Do you put a foal slip on a newborn almost straight away?

our foals wuld tie up quietly within a week, then lead within two to three. they learnt not to pull the rope from standing tied, and i would always flick thier bum if they stopped to ensure they are driven from behind, and never pulled from the front. they were never turned out with a headcollar tho.
 
Imogen Rose said:
our foals wuld tie up quietly within a week, then lead within two to three. they learnt not to pull the rope from standing tied, and i would always flick thier bum if they stopped to ensure they are driven from behind, and never pulled from the front. they were never turned out with a headcollar tho.
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i would never never never tie up a foal, for any possible reason. if they get spooked and try to pull back they could do a LOT of damage to themselves. i don't teach them to tie up until much much later.
 
kerilli said:
i would never never never tie up a foal, for any possible reason. if they get spooked and try to pull back they could do a LOT of damage to themselves. i don't teach them to tie up until much much later.
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I agree. Hugely dangerous thing to do.:(
 
Sportznight said:
Ditto!!!
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And me! What a mentalist!
But then I never ever teach a horse to tie up, just to stand still.
In response to OP, usually put a slip on day after they are born, they wear it to be bear hugged/wrestled to the field, take it off, then repeat when brought in. Doing this for the fortnight until they live out full time, I find it is enough for them to be good as gold when you want to lead them, but I would never put pressure on the head until they are a good few months old.
 
Imogen Rose said:
why would yo never tie? none of them have ever ever been injured, they just learn to be patient.
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because if they don't 'learn to be patient' they will very easily break their neck fighting. foals are SO reactive and will almost invariably struggle to get away and probably not understand that they need to stop fighting to get comfy again. years ago a friend's foal killed itself when it caught its headcollar, scratching on something unbreakable in the field.
my farrier shoes for gypsies, he says all theirs are tied up very short and tight (and unbreakably) for trimming from a young age. those that fight break their necks.
i've read this about Western horses too, how they teach them to stop dead the moment their reins touch the floor (huge concrete block sunk in the ground with a metal loop on it, tie reins or rope to loop). one in x horses will fight and break its neck. if you have hundreds of horses maybe 1 or 2 are expendable, but none of mine are.

the thought of tying a foal up makes me go absolutely cold.
 
We might but a head collar on shortly after birth but we don't tie up until they are in yearling prep. There is no need for this, as for those that think there is not need for a head collar until older, it is far easier to microchip, restrain for the farrier etc with one on and the older they are the more traumatic it is for them if they've never worn one before.
 
kerilli said:
because if they don't 'learn to be patient' they will very easily break their neck fighting. foals are SO reactive and will almost invariably struggle to get away and probably not understand that they need to stop fighting to get comfy again. years ago a friend's foal killed itself when it caught its headcollar, scratching on something unbreakable in the field.
my farrier shoes for gypsies, he says all theirs are tied up very short and tight (and unbreakably) for trimming from a young age. those that fight break their necks.
i've read this about Western horses too, how they teach them to stop dead the moment their reins touch the floor (huge concrete block sunk in the ground with a metal loop on it, tie reins or rope to loop). one in x horses will fight and break its neck. if you have hundreds of horses maybe 1 or 2 are expendable, but none of mine are.

the thought of tying a foal up makes me go absolutely cold.
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No hose is expendable, certainly none that I have cared for.
can you give me an example of a foal specifically breaking thier neck from being tied? i dont mean from going over backwards, falling down or hitting thier head on something. The trainer that I work closely with has 55 years experience; breeding 20 foals a year and usualy having a heard of 100 or so. none of his foals have ever been hurt from tying.
I have seen horses flip over when the string holding them breaks when theyre at the point of no return in a rear. That will cause a horse damage irrespective of age. Trying to something solid as a foal helps to ensure this dosent happen as a 16hh tank.
everyone has thier view, I just havent seen any evidence of injury when correct equipment is used and the foal in a safe environment and supervised.
 
When I worked in Oz, they tied up the TB foals at weaning, it was one of the most horrific practices I have ever seen. I didn't agree with weaning in the box anyway but nevertheless it was the tying up that really got me and this is big professional multinational operation. Foals there had broken their necks panicking so yes it does happen. I don't really see why a foal would need to be tied up, they don't stray far from mum until quite old and ours are either in the box or in the field.
 
Laafet said:
When I worked in Oz, they tied up the TB foals at weaning, it was one of the most horrific practices I have ever seen. I didn't agree with weaning in the box anyway but nevertheless it was the tying up that really got me and this is big professional multinational operation. Foals there had broken their necks panicking so yes it does happen. I don't really see why a foal would need to be tied up, they don't stray far from mum until quite old and ours are either in the box or in the field.
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Thankou having actual evidence; I can see that tying up a foal to wean it is a situation for disaster. But when the foal is tied quietly next to its mother and theyre both eating hay i really cant see the problem.
If i had seen some of the horrific things people have described i may feel the same way; but i still hink that done responsibly and carefully there is no harm.
 
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