Tia
Well-Known Member
....and finding myself actually agreeing with FeuFolet on one of her annoyances.
A lady bought a horse from me a year or so ago in the knowledge that the mare had run with my stallion for 3 days. Nice horse, well mannered, easy to ride and calm. For those of you who are familiar with the horses I have had, she was the lovely chunky chestnut mare with the big white blaze, stockings and the white splash down one side of her quarters and she had the beautiful long blonde mane and tail; the one who had the little foal at foot when I bought her.
Anyway, this lady (nice but none too sharp I fear) came to ride her a number of times and each time she adored her. The mare was well behaved on all days except one; this was the day that Summer (the seriously neglected mare) was dying and so this mare was obviously upset about this; however she didn't do anything bad, just didn't really want to go out for a ride. The time after, she was perfect again.
So the lady buys her and I have been down many times to show her this and that and the mare always behaves impeccably when I am there. I ride her if she tells me she is having problems and once again the mare is always wonderful and polite to ride.
Well the mare was pregnant and I told her I would be happy to take the mare back to my farm to foal her down free of charge and if she didn't want the foal I would have it. She decided to keep the mare at home so when she had her foal earlier in the year, I talked her through the pregnancy and the foaling procedures and made her aware that I and her vet were only a phone call away if she needed anything, regardless of what time of day it might be. Anyway, the mare foaled perfectly with no problems.
One of our own foals was born a couple of weeks afterwards and she came up to see her. She's been up a few times and watched us handling Legacy and taking both her and her mother out separately from the field and she knows that Legacy is a star. However I did say that this comes from doing 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there with them and that it would be advisable for her to do this with her foal so that she isn't fighting with a great lump suddenly at 6 months old.
Anyway I saw her not so long ago and she was saying that the foal was coming along well but the mare was not being good to ride. I went down again and rode the mare - she was perfect as always.
2 nights ago I received a phone call from her at 10.30pm asking my advice - I was in bed ill so had the message relayed second-hand. She had decided, after reading it in a book, that she would wean them....so off she went and locked the foal in a stable (with both doors closed) which is within the field that the mother and her companion live in. The foal smashed around, the mare became all upset and the companion was hairing around apparently; so much so that she decided to let the foal back out again.
She called me again yesterday to say that now she can't get the mare or the foal back in the stable. I told her I wasn't surprised. I asked how the mare was when she went out for rides and how the foal reacted when she went out of the field - oh we don't take her out of the field she says. Okay so I then say how are they when you take the foal out for walks - "the foal doesn't go out for walks." Okay, so how is the foal being handled? "Oh he's halter broken and leads well with the leadrope around his bottom ....." this foal is 5 months old, build like a brick p**phouse and isn't even halterbroken. He's never had his feet done, even though she knows that my one of the same age has had her feet done by the farrier tonnes of times now and is an absolute pro at it. So she asks me what should she do - and can I come down for an hour to wean him.....
Obviously I said that wasn't going to happen; however I offered to take one of them for weaning, but apparently her fencing is not good and the horses can all escape so not sure how we would even get one up here
. I suggested bringing them both up here and then I'd bring one back after a week. "Nope other horse can't be left alone". Good god!!
I did ask her why she hasn't taken any of my advice - she replied "I've never had a foal before and I didn't know what to do". HELLO!! I've spent countless hours of my time, given FREE, to get you back on the straight and narrow again.....and the blooming horse was only a two and a half grand horse.....not exactly major profit in it for me!
I am very tempted to say just hand the blooming foal over to me - this is exactly the sort of situation I am very unhappy with. All of my boarders who are doing this all for the first time here on my farm are doing fantastically well and I likely have had not a whole lot more input than I have given to this lady.
What to do eh?
A lady bought a horse from me a year or so ago in the knowledge that the mare had run with my stallion for 3 days. Nice horse, well mannered, easy to ride and calm. For those of you who are familiar with the horses I have had, she was the lovely chunky chestnut mare with the big white blaze, stockings and the white splash down one side of her quarters and she had the beautiful long blonde mane and tail; the one who had the little foal at foot when I bought her.
Anyway, this lady (nice but none too sharp I fear) came to ride her a number of times and each time she adored her. The mare was well behaved on all days except one; this was the day that Summer (the seriously neglected mare) was dying and so this mare was obviously upset about this; however she didn't do anything bad, just didn't really want to go out for a ride. The time after, she was perfect again.
So the lady buys her and I have been down many times to show her this and that and the mare always behaves impeccably when I am there. I ride her if she tells me she is having problems and once again the mare is always wonderful and polite to ride.
Well the mare was pregnant and I told her I would be happy to take the mare back to my farm to foal her down free of charge and if she didn't want the foal I would have it. She decided to keep the mare at home so when she had her foal earlier in the year, I talked her through the pregnancy and the foaling procedures and made her aware that I and her vet were only a phone call away if she needed anything, regardless of what time of day it might be. Anyway, the mare foaled perfectly with no problems.
One of our own foals was born a couple of weeks afterwards and she came up to see her. She's been up a few times and watched us handling Legacy and taking both her and her mother out separately from the field and she knows that Legacy is a star. However I did say that this comes from doing 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there with them and that it would be advisable for her to do this with her foal so that she isn't fighting with a great lump suddenly at 6 months old.
Anyway I saw her not so long ago and she was saying that the foal was coming along well but the mare was not being good to ride. I went down again and rode the mare - she was perfect as always.
2 nights ago I received a phone call from her at 10.30pm asking my advice - I was in bed ill so had the message relayed second-hand. She had decided, after reading it in a book, that she would wean them....so off she went and locked the foal in a stable (with both doors closed) which is within the field that the mother and her companion live in. The foal smashed around, the mare became all upset and the companion was hairing around apparently; so much so that she decided to let the foal back out again.
She called me again yesterday to say that now she can't get the mare or the foal back in the stable. I told her I wasn't surprised. I asked how the mare was when she went out for rides and how the foal reacted when she went out of the field - oh we don't take her out of the field she says. Okay so I then say how are they when you take the foal out for walks - "the foal doesn't go out for walks." Okay, so how is the foal being handled? "Oh he's halter broken and leads well with the leadrope around his bottom ....." this foal is 5 months old, build like a brick p**phouse and isn't even halterbroken. He's never had his feet done, even though she knows that my one of the same age has had her feet done by the farrier tonnes of times now and is an absolute pro at it. So she asks me what should she do - and can I come down for an hour to wean him.....
Obviously I said that wasn't going to happen; however I offered to take one of them for weaning, but apparently her fencing is not good and the horses can all escape so not sure how we would even get one up here
I did ask her why she hasn't taken any of my advice - she replied "I've never had a foal before and I didn't know what to do". HELLO!! I've spent countless hours of my time, given FREE, to get you back on the straight and narrow again.....and the blooming horse was only a two and a half grand horse.....not exactly major profit in it for me!
I am very tempted to say just hand the blooming foal over to me - this is exactly the sort of situation I am very unhappy with. All of my boarders who are doing this all for the first time here on my farm are doing fantastically well and I likely have had not a whole lot more input than I have given to this lady.
What to do eh?
