Starting/furthering babies handling. Advice!

[Char0901]

Hi all,

I have a 6 month old colt who was weaned about 2 weeks ago.
He's doing really well at the minute. He leads nicely to and from the field. We have also taken the babies (my boy and my friends filly, 2 weeks younger) for walks around a quiet industrial estate (Sunday's only so very quiet!) We do have to cross a road to get there and so far he's been very good with cars and even lorries coming towards and up behind him.
I can brush him all over including legs, pick all of his feet up and pick them out (farrier will be coming soon, so that will be the real test)
He wears a little rug and is fine having it taken off and putting on.
He's stabled at my friends yard, part of which is a working farm so he see's pigs, cows, sheep, tractors etc you name it. He walks past the cows in their barn and they are more interested in him than he is in them!

I was just wondering what the next step should be? He is my first baby and am going to keep him and hopefully show jump/event, so want to make sure I do everything as well as possible right from the start.
When should I start tying up, and how should this be gone about? (I have seen youngsters go straight over and I'm terrified of this!)
Are there any tips/tricks anyone can tell me with regards to new things?
His walks have only ever been done with his pal so far and I think he would be very reluctant to leave her behind at the minute. Should I try walking him around the farm alone first and then get further and further?
His mum was dreadful if she was ever left behind and would get really stressed (she would leave them fine but wasn't happy about being left) so I'm just conscious of this with him, even though I know he's only been weaned for two weeks so its completely understandable that he's still feeling a scared about being completely alone. He has his own stable but is next to his pal who he can just about see over separating wall.

Any advice at all regarding babies eduction would be very much appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[Wheels]

In all honesty I think you have done enough already, if he can lead ok and you can brush and pick his feet up I would leave it at that for a year or so. I wouldn't be tying up yet, you need to teach him first how to release from pressure on the headcollar so he knows that if he's pulled back too far all he has to do is step forward to release the tension in the rope, this takes time and patience . Don't rush him, he's a baby

 

[dianchi]

Personally I would teach tying up now, in box with bed and leave there.
Other than that would turnout as much as possible and weekly lead, pick up feet etc

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Not an expert, but I taught mine to stand happily tied up along side mum when she was being shod.
to start, the foal was easy to teach, just used a halter and a longish rope, as soon as she went back and felt the resistance, I pulled her forward and rubbed her face, did this a few times, and then could leave her tied up in company a few times, then I could walk off, but had someone very close in case of a panic, she was not the panicking type. Make sure the rope is too short to get wound round the legs or neck.
I think you may be rushing things a bit, would stick with the walking for another two weeks, then add in the tieing up over the next few months. tie up to groom so you are always there and he knows he can't just wander off
After that try occasional separations, walking out to meet strange things, it is vital they get used to dogs, as some of them will rush up to foals even if they don't do it with horses.

 

[Wheels]

Personally I would teach tying up now, in box with bed and leave there.
Other than that would turnout as much as possible and weekly lead, pick up feet etc

You would tie up and leave unattended?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Personally I would teach tying up now, in box with bed and leave there.
Other than that would turnout as much as possible and weekly lead, pick up feet etc

Don't tie up and leave, it may work, it may not, high risk strategy. I know someone whose mare killed herself when she was tied up, having never been tied up in her life [Irish broodmare]

 

[WelshD]

I cant add lots of words of wisdom to this but would recommend that you ensure you have insurance cover if you are out on the roads, I know my youngster's insurance doesnt cover him to go outside of my field and if it did he would need to be in a bridle. always worth checking your cover is adequate just in case

As for the separation anxiety I would start with small periods of time apart - ask one to walk ahead without the other for example until you can take them out of sight of each other and work from there

Beyond what you are doing I dont think I would do much more (indeed your colt has done more than my 2 year old has already) and just keep him ticking over quietly while letting him have maximum turnout with his pal. plenty of time for stables and rugs later on.

 

[Char0901]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm not in any rush to get things done, just looking for ideas.
He seems incredibly comfortable with things at the minute so just looking to slowly introduce new little things.
He's around dogs all the time. The farms sheep dogs loves horses more than sheep so is always round their back end and legs. There is another dog on the yard who is ALWAYS there and he doesn't bat an eyelid.
It's a good idea to tie up in the stable whilst grooming. I think he's getting there with realising how to avoid pressure, without me actually noticing. On his walks he if starts to pull a bit I'll just give a little pull on the rope and he slows down next to me.
Don't want to over face him at all, he's been really good so far so don't want to ruin that. I realise he's only 6 months old I'm just scared of leaving basic things 'too late'!

