6 weeks this Sunday he was 9.1hh at birth and is standing at roughly 10.1hh maybe a little more. He's cob type Mother fell and father unknown. I don't want me or him especially to get hurt. Any advice welcome. Sorry for ranting but might be easier to get all info out there thank you xx also should I be pushing for him to be caught in the field as iv tried this and wasn't easy. I got him in the end but he wasnt very happy. Soon calmed down but I'm worrying if I'm doing more harm than good.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

He's 5 weeks old - I wouldn't expect anything of mine at that age unless they were destined for the show circuit! I leave mine out and handle them in the field with mum, I never force them or stick them in a stable away from mum as they would panic and associate stables as bad places, so I would NOT be seperating him from his mum for anytime at all at this age as he will only fight, as you have found out, and all he will be thinking is 'where is mum' so you're never going to get anywhere at all. You're only teaching him to be wary of you and that he has to fight everytime he sees you, which will lead to him being able to win over you as he gets bigger which will lead to more problems down the road - once they know they are stronger than you it's very hard to get them back! I leave that sort of thing till well after weaning at 6 or so months old when they have stopped thinking of mum and are more adult in their outlook and have a slightly longer attention span!

I let mine come upto me in their own time out in the field and build up their confidence in people, usually thats within the first day or 2 as curiosity gets the better of them! My little colt that is 8 weeks old today now leaves the herd when he sees us and comes upto us for attention even though mum is right at the bottom of the field, I can pick all 4 feet up and he is used to being poked everywhere and has had a lead rope draped round him and round his face so he gets used to te idea of things round his ears and eyes - that's it at this age I wouldn't expect more yet. 

I get them used to me scratching them all over, so they are totally confident with me handling every part of them, when they have got their balance sorted you can them pick up feet etc. Don't let them bite or chew you etc as it's just bad manners, always invite them into your space not let him come barging up and demand attention. Nip any bad behaviour in the bud early and the manners are always there - a shout/yelp is enough to startle them if they nip/rear then a good scratch to reward it follows, if they don't listen then a rap on the nose once if they bite and a loud NO just to really get their attention - mum would nip in the same situation so it doesn't do any harm - then followed by a rewarding scratch - they get the idea pretty quick!

If I want to get them used to a halter then I start very gradually with just them playing with it so they don't see it as anything scary, I NEVER leave one on a foal while unnattended as they can get it caught and break their neck or totaly panic and you're back to square one or less! I do everything very slowly and take the cues from foalie as to when they understand something and keep sessions short and sweet - no more than a minute or 2 as their attention span wonders after that then it's just a fight!!

It's a week after weaning I personally introduce leading in the stable - they will have got used to the halter by now and it's just another step to get them to follow you, I attach the lead rope just by looping it through the halter - never clip it on incase they get away from you and get caught up. I use a bit of pressure and the 'walk on' command - always face away from them as you would if you were leading an adult horse - standing facing them is more of a challenge and would be your command to 'back up' so confuses them. Increase the pressure if they don't move or plant their feet, as soon as they either move forward or even sideways release the pressure and praise, keep the pressure constant if they back up, follow them don't fight, once they're up against the wall they can only go forward! Repeat with maybe one or 2 more steps, don't expect too much, and leave on a good note. Do this a couple of times on the first day - they soon connect the dots between pressure release and moving their feet and praise - it usually takes me a total of maybe 10mins to get one walking forward on the halter nicely. Do this again the next day in the stable - if they have got it well then take a few baby steps outside in the yard - not field as their mind will be on playing/bombing off etc! - once they've done a lap of the yard or whatever - praise like mad. 
You do get the odd one who will strop at the pressue, especially if the youngster is planting its feet, who may rear up, ignore, let them strop, never punish as you'll confuse the horse at this point - keep the pressure on and they will go forward once they realise there is no other option - I actually prefer the stroppers as they usually get the whole thing faster and tend to not strop outside!! 

So don't worry your foal will get there but at the mo he's just a baby and as such just needs the basics in place - his trust in you which is the most important, and basic polite manners/respect for your space - the rest will follow!!


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

My baby is currently 4 weeks, she's my first foal so im in the same situation as you I think.

I wouldnt ever take baby away from mum. Whilst baby isn't overly bothered not being right next to mum (she often goes wandering off from mum to investigate things) being out of sight would certainly distress her. Mum would be the biggest issue though, she does NOT like baby wandering too far away and chases off after her, I imagine she would be terribly upset if baby was in a stable out of sight. So i would stop doing that.

Mine wont really lead at the moment, unless she's following a bucket of food :lol: All i've really done so far is get her used to being touched all over, she LOVES being brushed so try that with yours. She will pick up all four feet politely and we pretend to pick them out, just in preparation for the farrier. She has had her foal slip put on since day one and I always put that on when I do anything with her, so she gets used to being caught and headcollared as part of having anything done with her. She absolutely hated it at first but now will stand quietly while I take it on and off.

Other than that, im not really doing much with her, just letting her eat and grow


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## Vikki g (Jun 19, 2012)

Since posting this we have had a very successful few days. He is now catching in the field and leading almost perfectly. Neither mum or foal are bothered when he's in the stable as they can still see each other she is right outside the door. She seems to enjoy this 10 mins away from him pestering her and gets plenty of retention herself while one of us see to the foal. He loves being brushed and stands for us to do this. We hadn't tried picking feet up yet but as a previous post said that they do this we tried and he was perfect we tapped and brushed the underneath just like a farrier would and he was a diamond. It's all good and well saying I should leave him until weaning to lead him but he's a big boy and growing taller and stronger everyday. So this wOuldnt have been the best thing for him or us either.


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## BWB (Aug 1, 2012)

I have a Colt born the day after yours, from the same situation. Mine leads like a dream and has done since he was 2 weeks old, he has always been good to catch and I got a head collar on himat 2 days old. Mine is now standing at 12.1hh and looks set to make 15.2hh maybe slightly bigger. I am on my own with them so had to have him handleable from the start. His mum is only 4yo so she has been learning along the way to. I handle both there feet everyday now because she was difficult to start with and I'd rather he wasn't the same. this is my little dude Barney or 'The Barnstormer' and he's mum Winnie or 'Flowermoore Reachel'


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## ponderousa (Aug 15, 2012)

You should try to bound with him and spend time with him, when you take him away from his mom you shouldn't go out of her sight. when he rears up you should get after him a little bit but not so much that he's afraid of you.


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