Foal doesn't know how to roll? - daft question alert

Lammy

Lammy

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As the title really - my 10 month old just seems completely at a loss when it comes to rolling! He just doesn't get the concept at all.

I thought he might start to get it being in with Harry who rolls more than any other horse I'm sure (though he is grey, of course he loves to roll). But even though the little one watches him, he still doesn't get it. 9/10 times in the morning when I arrive he's flat out laying down but no evidence that he's had a good rub.

And after a bath, instead of rolling, he likes to back himself up and (albeit hilariously) rub himself all over poor Harry who eventually tells him to bog off. I tried to push him over while he was laying down to try and demonstrate but he didn't appreciate the lesson, he's not a very good student.
I'm just curious if anybody else has experienced this?
 
Lammy I can imagine you posting again in a few months 'Help my horse wont stop rolling!!!' ;)
Dont panic - we had a youngster once who simply didnt seem to enjoy rolling - Just laid down and rubbed her head about a bit.
Unless you are worried about them being uncomfortable in the back etc. I would be jolly pleased!
 
I have a seven year old that doesn't apper to understand the concept of rolling either! In the year I've had him no one has seen him roll. He does lie down in the field as will come in a bit dusty on one side, but the other side is always perfectly clean. Strange horse. Never really occurred to me to worry about it though as he seems fine in himself :)
 
I think we'd be much more helpful if you posted some foal photos or videos...

Specifically of the hilarious-backing-up-rubbing-all-over-Harry bit :-)
 
my homebred 5yo still doesn't roll - he'd much rather stand there and have humans scratch his itchy bits :)

He's never rolled from being a foal.
 
I have a video! I'll put it up tonight.

It's true, he may never roll in the field which means clean pony which I am definitely pleased about!
I've had one who didn't seem too keen on the idea of rolling either but even after a bath she would make herself all nice and dirty again.
He'll simply always have to be turned out with a horse who is happy to be his towel/scratching post!
 
Some horses dont enjoy rolling.

My friend when we were younger had an Arab who never rolled the whole time she has him. He'd lie down in his stable but he came in spotless everytime from the field.
 
I thought I would update this just to say - he still doesn't roll! He'll stand and watch everybody else do it (horses I mean, not people) but then that's it. He paws at the mud but then just walks off. I hope he's not going to be doing the whole "drying off on other people's horses" thing this summer as instead of being around 13hh he'll be around 15hh at the rate he's growing!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=796562647035758&set=vb.100000460908406&type=3

Also realised I forgot to post the video so here it is if you can see it, if not I'll find another way of making it viewable. :D
 
My friend's had her horse 10 years. He's never even lain down outside his stable, let alone rolled. He lies down in his stable and gets plastered in poo stains, but has never rolled and dislikes getting muddy legs!
 
The mare I got as a 2 year old didn't seem to understand the concept either. Until I moved her somewhere where the mud is really sticky (like clay) and a pain to get off. She was 5 by then.

Now she gets it. Plenty. *sigh*
 
Often it's a confidence thing with foals. A horse is vulnerable when it rolls and quite often a horse will roll to show how confident it feels with the other horses around it. The mare in the field next to mine would roll every morning when I put my horse out, as though she was claiming her territory.

My foal didn't roll much at all, he'd just stand and watch the others doing it. As he grew up he rolled occasionally, but was never a mud monster.
 
It's just odd in the way that he rubs up against his field mate in place of rolling, and I mean he really goes for it as if the other horse is his living scratching post! Has anybody else's non-rolling youngsters/horses shown this type of behavior? Though he is in with my grumpy mare at the moment to teach him some manners so I'd like to see him try it on her!
 
Cobbytype said:
Often it's a confidence thing with foals. A horse is vulnerable when it rolls and quite often a horse will roll to show how confident it feels with the other horses around it. The mare in the field next to mine would roll every morning when I put my horse out, as though she was claiming her territory.

My foal didn't roll much at all, he'd just stand and watch the others doing it. As he grew up he rolled occasionally, but was never a mud monster.
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I've never really thought about it this way. We had one at our yard and he was trouble from the word go always attempting to take top dog status from the incumbent so fighting with him and bullying all the others. The first time he was turned out with them he spent the first 5 minutes rolling all over the field. We thought it was odd, but never really considered why.

