Hiya i usually post in the dog section but also deal with horses, a horse has given birth to a foal which has been staying in one the fields that my friend owns. The actually owner hasnt done anything with this foal and is now 3 -4 weeks old. We have all been in and out the field to get her use to us. Im thinking of buying the foal which will be m first foal. Tonight though I stroked her head which she was absoutly fine with but then she put her ears back and turned her back on me like she was going to kick me!!! I did think how rude lol but just wondered if anyone else experienced anything like this? Any information would be great, going to buy a halter this weekend to start that trainning side of things, could be a long weekend!!!!

If I were the owner, I'm not sure I'd want someone handling my foal. You say you're going to buy a halter and start 'training' it, please, please don't without the owner's knowledge and consent and then get some expert advice on what to do. Is the owner actually looking after the mare and foal?

You don't sound as though you know an awful lot about horses, please correct me if I'm wrong? So is it really a good idea to be handing a foal, never mind thinking about buying one? Foals are not easy, straightforward or cheap. If you are absolutely set on buying this foal and are sold it, please get some expert help and look at what the foal will cost you over the next few years.

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I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. ~Bill Dana

I agree don't start handling the foal without contacting the owner first and also the foal is a baby it doesn't need a lot of handling yet, just to be with it's mum , we have to be so careful what we do with foals and youngsters because if we should do anything wrong this could effect the horse for the rest of its life horses have very long memories and also if they lose trust in us humans it can take a long time to get it back some times never, and then the horse is known as a bad horse...... I am not saying that you are going to do anything wrong but my own experience is that foals should only be handled by experienced people, sorry I know your heart is in the right place, if you think the mare and foal has been neglected then the best thing you can do for them both is to report it to the


RSPCA In your area - rspca.org.uk
or

world horse welfare, this used to be ILPH World Horse Welfare: Contact Us

By reporting it to either of these then you have done the best you could for them both, but first check have they got water? is the mare underweight, is the foal suckling? what is causing you to worry? above all if you are concerned contact either of the above and explain what your concerns are, they will talk to you and if need be come out and check on them

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www.tonette.co.uk

Can I just say, please don't report to the RSPCA - they very often know absolutely nothing about horses to the point of actually causing more harm than good. If there is a problem with the pair, then use the WHW, they're brilliant.

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I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. ~Bill Dana

Ditto all of the above - please don't trespass on someone else's land.
Foals can be left just to bond with mum for the first 6 months and have very little handling and still be totally fine, most of mine never get halter training until a month or so after weaning - so around 7 months old and I have never had a problem.
Mares can get very foal proud and can be dangerous if you ignore any warning signs especially with strangers - you could get seriously hurt if you are not familiar with the mare.
The foal is turning it's butt on you as it does not trust, know or respect you and it WILL kick and it WILL hurt, I have seen foals take out peoples teeth and break limbs - do not underestimate how strong they are!! - you are also training it to do that as it sounds as you know little of how to discipline a foal - yes it's cute now but not when full grown!!!
If you put a halter on a foal and get it wrong it can flip over backward and really hurt itself and become totally head shy and be very hard to train in the future - also if it buggers off and you can't catch it it could break its neck if the halter gets caught - halter training is best done in a stable to start with with knowledgeable people who know the animals and have built up a relationship with them and done weeks of preparation before putting the halter on.
If you buy this foal, however well meaning, you need to be aware it will cost you around a grand a year minimum to keep a baby until it is 4, when it is then old enough to break, and that is if you have all the facilities needed - and IF it doesn't injure itself in the meantime which baby horses tend to be vet bills with feet, I have a 3yr old at the mo who is one such ditsy baby and will most likely be a pasture pet for the rest of his life - can you afford that?
You also can't keep one baby on it's own you need another.

The list is a long one but bottom line is you would not like it if someone came in your garden and started playing with your dogs, putting them on leads and messing about with them without your permission.
If the horses are neglected and have no food/water and are starving then by all means report them to the BHS, don't bother with the RSPCA!, otherwise leave the horses alone as they are not yours!!!!!!

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*snigger* Very true!

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I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. ~Bill Dana

We bought our foal from a breeder that does handle their foals a lot when they are still with their mums, to do their feet, to worm, to get them used to things. My horse is now 13 months and we had him since he was 6 months old and it is an amazing experience. I have ridden horses and competed with them in the past and broken in two horses so it was not all new to me but the last few years I've only been training dogs and occasionally been riding.

