Oh, for sure will be asking the trainer too!! Hoping I run into her today. I’ve only been twice since she’s come and the trainer hasn’t been around during those times. Just interested in what you all think as well - lots of knowledge on here. 
Hoping to get a few different tools in my toolbox and be able to differentiate what’s okay and what’s not okay.
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you can’t trust them though, the amount of mis-information and outdated info, in the deworming area, is massive.
But do ask, because what they used determines what happens next, and when’
You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about, you didn’t do this 
At 5 months, if she’s never been dewormed or only every had ivermectin, it’s not surprising she’d be loaded with ascarids.
Lots of babies turn butts to things they know will scratch their itchies, so you’re either going to have to learn to read her body language for her intention, or just don’t be around her without halter/lead rope so you can prevent that movement and then ask your trainer to help you see the difference.
She’s old enough to start learning that any intention to kick or bite is 100% unacceptable, but the level of reprimand isn’t as high as with an adult, since she’s still just a baby. I’d always carry a dressage whip with you when around her, especially if she’s not haltered with lead rope in your hand. If she’s backing up with ears pinned (different from ears back to hear you) then I’d pop her with the whip as you step to the side, and use whatever language you use when you want a horse to stop doing what he’s doing. Mine is sort of like the first part of “uh-uh”, and spoken sharply
And, it will be good to ask the trainer this one specifically, so that you’re on the same page as what they’re teaching her. Your methods will evolve a bit, which is fine, but since you’re new to this too, might as well mimic what they’re doing
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In my experience (only with TBs) foals look wonderful until they get weaned, at which point they kind of fall apart for a month or two. Even with the best of care, they nearly all get that skinny neck–stick legs–big belly look. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a foal that was recently weaned and then shipped to a new home looks a bit ragged. I also wouldn’t necessarily blame the big belly on worms.
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THIS
At 5 months she’s only just really gotten into being able to digest forage, which started in the 4 months range. If she’s been getting lower quality forage, that can very, very easily cause a pot belly. If she hasn’t been getting enough protein - pot belly. And certainly lots, and lots, and LOTS of healthy-looking foals without bellies have been loaded with parasites
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Ahhhhhh, that could totally be it!! She doesn’t do it in a mean-spirited way or anything which is why I was a bit confused by it. My first horse was NEVER itchy anywhere, and if he was in a blue moon, he was very expressive when you hit the spot! She’s shedding a LOT and definitely lets me curry her bum the most.
I totally have one in my box and have been forgetting to bring it out. I’ve been putting her halter on but not lead rope as I figured it didn’t much matter in her stall, but it sounds like it’s a good idea. Thank you!!
Ahhhh thank you guys SO much for saying this! I had no idea. I’m very familiar with the usual hay belly, which is what it looked like, and what the trainer suggested it could be when she first came off the trailer. The breeder has no grass in CO, so she’s been on 100% hay (plus she was on the trailer for ~36h with hay). The belly has certainly gone down in the past few days and now she’s ribby, but when they mentioned the worms, I thought maybe that was the cause and just felt so bad for her!
Definitely good to know they look ragged, LOL. I was excited when she came to get some pics of her but uhhh… she isn’t as flattering as she was when she was a month old. 
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If she does turn her butt towards me or threatens to kick, should I just let it go for now? If I should get after her, to what degree?
I had one of the types of horses that was (and still is) super keen on butt scratches. The more invasive, the better 
With her it was very easy to distinguish intent (the tail was always cocked in anticipation of "ooh, yeah, that’s the spot when it was scratchy). If she showed me her butt for non-scratch related purposes, it was corrected. The same went for the other fillies she lived with.
My circumstances were a bit different since it was 7 weanlings in a field, no stalls, but a run-in to keep them from the weather. It was a trade-off I accepted to have her grow up outside. However, I can tell you: having been nailed once by a yearling who was being snarky and sour that I expected her to respect my space - do not tolerate butts to you. (And if they ever threaten - or attempt - to kick, correct them.)
My first correction tends to be verbal, a sharp growl or hiss. At the same time, I will move the hind end over so hind end isn’t facing me. (In calm moments, you should work on getting her to yield to pressure. Back up, move her hind end, move her shoulders. That way, when this happens, she already understands the cues for “move your hind end around”.) They learn pretty quickly what is and isn’t appropriate. Lead line or dressage whip in hand is a great recommendation above - you never want to be in a position where you wish you had something in-hand to help you (not that you ever want to be in that circumstance, but realistically - it is not unlikely). Better be over-prepared and unneeded than needed and under equipped.
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If it was me and she were mine?
Put a lead rope on her , get her out of the stall ( don’t tie just hold the rope) and groom her, touch her all over , pick up her feet and work on a little leading, backing , standing from the get go. Do it every time you are out there.
