new foal

Sally pirate

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Hello guys
I'm going to be getting a section d or traditional cob foal mabey next spring but most probably the spring after.
It's something I've wanted all my life and now my children have all flown the nest and I have safe reliable job I think it will be perfect time for me. I've owned horse's in the past so experience wise Im fine.
I'm 41 now and will be in my 60s when my foal will be an adult. I don't think I will be to old as bye the time I'm that age my horse will be wanting a slower pace of life anyway. My only concern is the time I have Monday to Friday as I work all day. I ofcorce will go every morning before work and every day after work and will have all the time in the world at weekends.
I was wondering if anyone has a foal there bringing up and work's Monday to Friday?
If so how are you finding it?
If anyone has a diary or blog or page. I'd love to follow x thank you in advance for any comments. :) sally. X
 

Casey76

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Find a place that does youngstock livery so that the foal has plenty of company his/her own age.

Having had horses in the past is nothing like having a foal, and you find yourself second guessing everything you do ;)
 

Exploding Chestnuts

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There are a few flaws to this plan I would point out now.
1] trying to find a farm where he/she can have a good life yet have a good education, AND to find one where you can visit regularly is not always easy.
2] once the horse is broken in, and ready for you to ride it is still at the primary school stage, you have a lot of work to do. At this stage you will have spent a lot more than the purchase of a good one which you can try.
3]the horse may well not be your "horse of a lifetime", such horses are rarely planed as such. It may be too forward going or may be too ploddy for you, it may be a fractious and bad tempered thing, it may not even like you [ or vice versa], unlikely but possible.
4] you may not be around when it is mature, it may not mature "on cue", you may have other plans by then, you may have injury/illhealth, or other life changers.
5] When you are in your 60's your horse will be a teenager, in horsey terms no spring chicken. He/she will be an adult when you are 50.

Buying a foal is difficult, "fools buy foals" is an old saying ........ let the breeder keep one or two for you , paying for the keep of two, and select the one you want in two, three, four or five years time.
Or just wait.
 
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Shay

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I absolutely get that this is your dream and I don't want to say anything to take away the magic of that. If this is your dream go for it - but do the planning too!

If you are getting a foal then it will need 2 - 3 years just running with mates their own age. Learning to be a horse and growing up a bit. Assuming you don't have a spare load of foals / youngsters this period of time is going to be spent on young stock livery somewhere. Basic handling should be practiced more or less every day so you'd need to be somewhere to do that for you.

Once you are ready to back you might want to think about being able to take 2 or 3 months complete holiday if you are going to do that yourself. You'll need to be consistent and regular so Mon - Fri isn't ideal at that point. Whether you can achieve this at the same livery place as the young stock livery or find somewhere experienced which might be closer to you depends on what is happening at the time. We're already talking at least 3 years away!

Once backed most people opt to turn away for a season - usually the winter. So Mon -fri working won't matter then either. You just need to be on part or assisted livery somewhere so the daily checks etc get done.

By the time you are bringing them back in to re-back and start their education you are talking about 4 - 5 years time; possibly 6 as you are looking potentially a slower maturing horse. You can manage youngster education fairly well as long as you can get one additional day midweek. To be honest you probably can do it just at weekends (obviously still on part or assisted livery as no horse can be left alone without care / checks daily) but the youngster will be green for longer as you can't get the breadth and depth of experience.

This is going to cost a lot before you can even get to the point of handling / backing etc yourself. And you are going to spend a long time with other people caring for your baby because you need to work. That might not suit the dreams and only you can decide whether it is still your dream with all those caveats.

How on earth did you get your children to have flown the nest by the time you are as young as you are?!! I'm somewhat older and mine are still firmly with me! (Mind you if she left home who would pay for the horses, muck out etc...?)
 

DuckToller

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Timing sounds ok to me - you will be riding a young cob in your mid 40s, so still a spring chicken, and by the time you want to take it easier by your 60s so will the cob!

A foal will be happiest out with other youngsters, so for the first two years you don't really need to do much - I handle my yearling as little as possible, although a few days before the farrier I will put extra time in to make sure he remembers he can stand on 3 legs and back up when required - he has a short memory apparently!

