[lilkitty90]

as some of you now my foal sparta is exactly a week old. and he and snowflake( his mom) are being kept in a stall. i try to get them out and give them a walk daily. the stall is 15x14. sparta has escaped a few times so snowflake broke the stall gate down and they were eating with the herd of horses. apparently all is well. can i leave her with them? i don't want to risk one of the geldings running him through a wire fence. or snowflake kicking him while trying to kick another horse (she is blind in one eye). when do you guys usually put mom and baby back out with the herd?

i also have another pasture the horses arn't on. but they were on it a few weeks ago and tore the fencing up pretty bad. so now there are broken strands down of wire down there. i could put them down there all day and night. but if they are down there i can't put them in the stall in the mornings if the weather is really bad(i leave for school at 6:30) so if they are out there is it ok for them to be out there in the rain? and at night? nights usually get around 30-40 i believe maybe a little higher.

so what should i do?

 

[maura]

I would not turn a mare and foal out with a mixed herd; that has the potential for disaster. I only ever turned mares and foals out with other mares and foals.

A one week old foal is not hardy enough to either be out in the rain or out at night if the temps fall into the 30s - 40s. Broken strands of wire + foal is a bad idea as well.

I'm sorry I don't have anything constructive to offer; I don't know what the solution to your problem is, I just know that both options you mentioned are poor ones.

Can you put the rest of the herd in the pasture that's currently empty and put the mare and foal out where they'll have access to a stall?

 

[lilkitty90]

yeah thats actually what happened to the fence. we were letting her have the top pasture to herself for exercise. and since it has the barn and the lower pasture doesn't and they are barn sour they kept breaking out and tearing the fence up. so i guess they'll just have to deal with daily walkings untill the foal is big and strong enough to be in the herd.

 

[mls]

I would not turn a mare and foal out with a mixed herd; that has the potential for disaster. I only ever turned mares and foals out with other mares and foals.

I agree. Geldings and maiden mares can be nasty naughty to foals.

 

[lilkitty90]

yeah. i know momma and baby both were with the herd for most of the day they kept escaping and nothing happened. but they may have been a one day thing and i definitely do not want to chance that on my little boy. i'll give it a month or so to get a little stronger and more control over his on self.