how to rug a foal?

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alfiesmum

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as title really, tried the gentle method today of letting him smell and gently putting the rug against him and taking it off and back against etc, freaked out when it went near its bum, problem now is tried to catch him after this and he suddenly realised how he could use his back legs :( only had him a week and only managed to catch him twice, 6 months old and enormous, problem is that he needs a rug on and farrier and vet in the next few weeks and he is in a field with no stable (should be up november). he wont eat hard feed yet either so problems there, hoping he will copy others ,now i need to catch him again without getting a hoof in the face.
any advice? thanks
 
I've got the same problem so will be interested in the replies.

I've been trying to get mine used to having a numnah thrown over his back - just to get him used to the sensation. He is slowly coming round to the idea.

Edit - I got my friend to do join up with him to make mine catchable.
 
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If he is still not confident being handled and caught ,why does he need a rug on it is not cold yet and unless he is poorly he shouldnt need one.
 
he is almost 14hh and only 6 months old, lack of muscle and to be honest needs the tlc of a rug otherwise i wouldnt bother, was very traumatised for the first 5 days and suddenly feeling better today. he now has dirty nose and where we are its a tad on the wet side etc and no shelter till november x
 
I would leave him without to be honest, if he ends up tangled up in the rug it will put him off for life. He will have a buildup of grease in his coat that will keep him dry. Horses are tougher than we think!!
 
The first time I rugged my pony I put it on in the field quickly then let him go! He went mad in the field for a couple of mins then realised it was ok. No idea about catching him though, is there other horses in the field? Perhaps if he sees you feeding them he would become curious? Good luck x
 
he will come right up and nosey at the wheelbarrow when lifting poop, had to change the headcollar today as he had a sore chin :( it was the one he came with last wknd, so his new one is a lot better fitting and doesnt go near the sore bit (felt awful when i saw it). as soon as he thinks your gonna catch him his back end comes into play. was thinking about catching him and chucking rug on and letting him go, decisions decisions :(
 
I think that would be a bad decision, in all likelyhood, that would be the last time you catch him!!! Is the headcollar a fieldsafe one? I would just work on getting him used to you being around him, without actually catching him. He is kicking out at you because he doesn't trust you at the moment.
 
I really think that you need to get him handled first, if it slips and you cannot get near him it could cause a real problem, I know someone whose foals rug slipped round and it got under its front feet, ended up with a broken leg, and that was very well handled.
Would there be another pony that could be fed with him, I had a rescued foal that was poor and did not eat hard food, the other youngster I had encouraged it to eat by nudging it and pushing around until the foal took an interest and joined in, a multi vitamin shot from the vet also helped.
As for rugging I think it has to be done very slowly with youngsters to avoid stressing them unnecessarily, they should be confident being handled all over, I know yours is a recent addition so this stage was not done at the right time, before he got big, strong and independent, so it may take longer than usual.
I would think he will manage fine until November when the real handling can begin in the confines of a stable.
 
@ be positive
we are thinking along the same lines as to leave him till stables are up, however i am concerned with the crappy weather how he will fair. going to have to play it day by day. My mare is settling in with him now which for her is quite quick, she thinks its christmas time as she is getting hard feed so that i can encourage him to eat! my own fault! i went out for a black filly lol x
 
If you can get some food into him and keep his tummy full he should be ok and will soon catch up with his weight, I assume he is well wormed, the one we rescued was riddled and I think this was the only reason she was so poor and had almost given up bothering with life, she took six months to really start thriving, it doesnt sound like your lad is anywhere near as bad as she was.
Keep the mare eating with him ,put a bowl near her and he should start to show interest,just keep away so he feels he can go and have some without you being too close.
Leaving further handling until the stable is up is ideal it will not be long and he may well be taking a lead from the mare by then, they do really learn from an older friend.
 
Get some Winergy feed give them a ring,expensive but well worth it, my little one is just about 6 months old, but I do stable him and he's eating me out of house and home, he wasn't handled at all when I bought him(travellers)But in the past month he walks, stands, backs up and moves over, last time we managed to measure him he was 11.3hh and doesn't mind the headcollar put on or taken off, but it was hard work and lots of time and patience and carrots played a lot to it with the odd slice of apple.
 
thanks, my mare is a sweetie with me but she does love me lol, think i am probably expecting way too much too soon (always my problem lol). she comes running when she sees me so hopefully she will be tellin him that i amnot that bad :)
will update soon x
 
Forgot to say, when I've wanted to rug up a youngster, I've always started with a towel rubbed up and over the neck and back and just left on the back for a couple of minutes to begin with and built up from there and never had a problem.
 
Just to try to put your mind at ease here :) 6 month old foals have a huge accumulation of grease in their coats by this age so no need to worry unnecessarily. I agree with all the comments above about waiting until the foal is well handled and trusts you.

My foals are all born indoors however I like them out in the fields as soon as possible so I do sometimes have to use foal rugs for my newborns on occasion. When they're first born they don't have the grease build up in their coats so they can be very vulnerable to inclement weather. When I rug a newborn for the first time I rub the rug all over them, my foals quickly get accustomed to me rubbing them all over and under their bellies so the rug doesn't normally bother them. After laying the rug on them a number of times, I place the rug on the foal front-heavy. I do up the front clips, pull the rug back a little so it's covering their loins then do up the x-surcingles, then allow the foal to walk off and as it's walking off I give a gentle tug at the back so that the rug flops over it's bum. When the time comes, if it does, then that's how I would also rug a youngster who has never worn a rug before.

Do you have the use of a stable? Putting a barely handled youngster in a stable for a few days is by far the easiest way to get them to come around. Trying to win them over in a field can be a bit hit or miss, some come round quickly, others can take a while to befriend you. The quicker you develop a relationship with the foal the better as you just never know when you may have to catch the little thing in a hurry.
 
CAn you herd him into a yard or a stable. Don't pussyfoot putting on the rug. Have someone hold him.

Fold the rug into four front into middle, back into middle fold over. Place on his back talk and sooth gently unfold, do up back straps first, Let each one drop gently down reach under and twist the two straps and bring both through at the same time, clip on from the same side. Do up front and then do up belly straps.

From working with the TB foals and yearlings the more you pussyfoot about the more they stress. Leave him in the box/yard to move around for a few hours so that he realises the rug comes with him.

To be honest I would keep him in for a week and handle the life out of him. Once he is hungry he will look to you for food and most of the battle has been won. My Clydie came to me at 6months and had not been handle until the week I got her, she had spent all her short life on the hills in the wild. It only took a couple of days to convince her that humans had a very useful purpose in life - the provision of food.
 
You would be far better to handle the poor creature, get his confidence, get him eating way before trying to get a rug on him.

Why people want to rug foals anyway (unless they are sick) is beyond me. Personally I think it is asking for trouble with rubs and the danger of it getting caught up on something.

Why so many are already rugging is another puzzle to me. It has not been cold nor particularly wet. Horses will withstand cold dry weather way down in temperatures but are better rugged if it is wet as the wet gets into the skin and they will shiver off condition.

I have three foals and they are all outside 24/7, perfectly happy and certainly the thought of having a rug on them has not crossed my mind.
 
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