New Forest youngsters - experience of NFLS sales?

[Sararobynbryce]

Hello there!

I am looking to pick up a couple of youngsters from the New Forest Livestock Society sale.

I've never bought from a sale so I'm going to go along to a couple (tomorrow and then at the end of October) before I even consider buying.

I have got (and studied!) the invaluable book by Sarah Weston (No Fear, No Force) but was wondering if anyone on here had an experience they wanted to share about bringing home semi-feral colts?

They're going to much-loved and brought on to hopefully make a couple of lovely family ponies.

I have always been quite taken with plucky native ponies, and my own first pony was a lovely Forester.

We have two boxes for them, and sale advice is to force a headcollar on with some baler hanging off while they're loose in the trailer, and then box them for three days while you work on befriending them.

I prefer Sarah's gentler approach, but I'm definitely leaning towards keeping them boxed, lest I never catch them again. But would people recommend getting a headcollar on them straight away, or working on that while they're stabled?

Thank you in advance.

Also, we're in West Sussex if anyone would like to make friends!

 

[be positive]

It is a long time since I had feral youngsters but I would get a headcollar on them while they are in the trailer but rather than keep them apart I would leave them together if you can while you work on the basic handing, usually there will be a bolder one who will come round quickly and the less confident one will learn by being in with it, they will also give each other some comfort after a very stressful time, once you know which is the leader you can "use" him to help you gain the trust of the other one.
I think leaving a headcollar on makes each stage easier with one less thing to worry about and they soon forget that you have rushed that stage with everything else that has gone on that day.

Good luck with them, I have a NF here that was bought at the sales, not by me, he is a fab pony very bold in general and loves his work especially jumping.

 

[Sararobynbryce]

It is a long time since I had feral youngsters but I would get a headcollar on them while they are in the trailer but rather than keep them apart I would leave them together if you can while you work on the basic handing, usually there will be a bolder one who will come round quickly and the less confident one will learn by being in with it, they will also give each other some comfort after a very stressful time, once you know which is the leader you can "use" him to help you gain the trust of the other one.
I think leaving a headcollar on makes each stage easier with one less thing to worry about and they soon forget that you have rushed that stage with everything else that has gone on that day.

Good luck with them, I have a NF here that was bought at the sales, not by me, he is a fab pony very bold in general and loves his work especially jumping.

Thanks for your reply!

That makes sense to keep them together. I was going to make a nice even bed, with plenty of water and hay on the floor for a few days. The boxes are 12ft x 12ft, do you think that would suffice for a couple of colts? They’d probably be yearlings, so sub a year old.

We have a grille on the door, in case of panicking climbers (close bars, but not nigh-on invisible mesh) as I didn’t like the idea of shutting them up fully. I’d like them to hear and see us going about our quiet business outside to get used to it.

If it’s a bit cramped, I don’t want injuries, then I’ll fashion a pen outside for them.

I’ll get headcollars with the length to grab on as gently as I can while here in the trailers and pop them straight into the stable.

I guess once they’re in and settled, I can gauge how best to play it. I like Sarah Weston’s approach though. It’s so kindly.

They’re such nice ponies, I can’t wait to get them here. Even though I don’t know who they’ll be yet!

 

[be positive]

That set up sounds fine, there will be plenty of room provided they get on which they tend to do when they have spent some time in a strange environment, the trailer, you will soon know if they are not happy and need to separate them but more than likely they will be best friends fairly quickly, a grill is ideal so you can know they are safe but still see them and start to interact when you pass by, being together they are less likely to try and get out.
After they have settled, have been handled and are gaining trust and confidence start to do things with them more independently and gradually get them into their own boxes for a while.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

I'd follow the advice of keeping them boxed with a grill the first few days. Foresters are great jumpers!!!

I've had a couple of foals (not from the sales) but as unhandled youngsters. One had a headcollar with baler twine on. The first filly came and sniffed me whilst I was sitting reading in the stable within a couple of hours. The other have a headcollar didn't but accepted being stroked gently as she was so quiet.

