Unwanted advice on foals has us second guessing !

[PoultryandPony]

due to collect our New Forest foal in a matter of weeks, will have been weaned etc.
Foal has not been handled at all prior to weaning and has been at grass with a large herd.
we have raised weanlings before who are fantastic childrens and mother daughter horses now, hoewver we this time have other livery users making comments on each detail leaving us feeling uncomfortable and second guessing ourselves, we are being called old timers and that our way of raising horses is outdated and incorrect for this age.
we are apparently selfish for not wanting to rug him as hes a native thats not been handled thus far, should maybe we rug him for winter? he is fully at grass!
he will be on grass with chaff, youngstock cubes and beet twice a day, and nutritionist to advice when best to move to other additional feeds.
he will be quarrantined once arrives, vet will be out to sample for strangles as soon as possible during quarantine period, farrier will be out once all clear is given. first vaccs and wormer plan will theen commence after.
are we really missing out so much ?! we avoid as many chemical sprays as possible so other yard usesrs are calling us unprepared for not having our shelves stocked high full of of deet, nafoff, hibiscrub and hoof oils etc.... hes 8 months old and we dont feel we need anything other than the basic medical kit, as hes not going to be 'used' untill hes learned hoe to be a horse, aged and grown! hes also been untouched for the past 8 months by his mares side....he wasnt missing any care by not having those sprays and chemicals on him then.
are we really missing so much and have things changed in the last 20 years or is this just a relaxed way of ownership ?

any advice given is great as daughter has allowed us to use her social account to ask other owners what is the new normal

 

[Poingsettia]

Hi. Personally I wouldn’t worry about rugging a native foal. As long as he has shelter in some form he will grow a suitable coat. I can’t advise on feeding but he may not need it, apart to encourage bonding, easier handling.
I don’t keep a vast array of things, just a fly spray or cream just now as the flies are bad. But if he is unhandled you may not get near him to apply them safely for a while until he settles.
In the past I’ve used a 5 day wormer, given in food, for unhandled horses or those in poor condition, as it’s more gentle on their system.
With social media now there is a wealth of information on tap, but equally a lot of “experts” happy to tell you that you are wrong!

 

[paddy555]

from what I read on here the new normal appears to be for lots of people on yards to give other people on the yard endless advice. Lots of threads on here as to how to ignore it.
The only thing you may need chemicals for is if the foal comes with lice. You can't spread that around,

 

[TPO]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

You've done this before successfully according to your post. I'd bet that the other liveries haven't.

Why listen to the opinions of people that you wouldn't go to for advice?

Just crack on and enjoy your new horse

 

[ycbm]

Yes this is the new normal, and it makes old timers like me very glad I am not in a livery yard. You will need to close your ears and develop a hard shell.

Young horses have thicker coats than older ones, he does not need a rug.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Stick to what you know and have done in the past with success. Just because all these new fangled things exist does not mean they need to be used. My sister and I are very much old timers and I doubt we would last long on a livery yard, would be considered something out of the stone age. Neither of us suffer fools gladly so would soon end in tears.
You are experienced with youngstock, have confidence in what you know works so just crack on. Lucky pony is what I think.

 

[alibali]

The only people I'd take advice from are people who have already done, with good success, what I was looking to do. In this instance that you be, er, you!

Establishing when and who to ask for advice and being able to ignore the unsolicited nonsense spouted by armchair experts is a life skill I've been cultivating. Much easier for me however as thank goodness I'm not at livery!

FWIW (and as you've asked) if the field has shelter and plenty of forage as a native I doubt he'd need a rug. Once he's settled in I'd work towards getting him used to wearing one gradually simply because it's a life skill he may need at some point. Likewise I'd get him used to the application of some innocuous lotion or potion before he needed it as that way if for any reason you need to apply medication in the same form it makes life easier. But that's just my take on it, you've done this before successfully your own way so I'd just stick to what's worked for you before and if you hit a problem then look for a solution.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Ignore. I have had loads of unwanted advice regarding my youngster who I bought at weaning. I’ve smiled politely to some and told some pointedly to stick their advice depending on the circumstances. I’d you have raised some before and your methods worked and you caused no harm then I can’t see what the problem is

 

[Carlosmum]

Thank them for their 'advice' reply that you have been given all the guidance you need from the professionals ie breeder, vet , nutritionist etc and then ignore them. Your baby, your way. Have fun Foresters are the best

 

[PoultryandPony]

thank you all ! i had a brew and enjoyed these responses! the new thing i heard today was from a young lady telling me my weanling wont survive longer than 6 months if kept at grass and without a rug wont last the winter. Daughter brought to tears in laughter as its the same lass that has asked the yard if my other native is available for loan or part loan and specifically requests him in jump lessons !thank you all

 

[The Irish Draft 2022]

My horse never had a rug put on her until I got her and the only reason I did is because I clipped her I got her when she was 9 years old she survived. My livery yard breeds horses and they only get rugged when they are broken.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

thank you all ! i had a brew and enjoyed these responses! the new thing i heard today was from a young lady telling me my weanling wont survive longer than 6 months if kept at grass and without a rug wont last the winter. Daughter brought to tears in laughter as its the same lass that has asked the yard if my other native is available for loan or part loan and specifically requests him in jump lessons !thank you all

Hilarious how do they think they survive in the new forest and on the Welsh mountains.

