Naughty foal - advice needed.

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I have a new 4mth filly foal who is an absolute sweetheart but I need some advice on how to approach this issue.

She has been with me since saturday and has had the week from hell ie. been weaned, put in a stable and then trailered to my yard.

She was a little hesitant to eat her hard feed until mon when she started to realise what it was and then when my friend came on Tues she started pulling faces ( foal not friend ) when around her food.

Last night she called out when she saw I was getting her tea ready and all was fine until this morning when breakfast arrived. I stooped down to try and hand feed her a bit ( she is straight off the forest and unhandled ) when she turned her back and kicked out with her hind leg.

Now obviously I need to nip this in the bud so how is the best way to get her over this. I can see she is gonna be a big bruiser of a girl and I don't want her to be so food possessive. I don't have any expectations of her and I know she has had a traumatic time and needs time to gain her confidence and settle etc

Any advice please
 
Hand feed her by holding the bucket (wear a hat if you plan to be headbutting her feet), and the minute she misbehaves, withdraw the feed.
You could also nip at her with your hand (try to mimic a horse nipping) when she is rude, coupled with a verbal 'No'.
If she does kick out, smack her bum with the flat of your hand.
Do remember to praise her when she is being nice though - and mutually groom her if you can.
You don't mention what company she has - but if possible put her out with an older mare, or a quiet stable group, so they teach her some manners too.
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Pop this in breeding - because you'll get a better response.

But don't hand feed her. And do hang the bucket on the door and leave her get on with it.

It's more likely to be the lack of socialisation (person) that is making her react like this, rather than a naughty person.
 
Thankyou, thats the problem at the moment she's not halter broken so if she went out I might never get her back.

I did exactly what you said re the praise when she let me stroke her shoulders but I ignored the kick and just said no. I will try the hand feeding tonight and see what happens.
 
I have to disagree with Amymay - don't hang buckets on doors, it isn't a natural feeding position for any horse, and foals do tend to get caught up in things, so it isn't safe.
If you intend never to go near her when she's eating, then by all means throw the bucket in and leave her. My friend did this and ended up with a gelding (17hh at that) she couldn't do anything with at feedtimes or just before, as he kicked/bit/struck.
If she is a little afraid of people, then hand feeding, or at least staying with her while she eats, gradually grooming her, can teach her to associate people with positive things, so she will be easier to catch.
If she's not halter broken, start by rubbing her head as she eats, then try laying the headstrap of the headcollar/slip over her neck, then pop the noseband in the bucket so she eats through it, then practise gradually fitting it, all whilst praising her and feeding her. Obviously, just do one step at a time, until she is confident and happy. Eventually you want to get to the point where she is keen to have her headcollar/slip on, because she will get her food straight after.
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feed her from the ground in a large kangaroo rubber tub...or from a fixed manger in the corner..

get your self a hand on a stick...and touch her with that at a safe distance..
keep the "hand" on her at all times when she's moving about..as soon as she stops fussing, remove it.
i'm assuming she has a halter on?...

if not, you need to get one on asap, or a "long-rope"..so you can handle her..

if she continues to be arsey about food, deprive her of it...just feed ad-lib hay until she is more hadleable..

do not, under any circumstances, let her out of her stable until you can lead her round it...this may and has done at home, take up to 3-4 weeks!!

pm me if you want ...i'll help if i can!
 
Look at this from the horses point of view......she wants the food, you then stick your hands in it and try and mess with her.....that is threatening, she kicks you.

Leave her quite and without interference to eat and you will have far less nipping and kicking in the future. What you do now is important (as you know) so theless stress involved at mealtimes the better.

Withdrawing food because you think the behaviour is unacceptable (albeit totally natural and normal given the circumstances) is a complete waste of time and counterproductive.
 
She has had a traumatic week, and is unhandled. She is also a baby, and everything you do is foreign to her. She needs to trust and accept you before you even think about teaching her manners, anything else will result in a fight/battle of wills. In simple terms, you are far more likely to listen to someone you trust and respect when they tell you are wrong, than to someone you dont. Same goes for young horses.

Put her in a stable, hang feed on door, and leave straight away, just let her calm down and get on with things for the next couple of days. If stable big enough I would not even worry that much about mucking out, rather just put clean bedding on top so its dry. The less fuss the better, just let her accommodate. Spend time with her and get her used to you, your smell etc - at the moment she associates humans with horrific weaning/hounded onto lorry etc and not with nice things like being fed and grooming. You cant expect her over night to accept the changes, so you will have to put up with it for now.

