Need help :( struggling with foal-proud mare...

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kirstinw55

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Hi all- if any of you read my last few posts you'll know i recently bought a lovely maiden mare who we were told would foal in may and foaled nearly 2 weeks ago with a lovely colt giving us barely any time to get to know her and establish trust- In these couple of weeks since having the foal shes gone from being lovely and gentle to plain vicious when trying to handle her- not bothered you touching foal- just extremely agressive if you so much as try to lead her. As shes lived out all her life vet suggested to just put them out in a sectioned off field and leave her to do what nature intended- She's certainly more settled out and the only time i handle her is to feed her and handle foaly-(She bites me if i touch her) The last few days the foal(casper) has been behaving oddly and what i once thought was playing seems to also be nasty as hes rearing at us and trying to nip and if you push him away he spins his bum on you and hes gone from being really really friendly to refusing point blank to let me put his foal-slip on. Dont know what to do as have become nervous of the mare and think she knows it and struggling with him as without a headcollar on i have no control of him- what should i do? Shall i leave them both to it or continue trying to handle both? Do you think putting them in with the herd will over time relax the mare if she knows no one is going to hurt her baby? and should i just leave casper? thanks for reading-just feeling a bit low and need some advice x
 
Normal behaviour for relatively unhandled foals who are used to people, they are playing/establishing whereabouts their role is in life. Yes, you could do with getting a headcolalr on.
From your post you sound a bit overhorsed with a foal (have you had one before?) and should get some experienced help in to sort everything out before foaly gets big and kicks harder!
 
yes have had a couple of foals before who have been off experienced relaxed mares- have always left them in the herd aswell as knew the mares wouldnt be too agressive towards the others- Im starting to wonder if putting them in with the herd is the best thing to do as it will socialise him more and theyres a couple of playful four year olds for him x
 
Playful four year olds to 'play' with a foal?! Has mare ever met the herd? I'm guessing not?
 
thankyou! yes mare has met herd and was in with them for a week before we took her out to foal- they are currently in the main field just fenced off in a seperate paddock so shes grazed happily alongisde them for a while now x
 
I'd never put her in with the herd - if she is already a nervous mum and the older ones could actually kill your foal. A week is not long enough to be established in a herd and her whole life has changed since she was last in with them. So if it was my mare and foal and this situation was going on I would keep them separate, or send her off to stud where the foal will have other babies to play with.
 
i'd get a foal slip (good quality one with break points) and get it on him with help, and then leave it on him (altering fit v regularly, they grow in amazing spurts), mine always have a foal slip on from birth.
he might be watching his mum's interaction with you and going on that, so i'd get some genuinely experienced help now before he's too big and strong. i'd restrict their grazing so you take them feed/hay so the mare associates you with something good a few times a day, and spend as long as it takes to get her trust and acceptance.
i wouldn't put them in with others.
good luck!
 
We had this situation last year with a new mare that produced an unexpected foal. She was great before the birth, in every night and very easy to do. The foal was born in the paddock in the daytime and I was able to handle it, spray navel etc no probs. Next day the mare flew at me when I was feeding them and gave me a nasty bite.

She was a madam for around the first four weeks then seemed to calm down and be normal again. I would be inclined to leave them alone apart from the basics as the foal will no doubt be learning from Mum. Our foal didn't have a headcollar on until she was two months old, it hasn't caused any problems, she is very friendly and well adjusted.


Our mare is not out with the other horses but we do have a small old pony turned out with them, he loves playing with the foal and is very gentle.

Good luck with them
 
Nettle123 said:
We had this situation last year with a new mare that produced an unexpected foal. She was great before the birth, in every night and very easy to do. The foal was born in the paddock in the daytime and I was able to handle it, spray navel etc no probs. Next day the mare flew at me when I was feeding them and gave me a nasty bite.

She was a madam for around the first four weeks then seemed to calm down and be normal again. I would be inclined to leave them alone apart from the basics as the foal will no doubt be learning from Mum. Our foal didn't have a headcollar on until she was two months old, it hasn't caused any problems, she is very friendly and well adjusted.


Our mare is not out with the other horses but we do have a small old pony turned out with them, he loves playing with the foal and is very gentle.

Good luck with them
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I'd agree with that. Don't push the issue, take a step back and make sure every interraction you have with the mare is a good one. Bring her a carrot - in a bucket, don't feed her by hand if she is a biter - a couple of times a day, but stay away from both her and the foal if you don't have to.

The mare will naturally become less foal proud IF you don't exacerbate the issue by being too hands on with her foal at the moment. The foal will become more human-weary, and therefore more respectful and less bolshy, if you don't handle him for a while. I wouldn't worry about putting a headcollar on him just now. Plenty don't and turn out fine.

I know how you feel. I like to handle my foals a lot from day dot, but in this case, I think the situation dictates that you don't.

Good luck x
 
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I would do as others have said - go in and feed the mare but stay away from the foal.

I also wouldn't be overly worried about getting a headcollar on him, some of the foals at the stud aren't handled or have a headcollar on until they are weaned and it's never caused an issue.

Let the mare get used to her baby and then take it slowly.
 
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