8 Month Old Weanling Trouble

[~Nala~]

Hi Guys,
I'm new to the forum and recently, I became a new horse owner. I now own my 8 month old weanling Cob colt, but in the past week he's started kicking out. The first few times he kicked, he missed me but the other day he caught me with his back leg as I'm leading him. I'm putting his sudden change of behaviour down to the fact that he has to be kept in his small stable 24/7 as the owner of the livery yard we are on refuses to put him in a field due to the colt not being gelded yet. He is due to be gelded late February and won't be allowed into a field until late March/early April. We are unable to walk him to give him exercise as there is a large pile of rubble and crumbled up brick next to his stable that we can't walk him passed as there is no other way to leave the stable block other than to go past the rubble and walk on sharp chunks of brick, rubble, old piping and what ever else is there.
We cannot move yards as my sister also owns a gelding on the yard and we both share a mare as well meaning it is really difficult to find a yard in the Durham area that will take 3 horses and if they can take 3 horses, the yards refuse to take the colt and if they can manage the 3 horses and the fact that one isn't gelded yet, they are out of our price range.

If anyone could give me advice on the issues I have with the situation at hand it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Can you find youngstock livery for the colt, where he would be out with other colts and then bring him back to this yard after gelding and recovery?

The current situation is very bad, not only for his short term mental health, but for his long term physical health. A growing youngster should not be stabled 24/7 unless there is a serious medical reason to do so.

 

[Clodagh]

Faracat's idea is a good one. He really needds to be out playing and learning. He may well become dangerous in the current situation and bad manners are difficult to un learn.
I wonder if your vet would consider gelding him now? Not good in many way but if he can't go out or walk the swelling might be too much. Your vet might know of somewhere he could go, perhaps, at least for the healing period?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

OP, I appreciate that its school holidays. ....

That said, did you not ever bother to think of how you would keep this colt BEFORE you brought it?

 

[~Nala~]

Hiya, thank you for your quick reply.
When we purchased the colt, the livery owner said he could go into the main stable block with the other horses for company and he would be allowed to go into a paddock of his own but they have now stated that they said no such thing and they are unable to provide this. We have checked several yards in the area who will accommodate him but not until the spring.
I totally agree that the situation is unfair to him, both mentally and physically and we have explained this numerous times to the livery owner who says he will be fine despite our concerns.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Have you contacted stud farms who will have youngsters of their own?

 

[~Nala~]

Yeah we have Faracat but they have said they won't allow him on as they constantly have mares coming and going and they can't risk the colt catching one of them.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Where are you? I have a herd of youngsters he could go with until you find something - if you are local.

 

[~Nala~]

We are in the Durham area.

 

[Palindrome]

I would think your best short term option is to have him gelded asap and switch stables with another horse so he can be walked in hand everyday until he is able to be turned out with the others. Not ideal but that would mean he could go out in a 1 month's time instead of late March.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Providing everything is where it should be there is no reason he cannot be cut now.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Without turnout gelding is not advisable. The swelling after gelding needs to go down - mine was in in an emergency 4 days after gelding and the swelling after just 24 hours was awful. I would never geld a horse that is in 24/7.

You do need to find somewhere suitable even if it means having him on another yard to the other 2. Failing that the idea of swapping stables is a good one? Could your other, more sensible horse walk past the rubble?

 

[AdorableAlice]

Without turnout gelding is not advisable. The swelling after gelding needs to go down - mine was in in an emergency 4 days after gelding and the swelling after just 24 hours was awful. I would never geld a horse that is in 24/7.

You do need to find somewhere suitable even if it means having him on another yard to the other 2. Failing that the idea of swapping stables is a good one? Could your other, more sensible horse walk past the rubble?

I did mean cut and turn out somewhere, apologies.

 

[jaffa2311]

This is a wind up! It has all the features of a troll.

Don't fool for it/1

 

[~Nala~]

This is not a troll, I could provide photos of the livery yard conditions in the morning if you so require but I would rather not to avoid disputes or a confrontation with the livery yard owner if she knew. My Colt is in a stable away from the other horses and because his stable is out of the way of the main barn, the livery owner feels its better to put the stuff out of the way of her other liveries in the main barn, consequently blocking the path to my outdoor stable.
My other horses are out on grass livery at the moment as the livery owner has given our stables away and keeps saying she completely forgot about our horses and that she will try and think of something meaning we only have the one stable which is the stable that my colt is in.

 

[Luci07]

Seriously sounds as if you need another yard as that is not responsible behaviour from your YO. Sincerely hope she has refunded you for the loss of your stables.

Short term, why not place a wanted ad and see if anyone local has young colts yours could go out with?

 

[ester]

Yeah we have Faracat but they have said they won't allow him on as they constantly have mares coming and going and they can't risk the colt catching one of them.

Sorry what!? They usually have groups of youngsters and colts turned out.

If this is not a troll thread I feel very sorry for a poor thing. It doesn't matter that not having the three horses on the same yard will be inconvenient, you need to find somewhere for this chap where he can be turned out asap, preferably yesterday.

 

[~Nala~]

The stud yard that is near us is a small holding and when we rang, the owner stated they would not take my colt until he was gelded, as stated above. I appreciate all of the helpful answers but to those who think I am trolling, I came to this site for help, not to be made to feel even worse than I already do about my situation.
My sister is going to contact local farmers to see if they have any spare buildings or stables and grazing that they're not using at the moment.

 

[ester]

There are plenty of other studs to try!