I don't agree at all with hand feeding/withdrawal of feed, smacking etc as it could have the opposite effect and she will become feed possessive, aggressive, etc. Foals are babies! They need to be taught "the right way!", not that they get punished from a young age if they do what is natural to them and they don't know any better, and how is a horse supposed to trust you if all they think you are doing is robbing his feed?

Foals are naturally inquisitive and you will find she comes out of her shell eventually. Make friends with her - sometimes just sitting in a stable, quietly, they will come and have a stiff, if she approaches you, have something nice ready like feed etc to reward her and give her confidence. When she is calmer feed her, and stand next to her. Gradually stroke her neck, ears, etc and then, as you would when you start Pony club grooming lessons, work your way down her legs, over her back/belly, down her hind legs etc. It takes time and commitment but gradually work your way over her body. It might take a few days or a few weeks for her to feel absolutely confident with you moving around her, but it is important you are firm, calm and gentle. She will then associate food with pleasant things - not only eating (yummy) but contact with you in a safe and secure environment.

When she is confident enough, think about a foal slip, and turning her out. I think you both need to gain confidence and trust in each other before this though! !

PM me if you like. I have had a few from Wales that are wild and woolly!
 
i think your filly is just slightly confused and will settle down on her own without over handling.
I would just leave her get on with it and she will gradually realise you are not going to steel her food.

My little filly was over handled due to a dog tearing her back end apart when she was 2 days old. Lots of bathing and anti B's etc... she got fed up with me being there and started to kick but only at fed time. as soon as she was fit i turned her out and the problem went away.

I also had the same though with my colt who never had any tramatic experiences and he would kick as a foal. he also grew out of it. You must handle your foals but i think some ppl tend to over handle them and forget at the end of the day they are still a horse and should be as naural as possible so having ppl staring at her over a door when she has just had her world turned up-side-down is bound to make her unhappy.

just give her time and im sure she will just settle down on her own. good luck
 
My toddler-pony was a nightmare as a baby!! She's now 3 and lunging nicely, I can now go in and skip her out while she eats but tend not to push my luck, she kicked, reared and bit if you went near her even with a haynet. I have given her absolutly NO hand fed anything for 2 years! She started with a bucket on the door that I could hang and run and I got her out to muck out and put her back with all her hay water and bed done. This was a result over overhandling, 24 hr stabling with no company and very strict discipline/abuse at weaning.

I would continue to sort her stable around her but allow her room to move away from you, agree that not fully mucking out, just keeping her dry would do for now, would make as little fuss as possible for a while. Can you bring something calm in while she has to be stabled jsut to keep her company?

I gradually introduced a haynet ring near the door so I could get in and tie a net up with Ice in there without my exit being blocked by her feet and teeth! I still use this ring but only as she's nosey and likes to be able to look over the door and eat!

She started having her feed bucket on the floor and I would put her in with it already in there, then started feding her by putting her bucket just inside the door when she was already in there and leaving her too it, gradually started standing by the door while she ate then leaving door open while I stood at nice distance, can now touch her while she eats, (while she pulls horrid faces) and hav even changed her rug once!

Long slow process but your baby mostly is frightened by fear of the unknown, not by a lengthy re-inforced mistreatment so I'm sure if you take it steady and let her come to you you'll have a lovely little girl in a few months. They do grow out of it!!

Good Luck!!
 
Thankyou all for your help and advice.

I must say that the foalie is not any trouble at all with anything else, she just seems obsessive over her food. I muck out around her and she is very inquisitive and comes over for a sniff when i'm in there. She ' chats' to the other horses on the yard and there is no sign of distress imo.

In terms of handling I have only sat with her for about 20 mins in the am and 30 mins in the evening and have waited for her to come to me which she does. The rest of the time she has her own space.
 
Kerrlie is right just put the food inside the door,dont make a fuss of her just talk to her. Have an over anxious 3 year old who didn't winter well last year before I bought him and food was his main concern,still is,but in less than a month I was able to walk in with his feed ti the back of the stable with out him trying to climb over the stabledoor, rearing at me teeth or turning his backside on me, these got growls at him and praise and a carrot with the good behaviour works wonders. Have a nice pony that I shall break in this winter and turn away. He still loves his food, but now realises he has to wait his turn.
 
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