Bad timing/odd situation

[schutzandwhinnies]

Long story short our colt Rosco is going to be 20 days old tomorrow. I had knee surgery in March and a bit limited still. My daughter is 13 and excellent with her mini Barbie, the foals dam. She has him halter trained and has begun the leading and he is doing fine (for her) Rosco is verrrrrrrry spirited and is in need of some manners. Now Maddy my daughter had a ton of nice folks (friends neighbors etc...) giving advise on the biting issue, the bucking and rearing and all the hurry up fun stuff the foals are doing at this age. Some say don't pop them when they bite as it will make them headshy, some say do pop them when they try to bite you or they will always do it. Maddy has kind of found her own way of dealing with it. She will reach out to touch his face and he starts with his lips and then tries to bite her, she has been putting her hand on his nose and pushing downward and saying no and right away tries to touch again, she eventually wins and he let's her explore all over him and she even holds him over her legs and he falls asleep. The problem is he will only allow her near him and not the rest of us or any visitors. With my knee injured still I am not able to keep up with him to be an additional influence from people. So my worry is should I just let Maddy continue on her own or should I start having more people over and try to be in his space? He is just a little pill. He will run up to you and want to be with you, it would seem anyway, and then he wants to bite or he will start bucking and rearing unless you show him you aren't to be moved by those actions and then he will turn and burn. Problem is most folks move. Is it better to just have Maddy around him for now while he is learning manners or expose him to others even though they may let themselves be "moved"? The vet says expose him to as many folks as you can. This is our first foal and we plan to keep him, but I am almost thinking I should hire a trainer for a few sessions to get a good start??? Thanks for any sharing your experiences.

Here he is with Maddy after her efforts

Here he is in pill form

 

[rabbitsfizz]

First off, step back from the problem and look hard at it.

He is a less than three week old foal, with NO other foals to play with.

All he is doing is trying to play with you.

There is no way I would be asking a foal this age to do any of the stuff you are asking- this is discipline WAY ahead of his mental ability and, as he is still running on instinct, he reacts by assuming you are strange foals and MUST want to play.

I do not think you are really doing any harm, nit yet, but if you were to start getting heavy handed with him at this stage you definitely would do damage, mentally, and very quickly.

I do not even have a halter on any of my foals at this age- I can handle them, pick up their feet, move them around, all very adequately and without getting into any fight situations, but I do not put a halter on, not yet.

I think you should be moving as many trustworthy people (not children) into his space ASAP or he is going to get the idea it is HIS space- these only children do become Brats very quickly if they do not have guidance and rules to follow.

I think your daughter is handling the problem excellently.

I also think most of the problem would go away if she stopped haltering him up and trying to do things with him- is it possible to step back a bit or does he have to be haltered up to be led out etc??

Also, has he got toys to play with??

Old O/J cartons with a bit of water in them for balance and hung from trees so they swing, mine love- you can get a variety of balls and toys made for horses but things like the cartons, old tyres and paddling pools are inexpensive and, although they will not last as long as the made for them toys, they are a lot less expensive.

So tell your daughter well done, and back off a little.

How about you do some of the messing about with him, without your daughter around at all??

That way he would have to answer to you or have no audience.

Good Luck

:

 

[schutzandwhinnies]

