Listen bro if you have to ask if fencing in the foal poolside and alone is okay for quarantine you do not need to be getting a foal healthy or otherwise.
@TheJenners she already admitted to being the original OP.
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Hey @HuffyPuffyHaffy you say you are at a barn that all the horses are rescues. It seems like these types of questions would be easily answered by your trainer there. They know what your situation is so can better answer with those specifics in mind.
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Well, she doesnât really want me to get a horse in general. I hope this changes in the next year but she wants me to focus on her horses right now.
Listen to your trainer. I highly doubt itâs so you can focus on her horses. I think it has more to do with you wanting a foal.
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What do your parents think of your idea? Sounds like you will need their support to financially afford a foal. ???
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The real question should be whether or not you SHOULD get a foal. Thereâs your answer right there. No.
Listen to your trainer (I think Iâm liking this trainer more now).
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In the big picture of life that is probably some good advice from your trainer. I know having your own horse sounds like so much more fun but being able to ride and train multiple horses while you are still learning yourself will give you far more tools for your tool box. Use this great opportunity while it is available. You can get your own horse later.
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WOW !
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Yes I know. I meant the foal with the bad behavior described by the poster above me.
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I caught your meaning TheJenners, lol! This whole thread seems like a a scene in a pasture with a bunch of us mares schooling a filly. If she sticks around, sheâll learn a lot. Might even join in to school the next filly that wanders in.
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It may sound like your trainer is discouraging horse ownership because she needs your amazing talents for her horses, but I suspect she is trying to nurture your horsemanship and give you a chance to grow as an equestrian in a safe and resource-rich environment.
In the disappeared thread you described yourself as someone with significant training experience, based on working with these horses of hers. Riding a couple of trainer-owned horses and potentially even helping provide the consistent feedback needed for little training goals probably means that you are a very promising student, but it doesnât necessarily mean you are an experienced trainer who should be working with orphan foals or weanlings, let alone taking full responsibility for one. I say it every time one of these threads about a kidâs horse ownership dreams pops up: while itâs great that youâve advanced past the beginner phase where itâs clear what you need to learn, the next phase of your equestrian life is going to require you to keep an open mind about the things you donât know you donât know, and to trust a more experienced trainer.
A child raising a foal in some of the conditions you have proposed is just not likely to have a good outcome. An inexperienced child raising a foal in some of the conditions you have proposed without IRL trainer support but with advice from internet strangers is a recipe for disaster. The sad thing is, while folks here will tell you the hard truth in the interest of avoiding a tragedy, there are other places out there on the web where clueless, romantic teens masquerading as trainers will shower you with likes and blow all sorts of smoke at you that could generate overconfidence and terrible advice. Youâre a smart kid, I think, based on the questions youâve asked. I hope youâre smart enough to see that unlike internet echo chambers that will rally around any fantasy that touches the heartstrings, the folks here are truly interested in trying to help you have a safe and enjoyable equestrian life.
If you feel like you are ready for more challenges than youâre currently getting at the barn, maybe you should talk with your trainer about setting some bigger, but still realistic, goals that will help you build toward horse ownership in a more responsible way.
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I posted on the other topic where this question was posited, and it echoes quite a bit of what others have mentioned.
It really depends on the horses in question.
I have a young horse who has only lived with other young horses since her weaning. My friendâs young horse was only turned out with adults (no other young horses on property). Young horses in a peer group often have more energy-appropriate company (old horses typically are less playful and then even if they are, you need to ensure that the way an adult horse plays isnât a risk to the younger horse). Young horses can be very annoying to the older guys.
On the other hand, having young horses exposed to older horses can really help a young horse learn manners. It also means they get exposed to common handling (haltering, leading, etc) which is the one significant thing I have found that my young horse and her peers need conscientious work with. They donât have a role model, essentially, so they need consistent handling and desensitization because they are getting none of that through a calm older horse having the same things done to them.
The caveat in this entire discussion: thereâs some horses who can get their point across when theyâre correcting/reacting to another horse, but donât necessarily take it to extremes. These are the ones that may make âsnake faceâ and whip their head around, or clamp the tail and have âkickingâ posture but never actually lift a foot - these guys are worth their weight in gold, do not just assume the horses you have access to will be nice to an annoying baby âbecause they know itâs a babyâ.
Some people will say that âtraining a horse is training a horse, regardless of age/background/etc.â I disagree with this - I have found that working with young horses is a very different experience from the other types of horses that I have worked with in the past (including rescues, greenbroke horses, horses in need of retraining, etc). In my personal life, I have run into the assumption that âIâve worked with a greenbroke adult horse, so I can train a baby horseâ and this has not always worked out for the people in question, because the required skill sets are different. Taking the time to further develop skills now with a diversity of horses at different places in their training, under the guidance and partnership of good trainers, will help navigate you to a position in the future where you are better equipped for the challenges of young horses.
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OP, allow me to tell you a story about an orphan foal I knew.
Said foal was hand-raised after the dam died of birthing complications by a very well-intentioned horsewoman who also happened to be very educated rider and trainer herself. The foal was quite sick and struggled early in life and was not able to be safely turned out with other horses until it was already several months of age. At that point, the owner turned the colt out with a small band of youngsters and broodmares to get socialized.
