My foal likes to jump out of the field...

[luckilotti]

Hi,
i have a bit of a situation, and am hoping some HHO's can offer some advice.
My 4 week old welsh foal has always been a brave little thing, doesnt bother if mum wonders off etc, in fact, its foal that wonders off! anyway, they are in a smaller field next to our outdoor and another field which has the mares old herd in. A few weeks ago, a livery called to say foal had jumped over, i rushed back but the foal jumped back as they went to catch her! it didnt seem to happen again, but to be on the safe side i moved 2 of the horses out of the field which has her old pals in, mainly as one of the geldings loves the mare, so wasnt sure how he would be th her foal plus another broodmare who i only got in feb hence i dont know how she is with other mares with foals at foot.
Well, she has done it again! i went down to bring them in on monday, and i noticed foal had a few new scrapes on her legs but she was where she should be so i just cleaned her up and that was that. At the moment they are in at night as i dont trust her not to jump out! It was later monday night i heard from the gardner to say that the foal had jumped over, was running around with her mums old herd so he went and caught her and lifted her back over the fence!
I bought the mare at 11months old, and she had been kept in a barn all summer as she used to jump out of her field, she still has a tiny scar from before i bought her from it. so, i guess as the mare did it herself as a baby, she thinks nothing of it. she is a fab mum but doesnt worry too much if baby wonders off (as long as she is in sight), she can come out of the stable etc to have her hooves trimmed and neither bother.
my dilemma though, is where do i put her?? i am lucky as its my own place, but if she keeps jumping out, i need her to be in a bit that is also enclosed. i would love to be able to have them out 24/7 weather permitting etc and i think my mare would appreciate some adult company. i am thinking of putting them with the mares old herd, but at 4 weeks is this too soon??? the 'old herd' consist of: a 16.2 retired gelding, loves foals, a 14.2 welsh mare who used to be a broodmare, now semi retired, and an aged 18hh shire mare, who i have seen with foals before and shes fab with them.
in the indoor i have had mare and foal turned out with my shetland gelding, and all has gone well with that, but i am not sure about her being out with more? it may be hard to seperate them though.
any suggestions????

sorry for the long post!

 

[Maesfen]

Can they already talk over the fence because that is a good start? You won't know until you try and the mare should protect her baby from the others for a few days anyway then all will get back to normal and foal will appreciate extra company too. Just when you do it for the first time, have someone else there to help if you think you really do need to fetch someone out. You'll always have a pecking order, foal just has to learn the boundaries too and if it's in with them, hopefully, the jumping out will stop!

 

[luckilotti]

yes, they can already talk over the fence. When my mare was with them before she foaled she was incharge! but... the foal i would say 'bullies' her mum!
with them all being older i hope they will all be ok, i would have the option of putting her with a yearling filly but she has just got settled with another herd so wouldnt really be fair on her.

 

[juliehannah58]

My foal was the same but started even younger! First 3 days in the field she jumped her fence 3 times! We ended up putting a very powerful electric fencing in front of the fence and after a few good pokes she soon left it alone. We have to watch her though, she listens for the clicking noise and if she doesn't hear it she is straight over it again!

It's a pain but we found the electric fencing did the trick, she is 6 weeks old now and hasn't jumped it for over a month.

 

[zipzap]

My friends filly started jumping out the field from 9 days old and has never stopped. Despite living at several different yards she's always been a bit of a nuisance not to mention high risk in terms of management! I agree with JH58 for a poss. solution with the elec. fence. If you can, it would be better to convince her now that it's a bad idea before it gets to be an established habit.

You have a major advantage though in owning the land so you can trial different strategies without having to seek permission etc.

If all else fails then it sounds like your 'old herd' aren't too evil. Particularly with your mare being the old boss, they may be inclined to show a healthy respect and assuming they all had plenty of space out there would most likely settle. Put it another way, if she's already been in with them after jumping over the fence before (on more than one occasion?) then they've already had the chance to attack her and if she's still alive now, that can only be a good sign! Ponies in particular are by nature, intelligent and bold - if she's smart enough to work out how to 'visit' the next door field and get back again safely, she sounds like she has a good brain to me!!!

All the best, try not to worry & I hope it settles down for you.