Mine - bottom of the pecking order but everybody's friend -has to roll in the same spot if he sees one of his fieldmates rolling. Not sure if that's subservient or an attempt ot make that patch his after they've claimed it?
 
Cobbytype said:
Often it's a confidence thing with foals. A horse is vulnerable when it rolls and quite often a horse will roll to show how confident it feels with the other horses around it. The mare in the field next to mine would roll every morning when I put my horse out, as though she was claiming her territory.

My foal didn't roll much at all, he'd just stand and watch the others doing it. As he grew up he rolled occasionally, but was never a mud monster.
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Never thought of this either, he's definitely the lowest down and he still does the baby mouth-chewing thing when he gets face to face with another horse. I also learnt at college that it was also to do with the "herd smell" and that there was generally a patch that all horses in the field would roll in and that's why they roll after a bath because they want to get that scent back on them?? Which might explain why he rubs up against his unfortunate field mate instead.

As for the video a friend uploaded it on facebook but I've just found an app I can download it with. Will then upload it to youtube when I get home, it is hilarious to see!
 
My mare loved to roll, and preferably in mud or water or even better, really wet mud! But she didn't have a clue how to roll over. I only saw her go over once, and that was simply because she was on a slope and just went over under her own weight, momentum and gravity. She looked so perplexed when she looked around and the scenery had changed :) Her method of changing sides was to plaster one side, then sit up on her bum like a dog and push herself around in a half circle with her front legs crossing them as she went, before going down on her clean side. Occasionally she sat on her tail which made things a bit tricky. It never failed to make me laugh but caused anxiety to people who didn't know her because they thought she was struggling to get up. Sometimes she would just do both sides and stand up, but as she got older and her arthritis set in, it was obviously easier to use particular legs to get up with, so she would rotate back again and then get up. It was obviously not a very efficient method and the look of concentration on her face was a picture, but hey, it worked for her. :)
 
I have a 21 year old that I have owned since birth, he mother was my first pony, she was useless at rolling and I always thought she would get it as she got older but no she still can't do it very well so she just lays on the floor and rubs her head into the mud! Don't think she will improve now at her age.
 
Lammy said:
It's just odd in the way that he rubs up against his field mate in place of rolling, and I mean he really goes for it as if the other horse is his living scratching post! Has anybody else's non-rolling youngsters/horses shown this type of behavior?
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My foals all rub on their mothers all the time but they never roll until they are much older.
 
Lammy said:
It's just odd in the way that he rubs up against his field mate in place of rolling, and I mean he really goes for it as if the other horse is his living scratching post! Has anybody else's non-rolling youngsters/horses shown this type of behavior? Though he is in with my grumpy mare at the moment to teach him some manners so I'd like to see him try it on her!
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Yes my foal used to rub against his step dad and he'd also climb on top of the big round bale of hay and have a tummy scratch on that. Unfortunately the rubbing all got a bit too amorous with his step-dad and also the bale of hay, which was amusing, but a little dangerous, so he had a visit from the vet to remove a couple of non-matching orbs between his legs.
 
I've got an odd pony that LOVES to roll but has no idea how to roll over. It's quite sweet really. He gets down and thoroughly plasters one side in mud then get back up, turns around and goes down on the other side. Weird little beastie!
 
My now 10yo who I bought as a 4yo hardly ever rolls!

I think some of them just don't enjoy it / get it

I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen him roll!

Just as well for me though as he's a grey!
 
oh love the video! What pretty horses :)

I think the best way to get him to roll is to have an occasion where you absolutely completely and utterly do not want him to roll - e.g. just washed and primped and ready for his first show - then turn him out - almost guaranteed to work.

My youngster has rolled ever since I had him aged 6 months. Loves it!
 
Tobiano said:
oh love the video! What pretty horses :)

I think the best way to get him to roll is to have an occasion where you absolutely completely and utterly do not want him to roll - e.g. just washed and primped and ready for his first show - then turn him out - almost guaranteed to work.

My youngster has rolled ever since I had him aged 6 months. Loves it!
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Thank You! :)

And yeah, I think one day he'll just catch me unaware at the worst possible moment!

I love hearing the stories of ponies quirky rolling techniques, I think they're the cutest!
 
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