Just make sure you can be consistent when the horse requires backing etc. So if you plan to back lightly at 3, then do it during the summer long days, and then you can turn away and start again at 4 in the spring, again when you have more time and daylight.

My friend rescued a foal cob with the easiest of temperaments - we did some groundwork when he was 2, but backing him at 3 consisted of me legging her up and then accompanying her on hacks - in two weeks he was hacking out on his own, he was that easy. So go for temperament over everything else :)

The only thing to bear in mind is that the horse doesn't know the plan. I had a homebred that was a tricky chap, but he finally became quite a pleasure to ride and I thought this will be my perfect horse when I hit 60, and he went and died of colic sadly. So have a back up plan as well.
 

GemG

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Of course it is completely doable. Like most things if you want to do it enough, you can and will. You will need buckets of common sense and feel confident in your own abilities in bringing on a youngster.

We have a foal now, well actually a weanling (just) and she is home bred and will replace our ageing stallion as my riding horse. I am extremely busy with 2 young children and soon to go back to work (shifts) and they're on DIY livery. Of course it is far from ideal, but we manage (somehow!). Young weanlings need company of own age ish preferably and above all consistent handling.

Ours is 6 months old and leads, ties and can have feet trimmed and be scratched all over and that's about it. That's all that she will have basically for next couple of years. (Maybe an in hand show if I think she is ready for a little outing). She doesn't need a huge amount of input now, but every handling etc has to be a positive one.

Once she is mature enough to back our children will be at school/nursery so that will help a lot. Again a consistent approach is required! They're all different and as you will know some are very easy, others need a lot more 'work'. If you haven't got kids about I'm sure you will have enough time - you will make time if you need to!

Good luck and at least your planning it now - it's not easy, but I find the youngster thing a very organic process, one thing established leads to the next at a pace that you both feel happy with. Handy if you have enough £ to send away if it comes to it. Don't bring up a brat (foal that gets played with and cuddled whilst cute, if continues can turn into a big dangerous lump that doesn't know the ground rules).

I'm rambling as usual.

Above all - common sense - cannot emphasise that enough!

Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
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Sally pirate

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Thanks all
I would only get a foal that would be kept with other young horse's / foals
I would never keep it on its own.
I don't need advice on how to care for it. Just the Monday to Friday thing. As I said I've had horse's all my life. I'm not bothered about the not being able to ride for the first 3 years or the money.
To me it's more than riding it's the bond we will get.
N I no manners above all.
My children "all boys " live with there partners and are in there 20s
All work and are happy. BTW not sure this has anything to do with my foal tho. Thanks.
 

popsdosh

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Why is the monday to friday such a problem as the best course of action with the type you want is left out in a field with others. All my youngsters(TBs, SH ) live out 24/7/365 its where nature intended. Dont over handle( or you will create a monster) so weekends will be fine and not to much then.
 

GemG

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Why is the monday to friday such a problem as the best course of action with the type you want is left out in a field with others. All my youngsters(TBs, SH ) live out 24/7/365 its where nature intended. Dont over handle( or you will create a monster) so weekends will be fine and not to much then.

^^^ absolutely.
 

epeters91

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I have a welsh part bred tht I bought as a 10 month old foal she's now 3.5 years and I've work Monday-Friday since I've had her. Working Monday-Friday is absolutely fine I go down in the mornings over winter to turn her out, muck out etc and I go after work to bring in. Over summer she was out full time and I would go in the afternoons. We've done lots of ground work but its been little step here and there when she's seemed ready. I love my girl and buying her was the best decision I ever made I've started her off with everything including loading and leading. she hasn't had any bad experiences so even when things get a bit scary she trusts me and keps her calm.

Wishing you the best of luck with your foal :)
 

epeters91

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No problem :) we have just started ridden work and she's taken everything in her stride I had a lesson and the instructor offered to buy her haha! She's my forever horse though :) I think it's really important to make sure you pick the right foal. When I viewed my girl I was choosing between her and her sister, her sister was expected to make 16.2 and she was only expected to make around 15hh so ideally I wanted her sister. When I met them her sister came across very high strung and a bit wild while my mare was very quiet, a little shy and scared but I instantly fell for her and I'm glad I went for tempermant over height as she carries me fine and I've never felt over horsed.
 
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