New colt just arrived - advice needed already please - sorry, long!

Spot_the_Risk

Spot_the_Risk

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I have bought a weanling (five months old) colt, who has been delivered today. Since weaning he's been living in a big barn with about 20 other youngsters, but he's settled warily into our field shelter which is about 20 foot square, and can see my gelding for a bit of company Gelding normally lives out 24/7, so he will be a bit surprised to be in tonight). This youngster is unhandled, and I want to make sure that I make the right decisions re turning him out - I don't want to chuck him out tomorrow and not get near him for the next six months. I can't turn him out in a seperate field to my gelding, as I don't think youngster has seen electric tape before and that's how our fences are segregated, so they would have to go out together and get on with it - my gelding is pretty good, but will no doubt chase him around occasioanlly for a few days. My gut feeling is that the foal should stay in for about a week - he's used to it anyway, and having people coming into his space can only do him good, but my gelding would have to be out by day, and then they couldn't see each other.

So, help please, what do you think?
 
I agree with you, but you must get them use to each other also walk the little one round the boundry of fencing that way he should get to know. Also does he know what electric fencing looks like some use brown tape, some green and others like me use white.
 
Hi, I agree with you.

The shed he is in is plenty big enough for him to move around happily, so I'd leave him in and get handling him. I certainly wouldn't turn out a possibly uncatchable colt until he was coming to me, wearing a halter and leading.

Once he is used to you blah, blah, blah then you could introduce him to the concept of electric fencing (actually, get someone else to do it, he'll hate them for it then, not you) Once he has that sussed then I'd turn him out.

Have fun
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GRRR! I know this isnt what you asked but it makes me so cross that people breed, wean young and then shove them in a box and sell unhandled! It is so wrong and can affect them for life! Disgraceful!

Anyway sorry, rant over, not having a go at you!

I have had unhandled ponies and just turned them out. Regular daily exposure to me toodling about and they soon get inquisitive. i have never had to 'force' them to accept me. You have a big shelter though, which is much better than a stable, so you could leave him in there for a bit to get used to you. Lot of regular, short visits are best. Company of another horse asap is very important though.

Also- please dont consider gelding for a while. Weaning, moving home and being handled is alot for a foal to cope with without being gelded too!
 
We are in a similar situation tomorrow, we are picking up 2 6 months colts that have been unhandled. They will be living in a big bedded down field shelter until im confident i can get near them, they are wearing headcollars and leading
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When i got my two colts, I kept them in for a week and a half in a stable together. Took a couple of days for them to let me touch them. I sat knelt in the corner of the stable with no eye contact and they came to investigate me. Introduced them to hard feed (youngstock/foal mix of course) - they never ate this for a few days but eventually dared to. Got leather foal slips on them and started to get them used to leading. I turned mine out with electric tape, luckily they never ran thru it when I first let them out but soon after got a bolt from it by being inquisitive :-) Good luck
 
When I bought Howie he was unhandled (9month old NF) and he arrived Mon night- we spent two hours that night just sat with him in the stable- not trying to touch him just hanging out. The next day I spent about 5 hours with him but eventually he allowed me to headcollar him and touch him. By wednesday evening he was fine and by thursday eve we could turn him out in a headcollar. Youngsters come round very quickly if you di it right.
 
Hiya Spot the Risk. You remember when I bought my 6 month old unhandled Exmoor colt? I had him in a big stable for 3 weeks, luckily it was right by the house, so I was visiting him in there at least 6 times a day plus he could see the house, the yard, people, dogs, other horses etc.

I would go with the suggestion of spending time just sitting in the stable with him and let him come to you. He's not going to be like my Exmoor, who was very roughly handled before I got him, so I reckon it wouldn't take long for him to come round. You've got your gelding to help you....my old arab was a complete godsend, teaching my youngster that buckets meant nice things, headcollars wouldn't kill him and nobody was going to eat him. There was a little bit of chasing around at first but it only took a few days for them to settle.

best of luck...I do love those babies, so rewarding when they come round!!
 
I would keep him in the shelter for as long as it takes for him to get used to you and be handleable, preferably having a headcollar taken on and off. it shouldn't take too long but it is vital that you do it otherise you'll never catch him and he'll be trouble to handle..
 
I turned my newfies out after 3 weeks. The coloured was a raving loon, kicked, bit, couldnt touch him (getting the headcollar on was a challenge!).
Routine helped. He knew he would be seeing me at breakfast and dinner. Likewise he soon learnt that before he got his bucket, he had to take some from the hand, and this progressed to being touched.
Lovely boy now.
 
I have a weanling colt in a stable in the garden at the moment. He had been handled a wee bit when I got him, but I kept him in for the first week.

Our other four horses are in the fields round about, and once he knew they were there he settled very quickly. I feed the others where he can see them, and they pass by several times daily on their normal routine. When they are out of sight he seems not to mind at all.

I started letting him out into a small (20ft sq) area just outside his stable, for a bite of grass, in the late afternoons, about a week after he arrived. When he'd been out for about an hour, I put his feed in the stable and let him in.

I then started haltering him to put him out into this small area, and haltering him to come back in.

After three weeks, I haltered him and led him to the paddock beside the house, mid afternoon, where he could graze on his own and see the others. I left the halter on him after hooking it up to keep him safe.

He was keen to be caught and brought in after a couple of hours, as he knew his feed was waiting for him.

When he's in, my eldest son (6) speaks to him before and after school, and the foal now 'speaks' to us all as we go about.
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Thank you everyone very much, you've reinforced what I already was thinking was the best thing to do. I had my gelding in within sight of him last night, but the youngster isn't overly interested in him, so gelding has gone back to the other until Friday, and the baby will just have us, the dogs and the sheep running around. He wasn't at all fussed when I took Harley away, keep your fingers crossed for me, I'm going to spend all afternoon in the stable reading a book and talking to him!
 
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