What to do with new colt?

lots of good advice.

i bought a 2yo warmblood colt who had lived a similar life, out in the field or in a barn over winter with 2/3 other colts.

he had a headcollar on and you could pull him left or right a bit but that was it...................he was always intended to stay entire but we bought him home, turned him out with an older gelding and left him to settle. as someone has said the grass is crap and he will soon want to come to you for hay and feed.

i dont think it would harm him to come in at night if you can lead him in easily enough or get him to follow a bucket but definitely DO NOT stable him 24/7 as although its easy for you its incredibly stressful for the horse and sets up a lifetime of stable related stress.

if you are pottering around checking fencing, poo picking, checking other horses, feeding etc he will get used to you really quickly................if he's been barned he's already aware that humans=food so has a good positive association :)

ETA i would let him settle, get him wormed and make sure he has no underlying issues and then geld him end of Feb/march as it starts to dry up. in 5-7 weeks you should have made steps in his acceptance of people and it should not be too much of an issue.
 
Ellaandbailey said:
I have arranged for him to go to my friends field with her geldings once he is handled. I am not putting him out without prior handling as I'm worried he won't come back! He won't be rugged.
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Of course he will come back! He is young and curious and when he sees the others being handled he will come over out of sheer nosiness. You get him used to you by being around, let him come to you not you to him. You can kill two birds with one stone by poo-picking your friend's field every day and becoming a familiar face to him.

Really I think you would have been better off buying something that was already gelded and more confident around people. I suspect the seller saw you coming.
 
Ellaandbailey said:
I have arranged for him to go to my friends field with her geldings once he is handled. I am not putting him out without prior handling as I'm worried he won't come back! He won't be rugged.
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Good idea to turn him out with other boys.

I bought two foals a few years ago and they were unhandled. I left them both together in the stable for a couple of weeks ( massive stable so ample room ) they had headcollars on when they came but you couldn't get near them. I spent the time going in the stable mucking out and doing hay a few times a day and left them to it. After about 2 days they were dying to investigate me! Over the 2 weeks I got them to both tie up, be touched all over and lead. Then I turned them out with my other horse - and they came back!

They then went out with him full time and had a lovely time for the next few years. I still bought them in at night in winter as I wanted them to get used to stables both in company and on their own and I didn't have suitable facilities for 24/7 in winter.

They are both 9 now and the WB is a complete sweetie, well mannered and always everyone's fave 😍

The other is a bit naughty at times but he is a pony so has the attitude lol.
 
I think that OP is hedging round the multiple 'geld him!!' Comments very nicely...!
I have two youngsters in ATM, they've been basically handled before they came home and they're in together overnight in a large box and out in a mixed herd of mares & geldings from 6am-5pm usually. They go out for walks around the farm together and alone, I've started the gelding (yes, I gelded him straight away!) leading from my horse as I do want to walk him out for short trips now and again, as well as the occasional show as a yearling, two and three year old. By the time he and my daughter are put together once he's backed and going sweetly, I want him to have seen everything about the world before he and she start work together (gently when they're 4 and out showing when they're 5+). I do a little more with my babies than the 'put them out and don't touch them' guys, however manners are paramount to me and I find that doing something a little earlier with them but watching carefully for signs that they're dealing with too much and stopping sharpish is good for them.
 
indie1282 said:
Good idea to turn him out with other boys.

I bought two foals a few years ago and they were unhandled. I left them both together in the stable for a couple of weeks ( massive stable so ample room ) they had headcollars on when they came but you couldn't get near them. I spent the time going in the stable mucking out and doing hay a few times a day and left them to it. After about 2 days they were dying to investigate me! Over the 2 weeks I got them to both tie up, be touched all over and lead. Then I turned them out with my other horse - and they came back!

They then went out with him full time and had a lovely time for the next few years. I still bought them in at night in winter as I wanted them to get used to stables both in company and on their own and I didn't have suitable facilities for 24/7 in winter.

