Kaida
Well-Known Member
Hello!! I'm a fairly new member and this is my first thread so if I get anything wrong, many apologies.
To the meat of it: I am getting my first yearling and have a bit of a quandary about the *best* way to look after him. He is a colt and will not be gelded initially. I know the words *yearling* and *not gelded* get a lot of people excited so:
I have had six horses from three year olds and have backed them myself and ridden away. I have dealt with a lot of foals, yearlings, stallions etc. One horse I was heavily involved with as a yearling I still have today, and he's now 13. I am hoping to breed from this horse hence keeping him entire - HOWEVER if he proves not to have the right temperament I will geld him without hesitation. He has the breeding, conformation etc at this age although again, if he doesn't mature to a horse it would be worthwhile to breed from he will be gelded. I don't want to keep him entire just for the hell of it!
So now you're probably saying "so why is she asking for help". Well, until last year I had a LOT of turnout - around 50 acres, split across six big fields very well fenced and hedged and away from each other. I would have put colt out with the gelding group to learn about horse life, and bring him in a couple of times a week to handle him. Unfortunately, I moved to a lovely yard around a year ago but there isn't a lot of turnout - as in, I have six horses and YO allows them turned out in pairs for around 2/3 hours a day. Not YO fault - basically we have a barn each but share the same turnout - as there really isn't much! She does have another field a couple of miles away where I could turn him out, but it's accessed by main roads (we are talking dual carriageways) and therefore wouldn't be able to bring him OR whoever I choose to be his companion home regularly.
I want to ensure he is handled a couple/few times a week but in the past have always had youngsters living out with a group of older horses to teach them 'horse' life and manners and am concerned about the effect of either: keeping him at the yard with limited turnout - yes, he will still get a few hours a day with a variety of companions who will put him in his place without damaging him or going too far, but he would have to be in the stable every night...OR leaving him out in a field I can't practically get to every day, with very little handling on a daily basis. What is my best option or am I just worrying too much??
I have a further complication. My groom (I have six horses...and work full time. I'm not running a massive yard!) has also chosen this year to have her first yearling and has a similar background to me. Unfortunately her first yearling is a filly, who I obviously can't turn out with him! So I am trying to work out what is best for both of them...at the moment I'm thinking a two week on/two week off rotation, so I would have the colt out in the other field for two weeks with a companion while the filly is being kept in, and having 2/3 hours turnout a week, and then swap them over. I want them both to be handled enough - leading properly, picking up feet, ground manners, going for walks on the lanes to meet new things etc (obviously over time - not on the same day!) but equally hear a lot about the dangers of over-handling horses, especically colts, and making them very pushy. There is also the consideration that I will be competing my other horses this year and although two weeks off won't be the end of the world for any of them, it will interrupt the training regieme...not a problem for the filly as I have a retired mare who can go out with her, but my geldings are all in work 5 days a week...and one, when out of work for more than two days (they all get at least one day off a week), becomes incredibly difficult to ride for at least a week afterwards so really it would 3 weeks off for him, and another really enjoys his work, and when out of work starts being difficult - breaking out of fields, charging around etc if he's turned out for more than two solid days. My third gelding is not a suitable companion, so either I buy another horse as a companion for him, or take the hit with training on gelding #1...(in an ideal world, with loads of turnout on site, I would put all three out and bring in one of the boys at a time to ride...but I'm not in the ideal world!)
Am I needlessly worrying - I'm sure plenty of youngsters grow up being kept in overnight? For the record, I have been looking for another yard for several months but in the area I live (South Somerset) they are few and far between, especially with good turnout and an arena and minimum 6 stables..! So I'm kinda stuck where I am now...
Apologies for the length of this post!! Any advice welcomed...
To the meat of it: I am getting my first yearling and have a bit of a quandary about the *best* way to look after him. He is a colt and will not be gelded initially. I know the words *yearling* and *not gelded* get a lot of people excited so:
I have had six horses from three year olds and have backed them myself and ridden away. I have dealt with a lot of foals, yearlings, stallions etc. One horse I was heavily involved with as a yearling I still have today, and he's now 13. I am hoping to breed from this horse hence keeping him entire - HOWEVER if he proves not to have the right temperament I will geld him without hesitation. He has the breeding, conformation etc at this age although again, if he doesn't mature to a horse it would be worthwhile to breed from he will be gelded. I don't want to keep him entire just for the hell of it!
So now you're probably saying "so why is she asking for help". Well, until last year I had a LOT of turnout - around 50 acres, split across six big fields very well fenced and hedged and away from each other. I would have put colt out with the gelding group to learn about horse life, and bring him in a couple of times a week to handle him. Unfortunately, I moved to a lovely yard around a year ago but there isn't a lot of turnout - as in, I have six horses and YO allows them turned out in pairs for around 2/3 hours a day. Not YO fault - basically we have a barn each but share the same turnout - as there really isn't much! She does have another field a couple of miles away where I could turn him out, but it's accessed by main roads (we are talking dual carriageways) and therefore wouldn't be able to bring him OR whoever I choose to be his companion home regularly.
I want to ensure he is handled a couple/few times a week but in the past have always had youngsters living out with a group of older horses to teach them 'horse' life and manners and am concerned about the effect of either: keeping him at the yard with limited turnout - yes, he will still get a few hours a day with a variety of companions who will put him in his place without damaging him or going too far, but he would have to be in the stable every night...OR leaving him out in a field I can't practically get to every day, with very little handling on a daily basis. What is my best option or am I just worrying too much??
I have a further complication. My groom (I have six horses...and work full time. I'm not running a massive yard!) has also chosen this year to have her first yearling and has a similar background to me. Unfortunately her first yearling is a filly, who I obviously can't turn out with him! So I am trying to work out what is best for both of them...at the moment I'm thinking a two week on/two week off rotation, so I would have the colt out in the other field for two weeks with a companion while the filly is being kept in, and having 2/3 hours turnout a week, and then swap them over. I want them both to be handled enough - leading properly, picking up feet, ground manners, going for walks on the lanes to meet new things etc (obviously over time - not on the same day!) but equally hear a lot about the dangers of over-handling horses, especically colts, and making them very pushy. There is also the consideration that I will be competing my other horses this year and although two weeks off won't be the end of the world for any of them, it will interrupt the training regieme...not a problem for the filly as I have a retired mare who can go out with her, but my geldings are all in work 5 days a week...and one, when out of work for more than two days (they all get at least one day off a week), becomes incredibly difficult to ride for at least a week afterwards so really it would 3 weeks off for him, and another really enjoys his work, and when out of work starts being difficult - breaking out of fields, charging around etc if he's turned out for more than two solid days. My third gelding is not a suitable companion, so either I buy another horse as a companion for him, or take the hit with training on gelding #1...(in an ideal world, with loads of turnout on site, I would put all three out and bring in one of the boys at a time to ride...but I'm not in the ideal world!)
Am I needlessly worrying - I'm sure plenty of youngsters grow up being kept in overnight? For the record, I have been looking for another yard for several months but in the area I live (South Somerset) they are few and far between, especially with good turnout and an arena and minimum 6 stables..! So I'm kinda stuck where I am now...
Apologies for the length of this post!! Any advice welcomed...