There is no point turning him out on his own somewhere, he needs company! The plan that they YO would let you turn him out alone was not satisfactory either, sorry but you really should have made appropriate arrangements for him to be turned out in company from day one.

sorry but it really isn't rocket science why you are having trouble with him.

 

[~Nala~]

We know its not rocket science, that's why we are trying to move all 3 so my colt has company...

 

[Palindrome]

Failing the swapping stables, you could also try to move the rubble/junk or tidy it up in big bags.
Ester, OP stated that her sister has a gelding so that would probably be suitable company.
If you haven't tried OP, local horsey FB group might be able to get you somewhere. You don't need to tell the whole story but just outline that you are desperate for a paddock with safe fencing for a colt who is going to be gelded very soon.

ETA: you don't necessarily need to move the mare now as this means you need a separate paddock for her.

 

[~Nala~]

Thank you so much Palindrome for your understanding.
The pile is 5 tonnes of hardcore rubble.

 

[Palindrome]

It's always harder to find a yard in winter and not many yards will accept a colt but it is a bad situation for the little chap so don't give up. You could also move him to a more expensive place for a few months and find something cheaper in the Spring. It's only 4 months until May.

 

[~Nala~]

Thank you everyone who has helped, it is really appreciated.
Happy New Year 😇

 

[ester]

Failing the swapping stables, you could also try to move the rubble/junk or tidy it up in big bags.
Ester, OP stated that her sister has a gelding so that would probably be suitable company.
If you haven't tried OP, local horsey FB group might be able to get you somewhere. You don't need to tell the whole story but just outline that you are desperate for a paddock with safe fencing for a colt who is going to be gelded very soon.

ETA: you don't necessarily need to move the mare now as this means you need a separate paddock for her.

The only issue with only moving the gelding+colt is if he is still ridden that will at times leave young chap on his own.

Definitely get on FB and see if anyone else has youngsters/a gelding gang out 24/7 that wouldn't mind an extra for a bit, this is why youngstock livery exists, so that they can go out in an appropriate herd, even if that be some distance away from you.

 

[ycbm]

You do not have to move three. You only have to move one, the colt. The rubble is a red herring, completely irrelevant. The problem is a colt stabled 24/7. There are dozens of places with young stock around the country which will take him. Find one, pay for the transport, leave him there, have him gelded when the others are gelded, and then turn him away and forget him until he is three.

 

[southerncomfort]

This is a huge welfare issue. I appreciate that you have tried to find an alternative but the life you are providing for this colt right now is pretty grim.

Forgive me for saying this, but if you can't improve his situation (and soon) you may have to think about finding him a home that that is better equiped for keeping colts.

I do think you need to look at studs a bit further from home. A stud is the ideal place for him and it won't matter if you can't visit him every day.

 

[YasandCrystal]

You do not have to move three. You only have to move one, the colt. The rubble is a red herring, completely irrelevant. The problem is a colt stabled 24/7. There are dozens of places with young stock around the country which will take him. Find one, pay for the transport, leave him there, have him gelded when the others are gelded, and then turn him away and forget him until he is three.

Please don't take the advice to forget him until he is 3!! Foals should be handled and learn to be led, to be tied, to be rugged and groomed and to have their feet picked up regularly and trimmed. Leave him til 3 at your peril. I don't believe in over handling youngsters, they need to learn herd life and play, but without basic handling and training you would have a likely potential handful at 3.

 

[ycbm]

Please don't take the advice to forget him until he is 3!! Foals should be handled and learn to be led, to be tied, to be rugged and groomed and to have their feet picked up regularly and trimmed. Leave him til 3 at your peril. I don't believe in over handling youngsters, they need to learn herd life and play, but without basic handling and training you would have a likely potential handful at 3.

That is your opinion.

It is the opinion of many older horse people that it is best to leave them unhandled until they are three. They tell me they see far too many horses spoiled by wrong handling early on and would prefer to buy a blank slate. Having bought two myself which were unhandled until that age, it did not harm them in any way and neither was difficult to tame and break. They were so unhandled that neither had ever seen a farrier.

It is my own preference to handle regularly from young, but this colt, imo, would be better off left completely alone than he would be managed in anything like the way he is managed now.

 

[YasandCrystal]

That is your opinion.

It is the opinion of many older horse people that it is best to leave them unhandled until they are three. They tell me they see far too many horses spoiled by wrong handling early on and would prefer to buy a blank slate. Having bought two myself which were unhandled until that age, it did not harm them in any way and neither was difficult to tame and break. They were so unhandled that neither had ever seen a farrier.

It is my own preference to handle regularly from young, but this colt, imo, would be better off left completely alone than he would be managed in anything like the way he is managed now.

It is only your opinion too.

I beg to disagree, being the wife of a farrier I have heard too many a tale of feet not being corrected in a timely way and this causing conformational issues later. It is important to have regular farriery for this reason alone in my opinion, whilst bones are still growing and it is possible.
I have a pigeon toed mare and she had no foot care via the previous owner until 3 years old, it was then too late to make any corrections.

We do agree on this colt, the current situation is unacceptable. I have a 7 month old filly, she comes in overnight, but hey she loves nothing better than to hoon about her paddock with her companion.

I have a Dales youngster and he was an unruly 2 yr old. He took some handling to get him to lead respectfully and I am glad I did this early on as he is now built like a tank. I would hope that anyone taking on a foal/youngster would have the experience or seek it to train them correctly.