First Foal - some advice please?

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theirishearl

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Sorry much of these questions probably have been done to death but i'd just like some clarification on some points.

I've got my eye on a 5 month old welsh weaned foal which i'd like to buy, however he's 4 hours away transport wise so i'm wondering if i'd be best to take all the partitions out of the trailer (its on of the smaller type ifor williams) and just bed it up and leave him loose without a headcollar/hay on floor and all the doors shut up and just keep doing regular pit stops to check him?

Secondly this would be my first foal, i've bought a 12 month old colt in the past whose a happy boy at 5 still with me now he came over from ireland. When i got him he went straight into the same routine as my others (in at night out in the day) even though he'd just lived out in the field with his family until then with other things like rugs etc introduced as appropriate - but basically he got into the swing of things pretty quickly.

I'm wondering though if its ok to turn a 5 month out with an adult gelding tho? One is 14.2 teh other 16hh there a pretty quiet pair. Initally it would be in the 3 acres behind the house and then the bigger field behind that.
Is he ok to go in with the adults? I'd maybe start him out with one of them then the other when settled to avoid arguments, but i'm concerned about him being beaten up but equally concerned that he shouldn't be on his own.

Other than introducing everything nice and slowly like a did with the yearling what other glaringly obvious things do i need to take into consideration?

Sorry if these questions seem a little niave but i'd rather ask for a little advice before going ahead.
 
Travelling foals will always divide opinion.Our longest trip for a foal when we sold him was about 7 hours.He got a very small click of sedalin,put on an Ifor williams with all the doors closed(partitions removed as I think that is just asking for trouble by leaving them in) and hay on the ground also and plenty of straw.The new owner made regular pit stops to check him and offer water.
We usually have a small shetland here for anything we travel ourselves that is good with weanlings which may also work if you could arrange it from the other side and drop back the pony when it suits.

As regards company I would put him out with one of the quieter geldings for a week or so and see how they go.You can then introduce the other at some point.Depending on their herd environment before weaning he may not be socially aware to stay out of the way of flying feet but he will soon learn not to get in other horses spaces it they are good at warning him they are not happy.Best of luck.
 
Longest journey we had to do with a foal was when we transported Vino who was then 6 months old from Passau (south-east Germany) to here (north-west!) It was a 10-hour journey, he was free in the horsebox (small 2 horse box, so probably not much bigger than a trailer) with a thick bed of straw and hay. We did give him some calming paste before leaving, vet said we could give him more when we stopped for lunch but he looked so happy and relaxed that we did not.
I wouldn't stop too frequently, you just make the journey longer and longer - for a 4 hour drive I would only stop once, if everything looks ok.
 
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