The horseperson raising this foal did everything right - she had an age-appropriate herd to turn the foal out with, she maintained boundaries when hand-rearing the foal and did not allow interactions that were âcuteâ but would be problematic when the foal got bigger and she had extensive experience and knowledge in raising and training young horses.
She ended up having to euthanize the colt as a 4yo. She did everything ârightâ, but that lack of early socialization proved to be a bigger hurdle than she anticipated. The colt grew up into a bargy, bully type who - even though he lived in a herd of many other horses of varying ages from the age of just a few months until the day he was put down - never fully incorporated the social skills he needed. He was sweet as can be until he wasnât, at which point it was like someone flipped a switch and he became incredibly dangerous. The owner realized when she went to start his groundwork as an almost 3yo that he was going to be a handful and she had a couple of incidents with him where he struck out or otherwise acted up. The final straw came when she went to start to back him to saddle: he was a bit flinchy about the saddle blanket landing on his back and so she was working with him to get him accepting of it. One too many tosses and he decided heâd had enough and lunged at and partially trampled her. Sheâll tell you to this day sheâs damn lucky she didnât get killed. She put him down a week later.
The horse was not to blame, and neither was she. Socialization is literally a foundation pillar for a healthy horse: not having it puts the animal at a very immediate disadvantage and makes the likelihood of a normal, productive life much lower.
Now, I knew ANOTHER orphan foal who had the opposite kind of upbringing. Same story, the mare died from birthing complications and the foal had to be hand raised, except this time it was done by someone who DIDNâT know everything my friend did. They thought behaviors that the mare would have quickly nipped in the bud were cute and endearing. They didnât establish boundaries. They didnât socialize the foal appropriately and instead treated her like a puppy. Except that âpuppyâ grew up to be an angry, bratty, unruly 1,000lb filly that charged at anyone who came up her to stall, killed a dog that entered her pasture space and who had to be heavily tranquilized for basic things like hoof trims and vaccinations. The owner passed her off as a âproject horseâ to a boarder at a farm I used to teach at. That boarder had no idea what she had taken on and got attacked by the mare when she went to go lunge her. That horse also got put down in short succession.
It is understandable to desire to âsaveâ an animal, to help one out that has already been so disadvantaged by life. But you need to already know what youâre doing if you want to have a prayer at actually improving that animalâs life. It is not a time to âlearn as you goâ, if for no other reason than your life could potentially depend on it.
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OP, the question isnât whether your imaginary orphan foal needs an age-mate. The question is, do you need an orphan foal.
If youâre really 12 years old, the answer is NO.
If you do not have experienced, patient, and available help at all times, the answer is NO.
If you do not have the experience to raise a foal, the answer is NO.
If you do not have the money to pay for boarding, farrier bills, vet bills (ask me about my first filly, who incurred well over $1200 in vet bills in her first eight months), the experience to handle things such as halter-training and basic handling issues, or the expertise to know how to properly discipline a foal, the answer is NO.
If you canât afford to send this foal to a good trainer at the age of 3, having put some basic groundwork into him or her first, and then have the experience (or money) to continue the training at home, the answer is NO.
I had two that were surprise babies (I bought their dams not knowing they were pregnant already). Those two were never started under saddle, because I never had the time to do it myself and there was no one close by I trusted to do it. My ex-riding instructor had two foals born the same year - one was born with a club foot and was never sound enough to ride, the other was spoiled rotten and by the time he was 4, was 17 hands of holy crap on a cracker - the most dangerous horse Iâve ever been near. And there was zero excuse for that, because sheâd raised horses before and theyâd turned out just fine. Not this one.
Not everyone should have a foal. Not everyone is equipped for it, ready for it, experienced enough for it. If youâre 12, with no job, no experience, no parental support, and no money, then no, you do not need one.
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As was said in the other thread, a slaughter bound weanling or yearling may have some conformation faults that are going to make it unsuitable for training and riding. It may also have nutritional issues and other health problems. You will likely find yourself buying a bunch of vet bills that your parents cannot afford.
You are not experienced enough to judge weanling or yearling conformation, so if you actually did go through with this, having a person that is a very experienced judge of young horse conformation to go along with you would be crucial.
That said, it is a very bad idea for a 12 yr. old to attempt to raise and train a young horse.
I agree that your first horse should be an older, well broke horse, so that you can learn to improve your riding.
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30 years ago when I decided to become a trainer, my coach told me three things.
One of the three things was that she never wanted to see me near, see me ride, or take on as a project a horse who had been an orphan foal⊠I had no idea what she was talking about. However, to my credit I did listen to her about this though I did not about some other things.
now I know. That are extremely unpredictable as adults because they are not truly a horse.
Im sure there are exceptions, I just have not met one that was a good horse in the long haul.
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This thread is reminding me of the scene in the âBuckâ movie with that palomino stud that the woman had hand-raised. Kicked Buckâs assistant in the head.
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Yes actually I talked to people on here and facebook
Clearly Iâm having trouble reading for comprehension today! My bad.
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So is the OP.
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