My colt foals have always been easy to handle as their dams are good tempered. My advice is to get there early to have a look round the pens before the sale starts to see how they reacting to their surroundings. Buy from sections 1 and 2 in the catalogue and they will have full green passports.

Sent you a PM

 

[Sararobynbryce]

I'd follow the advice of keeping them boxed with a grill the first few days. Foresters are great jumpers!!!

I've had a couple of foals (not from the sales) but as unhandled youngsters. One had a headcollar with baler twine on. The first filly came and sniffed me whilst I was sitting reading in the stable within a couple of hours. The other have a headcollar didn't but accepted being stroked gently as she was so quiet.

My colt foals have always been easy to handle as their dams are good tempered. My advice is to get there early to have a look round the pens before the sale starts to see how they reacting to their surroundings. Buy from sections 1 and 2 in the catalogue and they will have full green passports.

Great advice, thank you. I think it’ll be all I can do not to be there at the crack of dawn!

As practice I’ve made some notes on the catalogue of some interesting lots from the first two sections, I’m going to have a good look at them tomorrow and see how they go. Fortunately/unfortunately I have some fencing to be fixed before we can taken some on so I can’t be tempted to register and buy tomorrow!

That’s interesting about them being jumpers. Thinking back, my forester could leap like a cat from a near standstill! He was the one to best at Chase Me Charlie!

I rather like your idea of sitting and reading with them. I think I’ll try that.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Sararobynbryce]

I'd follow the advice of keeping them boxed with a grill the first few days. Foresters are great jumpers!!!

I've had a couple of foals (not from the sales) but as unhandled youngsters. One had a headcollar with baler twine on. The first filly came and sniffed me whilst I was sitting reading in the stable within a couple of hours. The other have a headcollar didn't but accepted being stroked gently as she was so quiet.

My colt foals have always been easy to handle as their dams are good tempered. My advice is to get there early to have a look round the pens before the sale starts to see how they reacting to their surroundings. Buy from sections 1 and 2 in the catalogue and they will have full green passports.

Sent you a PM

Peregrine, I tried to send you a PM but it said your inbox was full up x

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Really? Perhaps it's time to skip out!

Got it anyway. Do let us know if you buy anything and pics will be expected!

 

[Sararobynbryce]

Really? Perhaps it's time to skip out!

Got it anyway. Do let us know if you buy anything and pics will be expected!

Of course! I’ll be a nightmare with pictures I expect!

Thank you for all the replies!

Xx

 

[Fraggle2]

How were the sales? I've not been for a few years. But know people that do buy from them.

 

[Clodagh]

We had a newfie, not from the sales but he was unhandled. As PF says we used to sit and read in his stable, he was kept alone and I think 2 would have been nicer for them. The first time we turned him out it took a week to catch him again, with building a pen and walking him into it so I think we may have rushed that bit. I was about 14. He was a lovely pony, a good 14.2, called Brookshill Bramble.

 

[Sararobynbryce]

How were the sales? I've not been for a few years. But know people that do buy from them.

They were great. Pretty well run and absolutely rammed with people!

There was a lot of lovely colts brought in from the last drift presumably, all just a few months old, and it was really interesting watching the way the different commoners handled them. Some just drove them round and round and the foals looked incredibly untouched and flighty. Others would show they'd started contact with them and would stand behind them, put their arms around their necks and give them affectionate scratches before getting them moving.

I've decided on a pair of colts from the final sale in December.

There were lots of others for sale including some sports horses, a couple of old mares (thankfully they went to homes rather than the meatman) some miniature Shetlands (which we loved) and some donkeys.

Just as an aside, our pasture is probably far too rich for forest ponies, so I'll manage that come spring, but does anyone have any advice on supplementing and feeding to keep condition over the winter? That said, I have been advised to let natives lose condition, it's what they do in the wild.

Of course over this winter, they won't be in work per se as they'll be so young.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Glad you got to see how it all worked. The October sale will be even busier!!!

Good forage is all you really need for youngsters. Mine just get good quality hay and maybe a small feed of unmolassed chaff, grass nuts and micronised linseed if they need to pick up from running on the forest.