when colts get, well, colty

[silanac]

my 15 week old colt has turned into a monster. this is my first foal, and as such my first experience training a super youngster ground manners and the like. we work daily with him with exposure to lots of different things. so far he has mastered grooming, farrier, bags, tarps, rags, umbrellas, ground tying and cross ties, the dreaded hose, and is slowly coming around to clippers around his ears…

He has always been great at leading, but very recently has turned into an absolute brat. We have been practicing in short intervals so as not to ‘fry’ him for his inspection that is next week and it seems like everything is unraveling.

We had been working on jogging momma in hand while he trots along side. well, he wont do that anymore. now he just rears onto momma and bolts off. after discussing this with the AHS they suggested i show his movement in hand. he has always been fine jogging in hand. However, now he digs his feet in and wont walk along side, when he does walk nicely he is trying to eat my hand and the lead rope, and then at times will ‘explode’ and try to get away and run back to momma who is 50 feet away standing peacefully in the aisle of our barn.

we started yesterday essentially starting over at the walk. i had my mom walk behind him with a lunge whip and when he tried to stop she gently poked him to encourage him to keep going. when he bites my hand under his chin i flick the side of his nose, all of this with vocal commands as well.

but what do i do when he rears up? i was told by several to hit him with a crop or the lunge whip under his belly, but it does not seem to phase him.

any suggestions to get this little man rocking in hand again?

[Callaway]

Babies are not as confident when they are in a new enviroment, usually, so they tend to follow their moms a lot better than they do at home. I never practice for inspections the way it sounds like you are! As long as my foals know how to lead reasonably well, I don’t worry. They will do silly things, like spook, because they are babies. People expect that. The rearing (especially if it’s striking) and biting, however, are not acceptable. I never hit a horse under their belly. I tend to ignore rearing (depending on the situation), but with striking and biting I make a big deal out of it with my voice and energy. I step into their space, say a firm ‘no,’ and will smack them in the shoulder or neck.

ETA: The way I teach foals (not newborns, older foals) to walk forward is to apply slight tension on the lead rope, and I don’t release it until they move forward (even if they just lean forward–that is shaping). Even if they back up or rear, I go with them, still holding that tension on the lead.

Good luck!

[rodawn]

I agree that in a strange place like inspection, you’ll likely find that he might “make strange” and thus want to trot along with mother because being in a new place and not knowing the surroundings, he will be taking her lead and direction.The inspectors are usually very good. They expect quirky behavior from foals.

[stoicfish]

Could it be that you have worked with him too much? I don’t know and am not saying this is the case but sometimes when they spend too much time around people (like orphaned foals) they get funny behaviour traits because they are soo familiar with you. Plus he is a colt and some do tend to be more aggressive. He may just be “playing” with you now that the fear factor is gone. By playing I mean exerting his authority.
I agree that at the inspection he may snap out of it a bit, being out of his comfort zone.

[Go_Fish]

@silanac;6443962

my 15 week old colt has turned into a monster. this is my first foal, and as such my first experience training a super youngster ground manners and the like. we work daily with him with exposure to lots of different things. so far he has mastered grooming, farrier, bags, tarps, rags, umbrellas, ground tying and cross ties, the dreaded hose, and is slowly coming around to clippers around his ears…

Yikes…the poor guy’s not even 4 months old yet. He’s a pre-schooler and you’re trying to send him to college.

Yes, babies need handling. But there’s a happy medium between basic manners and handling them to death. They need time for being a baby.

It sounds like he’s being asked to do a lot of things on a regular basis that are beyond his little brain at this point. He’s also about the age when most colts get a bit fractious and full of themselves.

I agree with others…a new environment will make him a bit insecure and he’ll probably stick close to mom. A little “enthusiasm” at an inspection won’t offend the judges, either. They expect it.

[Krallen]

Just let him be a baby. Scratch him, lead him in and out everyday, take lots of pics, put on fly spray, and call it good. All colts jump and rear on mom, its what they do, and he will do it from now until you wean. Frankly, if you get him to an inspection and he can lead, you’ll be doing pretty good, and better than a lot of other foals at the inspection. Don’t worry about clipping right now. Unless they rear up on top of/at me or bite at me, I don’t really reprimand. Now if they do, that’s a whole 'nother story…

Some colts are angels, some colts are just colts, and some needed to be gelded yesterday…for the real hellions that think they are the coolest thing ever at five months old, a visit from the vet can help put their brain back on track.

[camohn]

All mine do at that age is halter, lead, follow momma onto a trailer and brush/sponge bathe. The real mellow ones can bathe with a hose, most are not there yet/are still on a sponge bath and brushing. As noted…I only reprimand with a crop if there is aggression aimed at me.

[Samotis]

Yeah, too much too early.

I learned the hard way with my now 4 year old when he was younger.

I worked to much with him to do the yearling breeding stuff and he turned into a monster.

He is finally getting better, but they don’t need that much work at under 4 months old.

I have a 3 month old now and he can lead and I have introduced him to a tarp and a hose, but he does not tie, or cross tie!

He is very friendly but respectful and I already see a huge difference in his behaviors as compared to his older brother.

Live and learn! Good luck!

I wouldn’t worry about the inspection. Just let him relax and he will be in a new place and probably run along with mom just fine!

Good luck.

[Dressage_Diva333]

Leave him be, that is way too much handling in my opinion. My babies wear a halter, stand well enough for fly spray when I’m holding momma, stand for the farrier, and lead a bit with the butt rope before weaning. I’ll scratch them every day when I got into the field to feed, nothing excessive. I’ve found that this typically makes a horse MUCH easier to deal with, and it seems the over-handled young horses tend to be spoiled rotten brats. I show my young horses on the line, and I pull them out and work with them once every 2-3 weeks. I’ll toss them on a lunge line for a couple minutes to get the sillies out, then they show just fine. Even if your aiming for the show world, I really don’t find it necessary to work them every day. It really helps for them to have a buddy in the field too, especially after weaning.

Once they are weaned, the leading will come. But even then I do not handle them excessively. Let them be babies for three years, they’ve got the rest of their lives to learn everything else

[JB]

Sounds typical of babies growing up and figuring themselves out.

Let him for for a bit. You will be SHOCKED how much better he is after a break

Mine led great. From both sides.

One day I led him in for breakfast, and literally, it was like a switch had turned off. He was NOT going to be led from the right side. He tried to bolt, he would run around right in front of me trying to rear in the process, he was BAD! :lol:

I moved to his left side and he was an angle. Moved to his right side - bolt/rear/run :mad: :rolleyes:

And yep, he even got away from me a couple of times :mad:

He’d walk back out FINE from the right side. :rolleyes:

Rinse and repeat for about 3 days.

Day 4 - led perfectly in from both sides.

Boyz.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Go Fish;6444461]
Yikes…the poor guy’s not even 4 months old yet. He’s a pre-schooler and you’re trying to send him to college.

Yes, babies need handling. But there’s a happy medium between basic manners and handling them to death. They need time for being a baby.

It sounds like he’s being asked to do a lot of things on a regular basis that are beyond his little brain at this point. He’s also about the age when most colts get a bit fractious and full of themselves.

I agree with others…a new environment will make him a bit insecure and he’ll probably stick close to mom. A little “enthusiasm” at an inspection won’t offend the judges, either. They expect it.[/QUOTE]

Good post, good information