rescued mini mares

[rabbitsfizz]

Anything that is not labelled "horse Feed" is a no no, basically!

Suemahree PLEASE do not leave the halters on your mares. I could tell you real horror stories, two of them my own, personal, tragedies, where people have lost animals this way, it really is not safe unless you can get proper Mini breakaway halters. I know it is frustrating but every time you catch and halter them you take a step forward and you are effectively cutting that step out. You are doing a great job and I would like to be sure that you actually end up with two well mannered quiet mares, and not one and a sore heart and guilty conscience!

It may take a little longer but it will be worth it in the end and you are going about this with so much common sense I wish you could bottle it and sell it, then you would be able to quit your job! These mares are blessed to have found you, they really are.

I had a Connemara mare come off the boat form Ireland, blind in one eye , two years old and in foal, never had a hand on her. It took six months but when she finally came to me without fuss it was something I shall never forget. I was getting ready, with my bucket of feed and my lead rope over my arm and I was opening the halter out to tie it round my waist and looking forward to half an hour following her round the field. She just walked up, looked at me very hard and then presented her head for the halter. I put it on, she followed me into the shed and ate her feed. That was it. She made a first class kids riding pony. You will get there too, never fear.

 

[suemahree]

Thank you for the info on the goat feed littlenicker, I had that experience with my husband when the girls first got home thankfully it was a handful and not a whole bucket full. Now the goat feed and the horse feed are no where near each other and I feed in the morning and then make their meal for evening feed before I go to work so the goats have their feed and the horses have theirs so there is not another mix up. My husband isn't in to all these animals but is good enough to go get them all in at night before I get home as it is dark when I arrive home.

And Rabbit...thank you so much for the info on the halters, the girls are now coming to the barn and in their stalls so the halters now that the farrier is done are coming off in the morning. I never left halters on my big horses and have been just waiting for these feet to get done to take the halters off. Yes it does make it easier to catch the girls but they have come along way since December 4th so it is now time for them to learn to come to me and let me get halters on them when it is time to brush out. They still have trust issues with catching them but once they are caught they do fine, Bea actually has let me tie her and finger through her tail, I can not wait for spring and a big bucket of soapy water so manes and tails can get washed braided and tails bagged up. I would just hate it if something happened to them. I have spent a lot of time with them to get them where they are and even the farrier was surprised that they were easy to handle today. They have come a long way and I just love them.

It is now time to build another stall in the barn and separate them as Maggie is due to fall in early spring.....I think....the lady I got them from ran them with the stallion so who knows when but I am getting to where I can touch Maggies underbelly and I am working my way towards her bag so that I can tell when she starts to bag up. I am hoping that the lady is right that she will foal sometime around the end of March to the first of July. I can not believe that people would be so stupid as to just run mares and just not care when they are due. They have a much better home now and I am so looking forward to the baby coming. I work for my vet so I have her on high alert as Maggie is so tiny and is maiden so I am pray for no issues. Follow me on my blog where I will post progress updates and pictures. Thanks again for all your help.