Woolly Hat n Wellies
Well-Known Member
At the beginning of April this year, my companion mare (sold to us as not in foal!) gave birth to a little colt. I would never have chosen to breed, as I'm painfully aware of my own lack of knowledge, but due to circumstances I was left with no option but to keep them. Having learned that the mare had been passed around through multiple homes (including me, apparently four homes just while she was pregnant), I couldn't face moving her on again. She's nervous and struggles to trust you, but she didn't deserve that, and neither did baby. So I've bombarded my instructor with questions, bought in piles of foal books, and scoured the archives of HHO (thank you anyone who has ever posted anything about foals!) and tonight, aged two months, the foal I had no idea what to do with...
1. Came up to me to be caught and stood nicely while I put his headcollar on.
2. Walked sensibly on the lead behind his mum into the stable.
3. Behaved perfectly while all his feet were picked out.
He's done these bits before, but THEN:
4. Walked sensibly down the drive and back behind his mum where he's never been before.
5. Overtook mum in walk when she hesitated at the corner of the yard.
6. Walked ahead of mum confidently and quietly up the front yard, where he's never been, past all the scary farm equipment and plastic flapping rubbish, and then led the way back to the field.
He absolutely loved it, and I'm SO proud of him!
Here he is, his name is Graham, his mum is a piebald 13hh Welsh X, dad may well have been an elephant, judging by how quickly he's growing!
1. Came up to me to be caught and stood nicely while I put his headcollar on.
2. Walked sensibly on the lead behind his mum into the stable.
3. Behaved perfectly while all his feet were picked out.
He's done these bits before, but THEN:
4. Walked sensibly down the drive and back behind his mum where he's never been before.
5. Overtook mum in walk when she hesitated at the corner of the yard.
6. Walked ahead of mum confidently and quietly up the front yard, where he's never been, past all the scary farm equipment and plastic flapping rubbish, and then led the way back to the field.
He absolutely loved it, and I'm SO proud of him!
Here he is, his name is Graham, his mum is a piebald 13hh Welsh X, dad may well have been an elephant, judging by how quickly he's growing!
