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Foal Jumping

6K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  haviris 
#1 ·
So I was trying to wean my boy from my mare and this is the first day. My mare was with 2 other horses and baby was with a 4 year old mare whom he really likes.

Well I was in the house and herd him neighing so I just decided not to do anything cause I saw him in his field. Next thing I see is he's running to his mom just to nurse. He cleared a 5 ft fence we have! He's only 13.3 hands currently and only 4 months old. (I really wanted to wean him at 6 months but my mom is selling the mom which breaks my heart more than words can explain.)

Has anyone else experienced this? 5 feet seems a bit high for him to jump. There is no way he can squeeze through the fence and he is cut and mud (aside from his feet) free and the fence has no damage.
 
#3 ·
I don't have a lot of experience with foals, so someone with more experience, fee free to correct me.

Horses, when born, since they are prey, need to get on their feet and stay with the herd as much as possible or else. Horses are athletic and can very well clear an eight foot fence if they feel it is necessary. I know and have seen very small ponies clear nearly six foot fences, so it isn't impossible or unheard of.
 
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#9 ·
As you don't want to wean yet I agree with just "cold weaning" once the mare is sold. (Of course that's something the buyer should be aware of).

Now as far as the ideal way to wean I see absolutely no point in cold weaning just to do it. I always quote my old trainer as having the ideal way. Mom and baby would run in the herd, then around 6 months she would start putting the baby in an adjacent stall at night. Then after a month or so of that she would leave the baby in with the herd and put the mother in an adjacent pen, then eventually put the mom back in with the herd. Never any problems, the "worst" was she had a fussy mare (maiden) and foal and put the mom in a non adjacent pen until she got over it. She has been a breeder for many generations.

You either do it gradually or cold turkey, trying to do both as you did does not work well, as you saw :)

What has the set up been up until this point? with the different horses..

With my sheep I don't even bother weaning at this point, they'll stop nursing on their own so why does it matter?
 
#10 ·
I did use stalls to wean babies, but my stalls are safe, large, with rubber matts, and I had two weanlings per stall.
I just turned the mares back out with the main herd. They would come up tot he gate, for the first few days, answering their baby's call, and after that, didn't bother
Worked for me, as I halter broke my babies , after weaning. After the first day, they also quieted down, esp when they started to dig into a mixture of rolled oats and soaked beet pulp, plus nice second cut alfalfa hay
Within two days, I had them leading up and down the barn isle.After the first week, they were turned out in a safe corral during the day. The strong desire to get back tot heir dams was gone
After two months, I turned them out into the weanling winter pasture, which has a common fenceline with the herd their dams were it, plus those two fields share a common stock waterer, along that fenceline
By that time, when they were right across form their dams, at that stock waterer, and even tried to say,'hi mom', it was their own dams, and not the rest of the herd, that told those foals to 'get lost', the strongest !
For me, cold turkey worked great, but you have to have the facilities and in those first few days, it just is not safe to leave weanlings just separated by any fence, from their dams
 
#11 ·
I only have 2 run in sheds on the property and an 8 stall barn, 3 of which I'm able to use since the others have things in them. What I think would make weaning easy for him is having another baby with him which I don't have. He's normally with his mom and our 4 year old mare whom he absolutely loves.

My mom is being unreasonable with the mare since she thinks she's dangerous when my life has been saved by her a few times. She's the sweetest horse I've ever met, just scared of people. My mom DID give her to me in 2012 but it was never established on paper sadly cause when you're 14 you don't think of those things. What I'm trying to do it get someone to buy her legally and sell her back to me so I can keep her and not have to worry about weaning Cowboy till he's 6 months.
 
#12 ·
Yes, weaning to babies together, is ideal, as they are then also same age playmates, plus you can feed them separately from older horses
;s whose nutritional needs are less
The years we were actively breeding, I always had at least 6 weanlings, so no problem. Then, after we stopped actively breeding, I bred my old reining mare once more, to an outside stud.
I thus went to an auction , and bought another weanling. Some breeders use the local auction mart, to have production sales, so I bought an AQHA weanling, and just sold her this year, as a five year old, going well under saddle
Tough being a kid, trying to do what is best, and not having the ability to do so. Would your mother consider putting the mar ein your name, for exchange doing chores?
What incidents had your Mom consider the mare dangerous, for you? Does she have true concern, over an incident?
 