They are both 9 now and the WB is a complete sweetie, well mannered and always everyone's fave ��

The other is a bit naughty at times but he is a pony so has the attitude lol.
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This is exactly my plan. Thank you. He will be gelded in the next couple of months when the mud has died down and he will be turned out in a couple of weeks. Until then he will be in a large stable with access to my other horse as the wall between them is only about 4/5 ft high. Thanks to some people for not jumping down my throat. I can assure you all that he will not be stabled 24/7 and he will not be kept entire. I have the vet booked for a week on Friday and will get the farrier out asap.
 
Ellaandbailey said:
This is exactly my plan. Thank you. He will be gelded in the next couple of months when the mud has died down and he will be turned out in a couple of weeks. Until then he will be in a large stable with access to my other horse as the wall between them is only about 4/5 ft high. Thanks to some people for not jumping down my throat. I can assure you all that he will not be stabled 24/7 and he will not be kept entire. I have the vet booked for a week on Friday and will get the farrier out asap.
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At the end of the day not everybody has the facilities to run youngstock in a herd and we all have to make the best of what we have. I have 3 altogether- all from foals- kept in the way I described and they are all lovely happy horses.I'm firm with them and insist of manners at all times but they are probably spoilt lol especially my two big boys ❤

The key to having a youngster is to handle them enough that they learn the basics but not to baby them! Foals are SUPER cute but don't be tempted to play with them and let them chew clothes etc .. . Always think in your head ' would I be happy with an adult horse behaving in this way?'

Show them the sights and sounds but above all let them be a baby for as long as you can.
 
Definitely agree with indie1282. I handle my youngsters enough so that they can be caught, led, have their feet picked up but that is about it until they are 3.

I might get shot down in flames but if I have got a foal in that is not used to the basics I leave the foal slip on with a short piece of rope attached so that it is easier to catch. You do need to be careful to have it fitted correctly so that it can't get caught up on anything - especially a hind hoof having a scratch - and adjust it as the foal grows. It usually doesn't take long until you can take it off. I have found it very helpful if they have a friend who is used to humans as they quickly start to copy them and become much happier about humans being around.

My friend 'played' with her foal in the field letting it chase her and nibble her clothes and now as an adult horse it is an absolute pita, bargey and always in your face.
 
Eggs I did the same - a short piece of rope so I could give them a little something by hand and then quietly catch the rope so I could clip on to their headcollar. They learn soooo quick !

I did smooch them up and have a little play.... 😆 but there was always a firm line not to be crossed.
 
I don't think that people are trying to jump down your throat, it's just that you are obviously not used to keeping something this young and you don't sound like you have the ideal set up for it. That may not matter and it may work out perfectly, but only time will tell. The thing with foals is that you have to have low expectations of them because they are just foals, but it can be very hard on a 1-2-1 basis to increase those expectations at an appropriate rate as they grow when you don't have experience of developmental changes in the first few years and if you are dealing with them daily. It's easier if they are out learning with a herd and you don't deal with them so often, because the daily interaction will make your expectation level stagnate.
Posters are just trying to help prevent you ending up with a 4yo horse that you are trying to do stuff with and struggling because in your head (subconsciously) it's still your little foal.
Good luck with him anyway :)
 
Many years ago when I could make money out off buying wild Dartmoor foals and re selling once tame I use to do loads! And all sold with no problems.
The things I learnt quickly was not to turn a wild foal out in a field, you won't get near them again. I had several groups in big barns and worked on them in there,
Leave headcollers on and when they become friendlier do NOT take the headcoller off, practice putting one over the top until they are 100 % and your happy to take it off.
Take it slowly, spend time with them, scratching them and mixing with them until you can hold the headcoller and start to rub round body without worrying them.
The more nervous ones never come right in a mixed group and always hide behind another, those had to be taken out and stabled on their own and they bloomed very quickly without a friend to hide behind.
I practiced leading and basic commends in the barns before they were allowed into the field,
Take feet, once ready very carefully and always wear your hat!! Only a handful did I get that was ******* with their hinds and even after accepting the hand on the end off a rod freaked at anybody trying to lift a hind leg, those got the rope round the pasture and lifted that way so they could kick out without harming anybody, you just go with them but it's always short lived a few kicks and you can work down to the hoof. never had any problems or vices with any off them and all left me as very confident well mannered young stock. Sadly no money in it anymore, hasnt been for a v long time.
 
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