Turning Away

[leahisabella16]

Hi all.

I have been told by someone who also has a horse and has told us something and im not sure how true it is. I have a 9 month cob foal and she says that we need to 'turn him away' for a year. By this she means putting him in his field and leaving him there for a whole year without any contact other than vets, farriers etc. How true is this? He has been pretty neglected before I got him and was left in a field without any real contact (it would appear) so I dont really know whats best for him. I understand that hes a baby and needs time to get rid of his energy but he is in his field from around 6am till approx. 6:30pm pretty much every day anyway and his field is on a hill which he runs around a lot so he wears himself and chases pidgeons so he is very much being given the time to be a baby. Could anyome help with this?

Thanks in advance xx

 

[Renvers]

That is one person's opinion, it's really down to the individual what they want to do. I turned my youngster away in a herd until 3 years old, apart from Vet/Farrier etc. I know others who have handled their youngsters daily - particularly as they were stabled in the winter.

Does he go out alone are you concerned about his behaviour due to his previous neglect? She may have given well meaning advice,but you know your horse best.

 

[leahisabella16]

Thanks for the reply. He does go out alone but he doesnt misbehave. He has a run around, a roll around and just grazes the rest of the day. Hes so easy to catch you just walk up to him and put his headcollar on and lead him away with no fuss or bother. I just feel like we have made a lot of progress with him since Ive first had him that if I leave him be he wont want any interaction. He still has a lot of learning to do. But I obviously want the best for him.

 

[leahisabella16]

Thank you. Sorry I replied underneath Im new haha.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thanks for the reply. He does go out alone but he doesnt misbehave. He has a run around, a roll around and just grazes the rest of the day. Hes so easy to catch you just walk up to him and put his headcollar on and lead him away with no fuss or bother. I just feel like we have made a lot of progress with him since Ive first had him that if I leave him be he wont want any interaction. He still has a lot of learning to do. But I obviously want the best for him.

The best thing for him imho is to have equine company, so that he earns how to be a polite, sociable horse. I would continue to handle him daily, we have 2 youngsters atm, one of them was handled we from a young age and the other was left in her herd from weaning until rising 3 because the breeder 'couldn't catch her'. The 2nd one was caught, transported to a new location (same owner) and broken within a few weeks. Then we bought her, she has a lovely temperament but has no idea how to behave around people, she thinks that she can play with us the way that she plays with her companion. So I certainly
wouldn't completely turn him away.

 

[Kaylum]

A young foal needs other youngsters to play with. It's part of his social make up. Basically they need to play, fight and interact but human contact is also important.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Thanks for the reply. He does go out alone but he doesnt misbehave. He has a run around, a roll around and just grazes the rest of the day. Hes so easy to catch you just walk up to him and put his headcollar on and lead him away with no fuss or bother. I just feel like we have made a lot of progress with him since Ive first had him that if I leave him be he wont want any interaction. He still has a lot of learning to do. But I obviously want the best for him.

Your obviously doing a good job so far but he would benefit from being out with some other horses its part of growing up, as for turning away its not always the done thing I think as long as they get out for a good part of the day it wont hurt for them to come into a stable and be handled on a daily basis.

 

[leahisabella16]

Thanks for all of your replies. He does have interaction with other horses so I thought he would be ok. She even went as far as saying that by not turning him away was abusing him! Obviously I want whatever is best for him thats why I thought I had better get some more advice. Thank you so much.

 

[Kaylum]

Ignore her and get her out of your life. She doesn't know what she is talking about and is probably jealous.

 

[putasocinit]

ignore, turn away with other foals his age or slightly older uncles, but do continue with daily handling, picking out feet, taking head collar on and off, you could break him at 2 years to feel a saddle, lunge, longrein and then stop and turn away again until he is 4 years old but you still need to handle the pony/horse.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

When you say he has interaction with other horses, what does that entail?

 

[Tnavas]

It sounds as if you are really enjoying your youngster. This persons interpretation of turning away is very drastic.

It generally means giving the youngster plenty of playtime, time to think about what he's learnt, and time to grow physically and mentally.

It doesn't mean he has to be ignored. Quality time, concentrating on good manners will stand him in good stead for the rest of his life.

As a teenager I had a couple of very young ponies, as did my friend, we used to take them out for walks in hand most weekends and heaps during school holidays. They grew to be well behaved bomb proof kids ponies.

The most important thing is to ensure that you don't fry his brain by doing too much too fast.

 

[thewonderhorse]

A young foal needs other youngsters to play with. It's part of his social make up. Basically they need to play, fight and interact but human contact is also important.

Definitely this. If he isn't going out with others then he really really needs to be. Its so important for his development to be able to graze and play with other youngsters.