#14 ·
I'm currently 18 so I technically can move out whenever I want, which I'm currently working on. The horse bucked me off last year and my mom then declared she's unrideable. I really don't mind not riding her, but my mom on the other hand thinks I will. That is why she wants to sell her.

She told me the other day about how her mom sold a horse she loved when she was about 12 because she fell under the horse's legs which was an accident.
In both cases nothing was done purposeful. My mom and I had an agreement that I'd never ride her again and I haven't even had the urge to! She's presuming that as I become a better rider I'll just saddle up Day Star and get myself killed. It's ridicules and unfair since we already had an agreement!

I'm really hoping to keep this mare because of how much she means to me. And today I inquired a neighbor who lives about a mile away about boarding her at her boarding facility and she just went off on how my horse who is scared of people charged her. I can tell you that never happened because Day Star runs from people, not to.. And if you are lucky enough to pet her she'd never do anything to hurt you! Therefore my mom has no solid ground on why she selling this horse at all. She's become bipolar and I'm done having to deal with the amount of stress she has caused me because of a horse she gave me in the first place.

To be honest, no one ever goes near her anyway but me and she's never ran from me. This horse trusts me with her life and my mom is saying I need to give up on her. Not happening..
 
#13 ·
Have you checked around in your area for other horse people who may have a foal ready to be weaned? When I weaned the last foal born on this place, the neighbor had an unexpected mare foal so we just weaned at the same time so his foal came over to our place and our mare went to his. Within a couple of days, the foals and mares were no longer calling for each other. The foals were doing well under the watchful eye of my "uncle" gelding who played with them but didn't put up with bad manners and taught them how to behave in a herd.
 
#17 ·
Being a parent, I can kinda see some of your mother's position
Not suggesting you should try to get on and ride her, but what are your realistic plans for this mare?
My oldest son, got the horse bug,like me, and is the one that showed with me, started horses with me, and still has horses of his own, as a grown man
My youngest son, has a passing interest, so i gave him a young horse that |I started
First summer home from college, he rode him quite regularly. Second summer, I had to push him. This horse needed riding, ,which he did not get, so following spring, I had to work him through a period where he wanted to buck. I had no plans on doing that every year, so I made my son an offer, as I had a buyer looking for a young gelding. He could sell the horse, and use it towards his college education.
My son jumped at the chance, as it was a /win.win situation

I see where your mom, most likely not being a horse person, bought you a horse , that was not a horse broke enough for your level of experience, with you becoming attached to her. I can see that, but, in reality, are there funds to send this hrose to a trainer/ Is she going to cost board, just to be a pasture ornament ?
Can you afford to keep a horse, and all the expenses involved, yet never be able to ride her? Last of all, it is not fair to that mare to just be turned out to live her days doing nothing, if she is both young and sound
Yes, to keeping her until the foal is a bit older, although I did wean foals both early and late, and all grew up fine. When I showed foals as weanlings, I weaned quite a few at three months of age
 
#18 ·
This mare was abused which is why we aren't riding her anymore because she gets scared.

Smilie, she is completely trained for a dead broke horse, just abused and scared of other people. She's never been scared of anything around me since she bucked me off. Yesterday I had some horse blankets on the fence to sell a few and everyone freaked out at them flapping in the wind and Day Star just stood there. I've been working with her on her fears and she's definitely come a long way! I did the same with one of the other mares with her and she still doesn't get the concept.

Yes I'd have her as a pasture ornament, but I really don't care. This horse has saved my life from getting trampled by other horses more than once. We both just have a special connection. And boarding would only be till the spring of 2017 if not sooner.

My mom actually is a horsey person, she grew up with them her whole life and was the only child in her family to like them to this day. The reason my mom purchased her was because this horse was drugged. The man who sold her knew this horse was scared of people and decided not to tell anyone and let them find out. As soon as Day Star got home, she was as scared as could be and no one could handle her. I spent only 4 hours with her and am the only one she trusts to this day. I DON'T want her to go through that all over again of being scared in a new place. My mom keeps telling me that horses don't feel emotions like we do, but I know they do to a certain degree. And even for my own conscience I can't do this to her ever.
 
