Max was born close to midnight so he’s got that going for him. Looking at the Arab horse registry for both purebreds and parts there are a number of chestnuts and greys, not to mention bays with Midnight in their name so maybe I’m way over thinking this. 
I really like Macs Midnight Flare V … I read it as “Macs Midnight Flare Five” which I find satisfying. And I vote that midnight definitely works for a dark bay. Love it all around!
We have settled on Macs Midnight Star V as a registered name for Max. Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions, naming babies is both fun and hard.
In payment here is Max learning to play with the jolly ball and getting told no by the old gelding that sometimes plays with him.
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That old gelding looks like the perfect baby horse companion - firm but no damage done.
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LOLOL the gelding is perfect! I love how Max tried a few times and realized the old guy WAS serious about NO lol
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and then said, “FINE! I’ll go back to the ball. Sheesh, old man.” [In miffed teenage tone]
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I thought you guys would be amused by the old man. I’ve been very happy with how the herd interacts with Max. They will play with him some but also discipline him as needed and boy sometimes does he need it. I’m kind of surprised he doesn’t have a permanent set of bite marks on his butt yet. He’s a resilient little monster and will happily go back and try again 5 minutes later to see if the answer has changed. He doesn’t seem to pout after even strong correction like I’ve seen some horses do. And so far the corrections mostly involve teeth and maybe a back foot picked up threateningly but no kicking which is great. Now the question is how big will he get and where in the hierarchy will he end up.
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YET 
Mine was the same way, he pestered the daylight out of his “uncles”, and nobody actually laid teeth on him until he was a bit older, like 4-5 months or so, maybe 6. Then it was a near-daily thing where he’d show up with a new mark and I’d ask “so who did you annoy the crap out of today?” That went on for YEARS 
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LOL I rode a horse years ago that was for sale WAY out of my range but we got along great. He seemed to ALWAY get himself kicked the day before he was supposed to go out for trial. Everyone who knew him said he wanted to stay with me 
Usually he would pester the heck out of his owner’s other horse until it got mad enough to kick back. The funny part was that Horse #2 would do the same thing to the others in the paddock, but would get so mad at Horse #1. We always thought, “well, what did you expect!!??”
Now back to Max’s scheduled programming
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Oh, they definitely put their teeth on him, just not hard enough to remove flesh. His mom is particularly quick with her teeth when he is rude nursing. The first 4 days he could get away with anything now she puts up with less and less every day. I have no doubt that I will be finding well deserved chunks out of him for many years to come, especially before shows.
@JBCool, the funny thing is that Whirly, the old gelding, was the major pest in the herd when he was a baby. Unfortunately the older ones he pestered are no longer around to enjoy the payback.
Not too many chunks out of his butt this morning, but you can definitely see that there have been teeth applied to it. He’s going through that lovely moth eaten stage right now.
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Adults know how far they can go with a foal based on age, it’s so cool 
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Sorry for the lack of Max updates. Life has been busy and he’s hard to take pictures of from the ground, he wants to be right up next to you. He continues to thrive and is very much all boy, so his brain surgery is scheduled for end of August. From the literature I could find there didn’t seem to be much difference between gelding at 3.5 months and gelding at 9 month. And I’m definitely not willing to wait longer than 9 months with him. The added benefit of gelding before weaning is mom will encourage him to move and probably won’t let him sulk, plus she’ll provide some comfort.
Max will do anything for scritches. My daughter has found that if she’s up on the fence to curry comb the horses she is less likely to get stepped on. Bonus is he’s getting very used to having someone loom over him and put a little bit of pressure on his back. He also loves to zoom while I ride mom. He looks smaller from on her back but it’s the best way to get action videos of him right now. Enjoy!
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He’s adorable!
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What a cute little stinker!
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Since you’re riding his mom anyway, you could start ponying him for a few minutes at a time. I was lucky to have safe ride-out from my barn so could take baby out for trail rides before weaning. Learned about streams, cattle, uneven ground, etc. . .
Have fun with him!
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That’s the plan! Though right now he zooms until he’s tired and then he flops down for a nap. I keep thinking I’ll let him run some energy out and then ask him to behave and try ponying but so far the timing hasn’t worked. He’s also determined to mount mom which isn’t fun while riding, hence the brain surgery scheduled for later this month.
I’m hoping to get him out places and exposed to everything before too long.
FWIW, it’s normal for colts to practice adult behaviors with mares.
Yup, it is. Though even my vet is surprised at how early and persistent he has been. It also doesn’t help that I have a 13 hd retire welsh broodmare that was actively encouraging and helping him mount her. He knew what he was supposed to do, he just wasn’t quite tall enough to make it work. The pony is now separated, I don’t need to encourage that behavior nor do I need to make the pony’s slightly sore back and hocks worse. The bigger mares either ignore him or terrify him for the most part. He’s also starting to mark manure piles and pee spots like a stallion, the testosterone is definitely flowing. Fortunately he’s cute, sweet, and very smart.
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mine was jumping on mom at 2 months and kept at it for about 3 more LOL
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