Also, don’t allow her to turn her butt to you in the stall. If that means snapping a lead on her so be it.
She is already setting the stage to take the upper hand. She doesn’t get a choice on wether you do something or not.
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This. She’s not a pet, she’s going to be a riding horse. She needs to be handled. Of course the expectations are different for a young horse but she’s still a horse. Every time I went out to the barn I would handle my yearling in some way. Halter him and take him to the grooming stall and groom him, halter him and take him to the ring to walk around, etc. As he got older we added things, learning to stand tied, jogging in hand, etc. they don’t have to be long sessions and you’re not going to ask for anything physically taxing, but life is not just being ogled over in the stall. They have to start taking baby steps towards learning to be a good partner too.
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Agree completely. Even when I first got my weanling he was getting groomed, learning to stand still, picking up his feet, learning to lead appropriately, giving to pressure, etc. They were all short sessions, 15 minutes max but they need to have manners. Now that he’s 2 I’m doing more, exploring the farm, learning to stand in the cross ties, etc…but it will make your life so much easier if you make it clear that there are boundaries and you do a lot of handling now. Oh, and clippers! Getting them used to clippers while they are little is SO much easier. I should have done more of this with my guy. He’s generally fine everywhere else, but a total pill to have his ears done and need drugs. We’re working on it more now, but would have been much easier if I had done more when he was smaller.
I should have done more of this with my guy. He’s generally fine everywhere else, but a total pill to have his ears done and need drugs.
THIS! Everything that was done to my gelding as a weanling/yearling, he is an old hat at - Leading, tying, trailering, bathing, saddling (with a little pony saddle) fly spray, sheath cleaning, etc. I too did not introduce him to clippers until he was 2 and it took forever for him to accept even the pressure/vibrations of the handle on his shoulder. He now is pretty good with clippers on his body and legs, but he is still not very accepting of face and bridle path being clipped as a now 4 year-old. I don’t ever plan to clip any of his facial hair, but I want him to be OK with in in the event of a vet emergency.
Funny, my guy could care less about his muzzle, face, etc. JUST his ears! I don’t clip whiskers either but just rub it all over his face and he thinks it’s great! No touchie the ears though…
I actually never got a notification that this thread got any more posts, sorry for that!
@JB, on the deworming note - I asked what they used. The first dose (which was given within the first week of her being there) was Safeguard. The second was Strongid which was given a week ago today. They’re going to assess at 30 days (so around Nov 1st), and will give her ivermectin then since she’ll be 6mo at that time. FWIW, I asked what kind of worms they were and they didn’t exactly know but confirmed they were thankfully not roundworms! I’ve taken a glance at her poo but haven’t seen anything. But I also don’t know what to look for, lol.
Since my last post, I’ve been taking her out of her stall literally every day and grooming her then taking her on walks. She has gotten SO much better with grooming!! She stands there quietly (mostly, which I think is fantastic - I don’t get after her for being bored and wanting to walk away after a little bit) and I think she’s starting to enjoy it, judging by how quietly she stands for it. She doesn’t really pick up her feet but the trainers are going to start working with her on that every day once she comes in and is a bit tired out. I really don’t want to get kicked in the head, or let her think that it’s acceptable to kick (or, vice versa, get after her more than I should for a minor infraction), so I think I’ll leave at least the beginnings of this training to the professionals.
Walking around, she’s pretty chill and is SO GOOD with voice commands and leading generally. I have her stopping, backing (by just touching her chest with the handle of a dressage whip), going over (touching her sides with the handle, having her cross her outside back foot with her inside foot), and she’s getting better with personal space and seems to respect a quick wave of the handle to back off. She kind of understands hand grazing but takes a few bites then tries to walk away and I think she gets frustrated with being tethered to me, lol. She does seem anxious to get back to the barn/her stall once I have her outside, but I’m thinking that’ll get better with time? I’ve started bringing her back in then grooming her some more before putting her back so she doesn’t think it’s a run back to her stall every time.
She’s really such a cutie, and is really good until she catches a bit of sass, which is amusing at this point (but don’t worry, I do reprimand for outrageous things and let her know my word is law!). It’s just funny what babies decide to throw temper tantrums for, and how obvious she makes it when she’s DONE with something… which is nice for me, as now I know when to quit while I’m ahead.
Here’s our first family picture together! She has the sweetest eyes!!
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single, or double dose? If single, they might as well not have been given unfortunately. The next one needs to be Equimax if they only used a single Strongid. If they used a double dose, then plain ivermectin is fine
Love the pic! Love her little “eyeliner” on her feet LOL
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Single, but I don’t think even a full dose - they commented that “she doesn’t use a full tube”… although I guess 1 full tube is 1 dose for an adult? Would a double dose use less than a tube still? I will ask when I visit tomorrow!!