#25 ·
With that info, I would not say she was ever abused, without specific details
She sounds more like a horse that 'tested you.
A well broke horse does not buck you off. She might spook a bit, with sudden movement, depending on her temperament, conditions, feed ect
Horses can become head shy , without ever having been abused.
Because she came back up to you, does not mean she came to see if you were okay
Things don't add up for me-sorry.
She sounds more like a well started green horse, when she came to you, without the miles to have made her solid
 
#27 ·
I understand what you're saying, I just don't agree in the least.

A horse who is afraid doesn't buck you off then stop bucking and then stops . . . That's what a horse who wanted you off does.

I had a fall off of my actually dead-broke gelding a couple of years ago while walking off. We had a horse come galloping at the fence and my gelding literally sat down. I was holding the buckle, no stirrups, and was recovering from LASIK surgery and still couldn't see very well. Came right off, my horse took off across the arena and panicked. My mom had to catch him as I literally was unable to see for about 10 minutes after I came off. Nightmare fuel for life. Horse didn't stop shaking for about an hour, BO thought he was colicking.

Point is, if a horse bucks you off then stands near you, they aren't checking to make sure you're okay. If they were scared they'd still be runnin'. No amount of trust will change that.
 
#29 ·
I think you are reading stuff in, far as this mare, that is not really there, making excuses for her behavior. I get that you love her, but you are not reading her correctly, and that won't help either one of you in the long run
You have to work with the horse you now have-no excuses.
She is unpredictable, bucking you off when she feels like it, acting hard to catch, afraid of people, etc
Fact remains, at this point, she has little value, except sentimental value, so I suggest working with a trainer, to help you deal with the hrose you have, versus excusing her behavior, based on 'abuse', which is not even proven\
Many horses with training issues are instantly declared to have been 'abused', when in reality, they are green, or have learned to test riders, handlers, ect, simply because they were shown, accidently, that they could do so
 
#30 ·
You need to ask your Mother how much will she sell the horse to you . She obviously sees that you do not have a well broke horse. You have a horse with trust issues and this is not a sign of abuse, it is a sign of temperament.
Dead broke horses do not need doped. I have had some well broke horses, that worked great for me. I have only had one bomb proof horse in many many years of owning horses, and anyone could ride the horse . Did your mom see you get bucke off ?
A lot of people claim bucked off, when they have come off from a spook. No shame in it, It happens.
 
#31 ·
Y'all clearly don't understand the situation. I'm done even trying to explain what happened to her. I didn't "read up" on her. I learned everything from BEING with her.

Believe what you want, but you don't know this horse the way I do. She has OBVIOUS signs of abuse which you clearly wouldn't know unless you met her in person. I know people who have dealt with abused horses who are always scared of people no matter how much time and love people have put into them. It happens.

This is the last time I'm ever saying this, but she was completely trained BEFORE I bought her and BEFORE abuse happened to her.
Don't try to act like you know this horse when you've never met her or ridden her. I don't see why this is so hard for any of you to understand. My own mother was the one who declared her FULLY trained but was abused which caused her misplace in trust with people.

I DID NOT MAKE THIS THREAD ABOUT MY MARE. It was only supposed to be about her foal jumping fences and if that would effect him in the future..
 
#32 ·
If the mare is going to be sold my suggestion is don't wean him, wait for her to leave and weaning will be easy. The last foal I weaned I picked up a few more weanlings for company, put mom on one side of the fence, baby on the other, after a week or so I moved mom across the road to the other pasture, neither ever called out or even seemed to notice. I did have one that HAD to be done cold turkey or she would have killed herself, once mom was gone she was completely fine.

As for the mare, I'm with the others, never seen a horse retired because it bucked, once. If the bucking is a problem and not just a one time thing (any horse can buck), it's a training issue that should be delt with, if you don't have the experience she should go to a trainer to work with her. Making excuses is not doing her any favors, if the issues is not delt with unless you can manage to buy and and keep her, her future is looking pretty bleak.

As for how well broke or abused unless you knew the horse before (when it was well broke, but before the abuse), or you saw these things in person, you can't tell based off just knowing the animal. In very recent years I've had two I know for a fact were not abused that to meet them you'd swear they were, but it was just their temperment. One was well trained, but not well broke, by the time I sold him he was well trained and well broke, but he would never be bomb proof, it just wasn't in him, and that's ok, he'll be fine with an experienced owner. The other was unhandled until he was 3 and could have been as good as the previous if I'd had the desire to put the time into him, I ended up trading him for something I liked better (to a good horse savy home that knew how to work with him).
 
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