Orphan foals

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lindylou

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Hi i have been a avant reader of this forum for some months, but only just decided to join, as i need some help here, last May i lost a mare foaling, it was very upsetting, and i was left with an orphan baby, he is fine, but having a real problem, trying to get him to go out in the field, he has another foal for a friend, but despite this refuses to stay out, and either stands at the gate stressing or runs at it trying to get it open. The awful weather is not helping either. Anybody out there had this problem, how did you deal with it. Thanks
 
i agree, he needs a mature nanny, one who is big and kind and will show him how to be a horse. i can't stress this enough. it really is essential tbh.
fwiw i have 2 fillies, neither orphaned, and the 2 yr old was getting very big for her boots and starting to worry me. put my big old lad in with them (no shoes on the big horse, ever, too dangerous just in case s/he does kick), she was like a different horse within 3 days, and he never kicked or bit her, just didn't put up with her shoving him around, made her realise she wasn't the biggest toughest thing around.
i believe you have to be quite firm and very consistent with orphans, as they don't always see themselves as horses, more as a person in a horse's body, if you know what i mean!
very very best of luck.
 
I know exactly what you mean, he is very pushy, but as you say does not fully realize he is a horse, and to an extent is actually scared of other horses, and open spaces, never having been outside with his poor dam
 
you need to get hold of a really nice friendly nanny horse. i'm sure you'd be able to get one on loan, it would make an enormous difference to him. either a mare or a gelding, but it has to be one who is proven tolerant of youngsters, as if your lad is already scared/wary of other horses, the last thing he need is a fright, or worse.
hope you find one!
 
Sorry, I don't have any expertise on orphans, but just wanted to say welcome to the forum!

There are lots of very experienced breeders on here, as you can see, who I'm sure can help and advise you.

Do tell us more about you and your horses...
 
Hello! My baby (in my avatar) was orphaned at a week old and bred by Volatis (who I'm sure will see this thread sooner or later) - I'm sure she'll have some excellent advice but I do know that Pickle was successfully nannyed by a 5 year old gelding she had at the time. I'll have to leave it up to her to tell you how she integrated them though...
 
you orphan looks stunning i love coloureds, i have spoken to quite a few people about rearing orphans, i wonder how many people on here have actually done it. Thanks for your kind thoughts
 
Thanks Htabago i have been breeding on a very small scale for quite a few years now, I have 2 mares one is due to foal in may, the other is resting, i will be very nervous when she foals after last year. I also have 3 babies the youngest of which is the orphan. I love arabs and your boy looks absolutely stunning
 
Peasfriend's foal was orphaned at a week old and our vet said he had never known a well mannered orphan foal as they get too humanised, so we were determined to prove him wrong. We tried a surrogate mare and it was a nightmare, never been so exhausted in my life. In the end he was paired up with my very sweet natured young Hanoverian gelding who acted as his surrogate parent but was botle fed by us. We couldn't go down the bucket feeding route as the 4yo would have drunk it first!
After a few weeks Pickle and his Uncle Welly were turned out together with the rest of the broodmares and foals and Pickle learnt to be a totally normal horse, just came out of the field for his milk and eventually his milk pellets and then back in the field with the others again.
If we were ever unlucky enough to go through this again I would make sure the orphan had a herd environment of some sorts as I think it is essential
 
Hi and Welcome! We have been involved and bought up orphan foals and as folk on here are saying it is important for the foal to gel with another horse and then have minimal human contact for a while til they adjust. We have done both, fostering and bucket. We loaned a shetland mare for the bucket reared and just seperated them with an electric fence from the main herd. That way we just took the fence away at weaning. The shetland was an evil cow with humans and very protective so did the trick stopping the foal becoming too human and you would never have known she was an orphan by a yearling.
 
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has your orphan grown up with normal horse brain, or is still very humanised

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He interacts with the other horses - grooms with them, plays with them, mouths at them (when he knows he's done wrong!) and generally gets on their nerves. In that sense, he is just like any other playful two year old. He's not humanised in that he doesn't need human company - he'll come over and see what you're doing, but that's about it. He can try it on sometimes, but don't most youngsters?! If you didn't know he was an orphan, I think you'd be hard pushed to find anything that gives it away...
 
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has your orphan grown up with normal horse brain, or is still very humanised

[/ QUOTE ]for me personally my foal has had miminum handling just the nessacasy farrier, in to feed ect the rest of the time hes out with my other foals i must admit hes good to lead out ect but can have a slight attitude whether thats the lack of handling?or maybe something to do with him being a orphan im not quite sure i will start to do abit more with him his year as hes 2 in sept and at least 15 hands now and im going to keep him entire (touchwood)
 
hi thanks for your input my foal never drank from his mum, he has another normal reared foal for company, and the plan is to turn him out with other youngsters this summer, but he hates going out even with his friend and sometimes panics to get back to the safety of his stable, i had not got a suitable companion when he was small, i think this would have made things easier, i am quite strict with him and try to keep contact minimal, muck out and get out, move to different stable or outside if possible, i have had a thought on getting him to turn out by building a stable in field and fencing a small area off, and leave stable door open, friend will go out and hopefully he will follow, thanks everybody for your input
 
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