Her belly has gone down a LOT and her nose isn’t runny anymore (not 100% sure that’s related to worms, as she only just got the rhino vaccine since the breeder’s vet was out when it came time for initial shots).
I’ve done so much reading on worms lately and can definitely confirm she looked “unthrifty” when she first arrived, but she had also been in a trailer for 30+ hours, so who knows! I made sure to ask specifically about roundworms as she was showcasing all of the symptoms… runny nose, coughing (I felt bad for thinking how cute they were, lol), foal coat never shedding out. But I think roundworms are pretty identifiable.
Right now she’s only getting probably ~6 hours outside so I’m also going to speak to the trainer tomorrow about getting her out overnight so she can at least be out as long as possible. I suppose it’s due to turnout buddy mismatch (her buddy can’t be outside all night or she’ll gain too much, lol), but hopefully we can figure something out.
LOL me too, it’s actually something I wished for!! My first horse also had them - “ermine spots” - which made all of his feet black. But I also got questions on shows like “what’s on his feet?”
I don’t know if the black feet vs pink feet health myths are true (and JB, you’re probably the best to know if so), but I’ve always believed them!
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Dosing is by weight. So a 500lb foal would get a 1000lb dose of each of those to kill ascarids (fenbendazole) and tapeworms (pyrantel pamoate). Single fenbendazole doesn’t kill ascarids, it takes a double dose. Pyrantel pamoate needs a 2x dose to kill tapeworms.
The timing is pretty good, if you can swing a fecal on Day 10-14 after giving the Strongid you can start getting a feel for what’s what
If things are good, awesome. If they’re not, that’s ok too The answer to both, this time of year, is Equimax to deal with bots and tapeworms if nothing else.
If she ends up loaded with ascarids, then you’d need to do another FEC 10-14 days after that Equimax to see if it was effective enough against those. If it wasn’t, then use either Strongid again, or a double dose of Safeguard/Panacur
Nope, not true! Pigment is on the outer part of the hoof wall and doesn’t contribute to hoof quality.
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I love that family picture! She’s adorable and looks happy to be with you. Every photo I have of me and my 23-y-o mare back when she was a weanling has her looking pissy. 
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Congrats on your purchase - i remember reading about her when you inquired on the sporthorse forum! 
6 hours of turnout is not even close to enough… Bare minimum for a baby should be 10-12 hrs out if 24/7 is not an option (with just coming in to eat or overnight in extreme temps like freezing rain or -30). Sadly many “hunter breeding” barns that show on the line minimize time outside to keep them from getting sunbleached coats and keep them fat, clean and shiny. And it’s not healthy.
Also - make sure you are able to touch her everywhere, and i mean everywhere. If you don’t want to get kicked, then position her against a wall, get in very close to her body and touch her belly, inside her hinds, her teats, etc, everywhere. No part of her should be off limits to you, ever. Reward with scritches/treats as needed, but make sure to get this lesson well installed NOW!
And I know ppl already answered this, but no reputable breeding program should be skipping deworming for their foals. So not ok. Mine are all dewormed at 3 months, and moms are dewormed as close to birth as possible or immediately after foaling if they got sneaky on me. lol
Picture of my 2023 filly at 4.5 months for reference.
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The vet is coming out to xray her hinds next Thursday, so around ~15 days after the Strongid - I’m going to ask they get a sample for a fecal then, too!
She received a 800lb dose of both (no clue what her weight is but she’s pretty small and ribby, wouldn’t be surprised if she’s 400lbs).
Oh, I have a couple of those too, hehe! She’s definitely feeling a lot more comfortable with me and is pretty curious and happy most of the time.
She lets me touch pretty much everywhere (still gets weirded out about me touching her ears but I do it every day, so I think she’s getting less and less weirded out by it). I haven’t tried to touch her teats yet, and I actually just realized yesterday that I was actively avoiding brushing anywhere close to that area because I’m used to geldings! I’ve heard most mares actually quite enjoy their teats being scratched, is that true?
Can’t remember if I mentioned earlier but I did speak to the breeder and she had been giving Mochi pyrantal every month thankfully. So, probably why she wasn’t overloaded with worms.
I’m starting to think her ugly coat is just a buckskin thing - I’m in a foal group on FB and I haven’t seen a pretty, sleek buckskin weanling yet. I can’t wait for next year to see what she looks like under the fluff!
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I think I’d grab my own sample on day 14. Fresh as possible, knock off the top layer, grab a handful from a few places in the middle and mix, all done with a plastic bag/ziplock bag/internal exam glove on of course! Squeeze all the air out and stick it in the fridge. That will be fine for a day or 3, and better than if she’s not coming until day 16 or 17. If it’s really Day 15, that may be ok
ok good, hopefully that was at least double her weight
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