Thanks for all the info Rabbitfizz :bgrin , We will begin "toymaking" tomorrow. I think Maddy will be glad to hear the backing off news as she is very busy with Barbie, Rosco's dam. She needs some exersise to trim up again and be ready for 4H. I'll open the flood gates for the adults w/knowledge and let him experience other people. Honestly I was glad to hear a bit of "let him be a baby" as our vet and a ton of others have been pushing in the direction of "get him trained now before he get's out of control" as he is such a little pistol. Maddy has been trying to work from the foal imprinting book someone lent us and almost all of it is done without a halter. We have several books and are staying very open minded and reseptive to experiences from others as it would seem that not all horses fall under just one type theory or treatment. What makes me seek out advise from you folks here on this site even though we have fun and caring horsey friends where we live is that none of them have mini's around here and I have already seen first hand from hearing some for instances here on this site that mini's sometimes have a set of their own rules when it comes to medicines and training. So I thought it best to get some advise on here to blend in with everything else we are trying to apply. My biggest fear is that we will mess him up with lack of knowledge, so I am grateful for whatever experience you folks here can share as I will have it all in my mental roladex (books, vet, neighbors, friends and advise from my piers on this site) to choose from when he shows us who he is and what advise best suits him for future training purposes. Thanks again and I'll try and keep up posting his sucesses :aktion033: and failures :new_shocked: for future advise.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I will ditto Jane's post big time./ Let him be a baby! I don't halter till 1 month, don't lead til 3 mos, why? they follow mom usually. Don't get me wrong, they do get halters played with, on & offver and over and we play lead line tug take astep tug take step and all done. If the boys (and don't you just luv colts!) are unruly it's part of being a baby and especially a colt! I always do as you daughter. Just nudge away and show them a toy! They can bit it! For the bucking, I just move the lil butt away and say quit. I do not disipline babies til they get older and bigger. Right now life is one huge adventure one minute to the next. He is adorable and his mom quite pretty. Your daughter is doing a great job, let her continue. As for visitors, I usually limit them for the first 6 wks, then c'mon in. I warn about teeth and feet, tell them the cues we use for minor correction so there is no confusion for baby then let them go to maul and love. I also keep brushes handy, folks love to brush and the baby learns with a lesson to stand for this nice feeling. Congratulations, don't fret, I hope your leg heals quickly.

 

[bfogg]

.I ditto exactly what Jane said!!!! Wise woman that!

I will try to get over to watch might bring fabio he needs more... ahem exposure!

Bonnie

 

[nootka]

I like rabbit's reply very well, myself.

What I DO to "discipline" any youngster that does challenge me or reach for me with teeth (rarely do I ever see pinned ears, but when I do, usually waving my hands and hissing/stamping a foot works to change the general attitude. If they run off, they quickly come back and as long as the attitude then is subservient and soft-expressioned (i.e., ears pricked and mouth either chewing or not pinched/wrinkled ready to nip) is to push them away by the shoulder or their nose.

I don't hit or slap them, just push the offending nose away and step into them, possibly bumping them gently about 6" the other direction. You can add a firm "no" or I like "quit" for bad behavior.

If they come charging up and invade your space aggressively (this begins playfully but watch the body language, in colts it can change to aggression fairly quickly), just step towards them and be loud and let them approach you at a slower pace.

Even if you sit on a chair in the paddock/stall and let him be around you, you can easily enforce these light "rules" which you must use consistently and likely quite repetitively in most cases. He WILL get it and he'll be a better citizen for it.

I will say that I don't really train to halter unless it's necessary and even then, often we will train as we go, so don't worry overmuch about that. The stepping back and letting him just "be" is awesome advice.

Too bad we can't have a little bit of "foal summer camp" as I know little Bella would love someone more her own age to play with. Kyan is a bully (her brother, older by 2 months) and her older sister is crabby and bullyish too! *LOL* That leaves Gramma and she's boring.

Are you going to come by the Area 8 show in Spanaway this weekend? I plan on being there on Sunday.

Liz M.

 

[Miniv]

I also ditto Jane's post! And your daughter is handling the biting thing perfectly.

MA

 

[schutzandwhinnies]

Thanks for all the encouragement folks :bgrin It falls on a relieved heart to be able to let him be a foal. His mama Barbie seems to keep him in line as well with his biting and kicking. She tolerates it for 1 or sometimes 2 rounds and then she let's him know that's enough and he runs to nurse. What a goob, we love him :lol:

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Great! With the babies it always good to be a "mare" not a human.