Those who breed/know about babies

MontyandZoom

MontyandZoom

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My darling Percy will be 6 months old tomorrow :) He is gorgeous and perfect and probably the best baby horse there has ever been (not that I'm biased :D)

My mum just phoned to excitedly tell me that she has brought Zoom and Percy up from the field (20 min walk down the road) up to the house and yet again Percy led quietly, listened beautifully at junctions etc and didn't bat an eyelid at the two lorries and a tractor that went past.

I then realised.......I have no idea what stage he SHOULD be at in terms of handling. My friend who has had a few homebreds also mentioned 'over-handling' and that it can cause youngsters to become dominant :confused:

I really want to bring him up well so it's made me worried we are doing the wrong thing.

He is fed twice a day - brought out of the field and ties up in his headcollar.
He has his feet picked out - he's great with fronts..........backs are a work in progress!!
He has had the farrier once and was perfect.
He is only led anywhere if we are moving fields etc.

Does this sound like too much handling, my mum does fuss him alot when she feeds him (he loves nana kisses!!!).

Also - mum is keen at some point for him to come on short hacks in hand with me and Zoom (mum likes coming out on foot). Would it be ok to do that when he's 2yrs or should I wait longer???

Such a breeding novice......!
 
If you insist on good manners I think everything you do on the ground is good groundwork for their ridden lives. Mine are always well handled (in at night, groomed etc weekly, and tacked up with numnahs etc from a few months old) and then when I get on them at 3 they never bat an eyelid.

I would make sure though that:

- he respects your personal space (nana kisses sound worrying!)
- he waits when his stable door is opened and doesn't barge out, ditto field gate
- he does "back" and "over" to a voice command
- he is NOT tit bitted by hand

Walking out at 2 is fine, just make sure you build up slowly as he will find it hard work (mine do our shortest 40 min loop once a fortnight at 2 as an example). Also be careful his feet don't get sore, if they're on tarmac they're ok, but gravel or stones makes them sore if you do too much. Also make sure he doesn't always have company, he must learn to go alone too.

Basically though i'm of the mind that everything you do from the ground makes life on their backs easier, as long as you treat them as a horse which needs good manners, not a baby!
 
Over handling comes in the form of fussing, petting all the time.

What you're doing, and bringing up sounds wonderful.

I personally wouldn't take him out on hacks at 2. But others may disagree.
 
Same as the above comment.

We've always handled our youngsters a lot from day one, but only to teach them manners and to get them used to being handled. My mindset is that if I teach them manners it stands them in good stead for when they're sold on.

Sounds like you've got it sussed :)
 
Thanks for the replies! :)

He does get kisses as we can't resist his velvet nose. However, even though mum is very gentle with him when it comes to introducing new things etc.......she doesn't take any s***!!!! :D

He went through a phase when he was about 2 months of trying to rear at mum etc but it only lasted 3 days as he soon got the message. She simply shoved him down and shouted 'NO' and he responded well.

He is a very quick learner which definitely helps :)
 
NO NANA KISSES! Lol. My boy is rising 4 now and he has been home with me since 6 months old. My mum gives him nana kisses but because he has always generally been rougher and more at home with me he tries to kiss me and I just end up getting headbutted or avoiding headbutts!!! I have asked said "nana" to stop with the kisses but she doesnt!!! Its annoying as he is so gentle with everyone else!
 
amymay said:
Gosh, I hope so!!
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:D :D :D VELVET!!
 
Sam_1985 said:
second this. he is gorgeous. Now mines all grown up (well nearly) i want a foaly again!!!
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Thanks :D He is turning out to be everything I could have ever hoped for. He is very like his mum in lots of ways but is nearly as tall as her already (which is great considering Zoom is only 14.3 and I'm 6ft!). Zoom is immensely brave and bold and he seems to have inherited this.

My mum is so good with him, she only got horsey in her 50s when I got my own horses but she is the perfect balance of gentle + no nonsense!
 
My 6 month old weanlings will lead anywhere. They're quite good with having their feet picked up every week or so. I do not tie them at that age. They are used to having rugs put on them and are good about being bathed, groomed and plaited. I spend time with them daily but I only catch them up when I am actually needing to do something with them. Mine are cuddly like yours and I see nothing wrong with kisses, all foals enjoy kisses :)
 
I missed the last part of your post. Leading him out at 2 will be great for him as he'll experience all the things he'd see in daily life as a grown horse. I take yearlings out and about as I believe it is so much better not rushing them at the stage when they're first being backed as by that stage going out and about is old hat to them :) I feel that so long as there is a tangible purpose to what you're doing with your youngstock then you won't be going too far wrong. It's when you start getting too mushy with youngsters that people can get themselves into trouble because they think it's cute when they're 6 months old and they pick up little quirks; not so funny or cute when they're 16.2hh daft 3 year olds!
 
Spring Feather said:
My 6 month old weanlings will lead anywhere. They're quite good with having their feet picked up every week or so. I do not tie them at that age. They are used to having rugs put on them and are good about being bathed, groomed and plaited. I spend time with them daily but I only catch them up when I am actually needing to do something with them. Mine are cuddly like yours and I see nothing wrong with kisses, all foals enjoy kisses :)
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Just to be clear, I'm not saying no kisses, I kiss all mine, even the 17.2 ones! I was just trying to say you don't want someone all over them all the time as it can make them bargy. It wasn't clear from OPs first post how horsey her mum was, but now she's said she's firm with him that sounds fine ;0)
 
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