 

[Char0901]

No I'd never leave him tied up (for a very long time!)
I know a mare who went over backwards having never been tied up and knocked herself out and had to be PTS.
He gets turned out with his filly pal and 2 year old babysitter every day, and in at night. By 3 in the afternoon he's usually at the gate wanting to go to bed

 

[dianchi]

All my youngsters have been tied up in the box and left, for a few mins then return.

Interestingly three friends of mine all bred at the same time, I followed this and and have had no issues with mine, no tantrums no throwing on the floor nothing. My friends who went with longer approaches still had problems till they were two.

I also got the clippers on mine under a year whilst clipping mum to show that it wasn't an issue

 

[Char0901]

He's met the clippers. He had a bit of a tidy up before going to futurity earlier this year!
Will get the out again actually now you mention it!

 

[Lickety-Split]

At about the age your colt is I got my little girl used to wearing a dually head collar and did a bit of join up ground work with her just to teach her something new. She was really clever and really happy to learn new things which is why I started her at this age but I think it definitely depends on the horse and then moving on from this you can teach him to tie up. It sounds like you guys are doing a lot already so I wouldn't worry too much about tying up as it will all come in good time

 

[AdorableAlice]

Plenty done already. Unless he is awesomely bred and being produced as a stallion, now is the time to geld him and turn him out. All a 6 month old needs to have is the ability to lead in a polite fashion, accept the attention of the farrier and be allowed to grow on steadily.

 

[Char0901]

I will definitely try the join up, something i've always wanted to try.
Will need to get him settled being away from his mates for him to concentrate on me in the school first.
He's going to be gelded after Christmas (vets advice as he's growing quickly, he said leaving them in place as long as we can will help him. Can't do too long as yard owner has, an admittedly very calm, stallion already.)

 

[mel_s]

I was always lead to believe you shouldnt do join up with babies.

As for the other things - it sounds like you have done enough. I'm all for making sure they are introduced to things. But other than introducing tying up (look up blocker tie rings - excellent for babies) i wouldnt worry about anything else. You can over handle them. Next year when hes 1 you can do a bit more but with mine i still only fine tuned her leading (i showed inhand). She had to be bathed too obviously. But i dont think i did anything else specific other than make sure she was exposed to things and saw things.

 

[Lickety-Split]

I was always lead to believe you shouldnt do join up with babies.
QUOTE]

Well that's what worked for me and i'm just offering my opinion

 

[Spring Feather]

At 6 months old all of my foals know how to lead, have their feet picked up, travel in trailers, stand still and wear little blankets. Nothing more is done with them apart from taking them down to the arena for a bit of a run around every once in a while. I would never teach foals to tie at this age.

It sounds like you need another horse OP so that you have something to spend time with.

 

[ozpoz]

He's a baby and already has learned all he needs to, just now. Forget join up (no need to when he's trusting and obliging) and forget trying to make him work and concentrate. Foals by nature don't need to concentrate. All he needs is to play and grow,he'll be a better, unspoilt horse if you let him.

 

[EstherYoung]

I generally tend to do a sort of embryonic tying up with babies while I groom them - long lead, through a tie ring but with me holding the other end. And I only do it once they understand how to lead, so that they have an understanding of how to react if there is tension on the line. If you're wanting to show the youngster next year they'll have to learn tying for travelling. They have short attention spans though. Wolf only started learning to tie on the yard and be left (under supervision of course) once he was 3.5, but because we'd done the embryonic stages and he'd been tied to travel it was a natural progression.

The basics are lead, stand, over, back, pick up feet, be groomed, be generally polite, and start to listen to the human as to whether things are worth panicking over. Mine also learn the 'pointy finger of doom' LOL. If you've got that sorted, then you can just leave them to be babies with the odd reminder every now and again. Short sessions, remember - you'll be checking them every day anyway so a few seconds just to stand, or move over, or pick up feet is plenty. The important thing is consistency. You can't let them push into your space one day and not the next.

You won't be bored though. You can always take a zillion pictures of them which is what most of us do