The advantage of starting with a foal is that you know what you get. Zeb doesn't have any behavioural problems or learned bad manners as that is what we have been working on from the first day we had him. He is not a vet bill on feet, as we bought a decent foal. Any horse costs a lot of money, no matter what age. Maybe I can not ride him yet, but I do plenty of fun things with him like walking with him, clicker training him, playing with him, or just brushing and looking after him. We enjoy spending every moment together and he is a dream come true. The barefoot hoof trimmer comes out every 6 weeks, he has now been castrated, he gets the best of food, hay and haylage and I'm saving up for some wheels for him so we can go walkies in the woods or the beach......

I think to halter train this very young foal would be a bit soon. They will have plenty of that later on in their lives, just let them grow up a bit first and enjoy the time with their mums. Also halter training a foal is not that difficult with a clicker so you will have that done in no time when the foal is older without any stress to mother or foal. Now it is going to be a bit stressful for the mother when you do things to her foal and might be dangerous as well as the mother might panic and get aggressive as she feels the need to protect her foal. Just wait until the foal can be weaned and then start you training after you have bought her. Good luck with your hopefully new member of your family.

Rude?! Its a baby horse what do you expect

Some adult horses are like that I wouldn't be too worried about a baby one doing it at that age. My YO had a foal a couple years ago and no one was faffing around with its head besides putting the headcollar on him near the start and aside from that he was allowed to get more confident with people before they started sticking their hands in places he couldn't see (like on his face, remember where a horse's eyes are).

He was handled kindly from day one (people going to look over the stable door and sticking hands out in case he wanted to sniff/nuzzle and so he got used to hustle and bustle and loved nothing more than a bum scratch when he worked out how to get one) He was a cheeky so and so and gave everyone a good running around (he's 2 now), its like puppies they don't know what you want until you show em and even then don't necessarily want to oblige

When I say he had a halter on from the start, it wasn't to lead him he wasn't properly lead trained at that age at all but so he could be guided out to the paddock with Mum from the stables if he didn't follow her straight on, and so he could be gotten hold of should he have any troubles and the vet need to get hold of him.

I should probably mention, my YO had had horses since she was a child and had a couple of foals accidentally (buying a horse which turned out to be pregnant ) and she knew exactly what she was doing with this boy, he had been planned for for a couple years etc.

Some don't get handled at all until they are older and don't turn out any worse for it. You just have to remember they're baby animals and if you dive straight in you might get a few kicks and bites and might instill a few issues in them. They aren't the most trusting of animals to start with compared with say dogs and any mistakes you make if you are unable to put right are going to be passed on to other people to sort out.

Foals are quite a big responsibility, I don't know if they're something I would ever take on for fear of buggering them up. The time and energy that went into the foal my YO still has is unreal.

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Hetty - you made me laugh!! - "he is not a vet bill on feet as we bought a decent foal!!!" - I don't think horses understand that if you pay more for them they are not to hurt themselves!!!!! I've found with the 40 odd that I've bred over the years that the more expensivly bred the more of an accident magnet they are!!!! - some are great and never do anything stupid, some are just thick and will do anything to hurt themselves!!!

Clicker training is great for dogs and animals that aren't ridden - have seen a few gg's that do really well with clickers IF not ridden. I have seen so many, even ones that do high school dressage, that are clicker trained throw their rider as they have stopped mid gallop/movement etc as they have heard a click, even if intended as gg has done something right, and stopped for a reward/treat - as basically all a clicker is doing is telling them to stop whatever they are doing to receive a reward - hysterically funny to watch I have to say, but not so fun for the rider and not great to look at if competing!!!!
Also training to treats can be a disaster with some youngsters and actually teach them awful habits and the idea that people are mobile treat machines - I have never used treats and always have very well mannered respectful babies/adults!!! Also youngsters really don't need hard feed - just vitamins as you run the risk of OCD etc and excessive weight on growing joints - they are supposed to look like lanky teenagers that have been glued together for the first few years!!

General common sense handling is the best way to go and just getting a bond built up so when it comes to being ridden they are totally fine with everything thrown at them, I handle mine from day one, feet/mouths etc so they are used to everything except the actual halter training - they tend to have such short concentration spans it is hard to get them to focus for more than a few minutes for it to be productive without exceeding their patience levels until they are at least weaning age and even then 5mins is as good as you can expect - the trouble with having a brain the size of a peanut!!!!!!

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Very interesting re clickers, someone on a horse forum I use is beginning to use this method what you say makes perfect sense re sudden stopping!

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