 

[paddy555]

thank you all ! i had a brew and enjoyed these responses! the new thing i heard today was from a young lady telling me my weanling wont survive longer than 6 months if kept at grass and without a rug wont last the winter.

it's funny but it is quite worrying the views some have

 

[Dasher66]

We had two foals off the new forest as weanlings and they lived out in the field for several years without rugs. They did have a large hedge for shelter though and hay.
One of them was particularly shy and we didn’t catch her until March.
So my unsolicited advice is to use the quarantine period to tame your foal a bit.

 

[Snow Falcon]

Ha, in general foresters are hardy creatures who delight in rug shredding, escaping out of fields and eating as much as possible!!!

Rugs are not necessary really if you have adequate shelter and forage available. If people actually looked at how these natives cope with their natural living conditions perhaps they would be better placed to make comments.

Semi feral herds survive with minimal intervention. Put on weight in summer months then use it in the winter months to sustain themselves. I've never heard of a forester living on the forest having laminitis but plenty of overfed, overrugged and overweight ponies pampered by these "experts" having it.
Unsoliticed advice is a pain in the posterior.

Where are you getting yours from? Please do post pics and provide their registered names when you can.

 

[Parrotperson]

this thread is priceless isn't it! Rugs! If he's eight months old he must've been born in Late January so he survived the last 3 months of winter without a rug. People are silly really. Ignore them. Get on with it and if necessary point out your experience (which will of course be ,ugh more than theirs in any case!). And we want pictures. asap!

 

[Gamebird]

I work with TB foals/yearlings worth high 5 figures and even 6 figures. They winter out (with shelter available) with no rugs ever. If you can do it with TBs, then...

 

[sport horse]

I breed warm bloods that have competed up to interntional level in the sport. I have never yet rugges a young horse before it is broken and in full work. They all live out 24/7 exceptt Jan/March when they come into big stabes/shelters, more to save fields than for the protection of the horses. When in they live on hay/haylage. Rarely any hard feed. They all mature between 16.1 and 17.2 so hardly undergrown!! Touch wood we have never had laminitis. Ignore the idiots, you know better.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

What a load of tripe.

Rugging a native yearling? Whatever next.

If the pony is unhandled then you are right to not be thinking about fly sprays and rugs and all other unneccessarry junk.

All he needs right now is to learn to trust and enjoy his time with you. Teach him how wonderful a bucket is, quietly halter break him, get him happy being touched all over and picking up his feet. That's about it.

Scary things like fly sprays or having a bath can wait until he's confident and settled in a routine.

 

[Millie-Rose]

I think you have the right idea. The only thing I would say is youngstock cubes/mix can be a bit too much especially for a native foal. You want him to grow steadily to avoid joint issues. I would think the recommended amount of stud balancer with a handful of chaff to mix would probably suffice alongside full time grazing/hay. Could bulk up with sugarbeet as you suggest or something like grass nuts if looses condition mid winter. My high % TB foal went through her first winter on just stud balancer (suregrow) and looked fab. She wore a rug occasionally as I have absolutely no shelter at all in my fields but I'm sure would have been fine without! I also have a Welsh D who I've had four years since a yearling she has a fleece and a lightweight turnout for emergencies/illness she has worn the turnout for approx 4/5 days in that time (beast from the east) and has never looked remotely cold or bothered regardless of how awful the weather is.

 

[Winters100]

I fail to see why anyone would advise you to rug a young native breed, or actually any young horse. As for stocking up on fly sprays they are unlikely to be needed, but if they are you can buy them. Sounds like you have the right ideas - better not to listen to the 'experts' who have never dealt with youngsters themselves.

 

[windand rain]

My only change would be to ditch the stud mix/cubes and feed forage only with a good youngstock balancer I use suregrow for my youngsters but I think top spec do one designed for natives and warmbloods
three year old in June this year still fluffy from wintering out 24/7 all her life no rugs except to learn to wear one think she looks pretty lean and well grown too on her suregrow and grass

 

[SO1]

If you rug he will probably be far too hot. NF normally grow a very thick winter coat. Well mines does anyway.

Do these people have experience with NF foals? If not ignore them. If you are on Facebook join new forest pony people plenty of sensible advice on the breed there.

My forester tend to be a warm chap even with a full clip he tends to need only 100g run otherwise he gets too hot. They also tend to be very good doers so be careful what you feed. Fly season is almost over now but you might want to get a few first aid bits and boobs. I only use hoof oil for shows on mine and depending on how much grass you have you may not want to feed sugar beet. Also I would avoid any high sugar or starch feeds they can get very fat very easily.

Watch out for rainscald as they have thick fur in winter and if they get hot and wet this can lead to rainscald. My pony has had it once when it was very wet and he was unrugged as he gets hot so easily. Now he has full clip he doesn't get it as does not get too hot.

He may find quarantining quite stressful if he has always been in a herd. Will he be on stabled quarantine? If so watch out as my forester used to jump out of his stable. Clever ponies who like to go where they want to go. He also has very little respect for electric fencing.

 

[SEL]

Won't survive the winter without a rug?????

What do they think the ponies left in the forest do? Line up every morning to have their heavyweights thrown on them if the weather forecast is a bit dodgy!