Marlanoc Foal Thread, All Foaled! 4 colts, 1 filly

[Wings]

I can just image the raised eyebrows she was giving you in return

After Derby and Sterling she keeps it just to raised eyebrows.... I think she's gotten used to me and my lunacy

Rivain gave me her classic "you try that sh!t with me and we're going to have a conversation... with teeth and skin involved" look.

 

[Eagle]

Good ol Rivian ROFL

 

[cassie]

haha gotta love Rivain! lol exciting times for you Bree!

gosh I wish you had a camera set up lol.

 

[Eagle]

God I don't, can you imagine how many times Bree would make us pee our panties laughing lol

 

[Wings]

God I don't, can you imagine how many times Bree would make us pee our panties laughing lol

I'd attempt an innocent look here but we all know I'd be lying

:rofl I'd have to put little devil horns on Rivain

Training question for you all,

I just ran everyone up to the yards to start working on the foals properly. I have hooves that need doing and microchips to put in so I can complete regos.

Thor who has had no work was brilliant with his halter, let me pick up all his feet and yielded off the rope so I could tie him up and rub him all over.

Loki who has had some work had a tantrum but then decided to just do what his brother did. Those two finished their session on loose leads having some smoochies and all was awesome in the world.

Red and Picasso still won't let me near them

and because they like to run as a terrible twosome I haven't been able to separate them in the yard yet.

Red and Tilly are both still on their dams but I can shift those two onto the other side of the fence without any issues.

Tilly has been wearing a halter for awhile, not sure if I posted here that more then a month back she got out of her paddock and I had to catch and lead her back. She was a good girl for a lot of that but fought me really hard near the end and I've always worried that would come back to bite me. I think it has

Tilly would rather die then submit to the lead. Unlike Loki who thinks his way out of the situation she goes into such a panic that she nearly injured the both of us and I swear she almost killed herself today. She won't give to a bum rope either and I have no idea how to proceed with her. Ideas?

Tilly is 6 months on the 13th April, Red is 6 months on the 13th of May. I'm not sure how much I can do until those mares are out of the equation. I'd really like to run the foals up to the yards for some intensive handling. JUST the foals with Apollo and Derbs on the fence line in the small paddock. As the foals settle they can go back in with their babysitters. But I can't do this until everyone is weaned

Really drawing a blank of how best to proceed!

 

[countrymini]

Oh no. No breaking in skills here but hope someone can help you out.

 

[Wings]

Yeah it's my first time dealing with this level of panic mode. Decided I'd rather retreat and get a few opinions before trying again!

 

[cassie]

have you tried leading her mum in front of Tilly and not putting any pressure on the lead just having her follow mum for the first little while?

I don't know what you think of clicker training... but I was having trouble with Finn and I used the clicker positive reinforcement and it worked really well on him

he is now leading like a pro

just some suggestions but you know I'm still a newbie to all of this lol

 

[Wings]

if it was any other mare that would be my first trick, but Jilla is super nervous of being handled while she has a foal at foot. So she gets nervy which really doesn't help Tilly at all

Maybe without her mother's nerves she won't get set off as quickly?

I also don't want to wean Tilly and Red separately. Fantasy is pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order and I'd rather move her into the bigger herd along with Jilla who is much higher and a good peacemaker. I think I'm leaning towards just weaning them now, Red is a little over 4 and a half months so it wouldn't be too early. Both mares are currently light but in good condition and I certainly don't want them dropping anything else now that the cold weather is coming. But still not sure if I'm pushing that too soon on Red to make things easier?

Foals

who would have them!

 

[Wings]

Well consensus is very much Red is ready to come off, he actually seems more independent then Tilly!

So today everyone is going back in the yards, we'll use Jilla to lead Tilly into the stable and then take her away. Somehow we'll convince Picasso to come up to the other stable. They are my two problem children right now so some time in where they can't cling to their best friends will do the some good.

Thor and Loki will have two of the yards opened up into a big one, they're no trouble to work together and I swear Loki is better when he has to compete against his brother. A bit of sibling rivalry

Red will use the third yard, once the halter goes on I think he'll come around very quickly. Palli's foals have never been that tricky and Fantasy's last boy Storm almost trained himself once we got the halter on.

Those three boys will have Derbs and Apollo on the fenceline and as they settle into the whole handling routine they can go back out with their friends and continue in the paddock. So it's a race! red vs Thor and Loki!

Tilly and Picasso will graduate from the stables to the yard and then Picasso can go back to the boys and Tilly will go to Special's group, which has Lyric, Storm and Sterling, as I don't want to leave her with the colts.

And no I didn't sleep last night, how could you tell?

:rofl

Even when the rotters are weaned you still lose sleep over them!

I'll keep you all updated! Probably no pics today but I'll try and snap some tomorrow.

 

[countrymini]

well.. good luck! Sounds like you might need some lol

 

[cassie]

wow! good luck with it all! sounds like a fun filled day for you! it would be fun to be a fly on the wall at your place today I think LOL

obviously up high so we can't get swatted by you LOL

hope all goes well

 

[Wings]

Haha

Well Fantasy and Jilla didn't hugely care about leaving their bubs. But Kalari snuck out the gate and I had to go and catch her

Mares!

Tilly didn't want to follow her mother so I tied Jilla up by the stable, went back and caught her and she actually was willing to walk part way. I then put the but rope around and step by step got the rest of the way and let her take her time stepping up into the stable. Turns out it's the halter pressure making her flip out, the butt rope doesn't have the same effect and she can't STAND me being in front of her. All good things to know because it gives me some starting places that aren't so scary.

Also she trots like a dream. I don't think I'll be advertising her all that actively for awhile

Red is separated but not haltered and is a bit upset about things. Will be tackling him tonight hopefully.

Loki and Thor are sharing a yard and couldn't care less, they have hay after all!

Picasso Is awaiting for haltering and stabling.

Right now I still have the vet booked in for tomorrow to microchip the lot. Worst case scenario he'll have to do Red and Picasso when he comes back in a month to geld them both. At least the others will be done!

I hope the flies on the wall have enjoyed the show... especially the part where I went to catch Derby and he had an "omg I don't know what a halter is!" moment

 

[cassie]

ROFL yes I sure loved THAT moment LOL glad all went relitively well for you Bree

would love to see some more piccies of all the babeis in their new spots

 

[Wings]

Red is haltered! And I'm in agony... I think we gave everyone a rather impressive wrestling spectacle.

Best bit was at the end when I turned and saw Loki staring at us. I just knew he was thinking "wuss!" at Red

Picasso is also haltered and in the stable

They all have hay and hard feed, mostly they want the hay but Loki, Thor and Red are nibbling at their nice mushy feeds and I'm sure my pinto lunatics will try theirs once they settle in for the night.

Who on Earth would breed foals?

LOL!

 

[countrymini]

To be honest, I don''t know of anyone who has tried to breed foals. Is it even possible

As I said before I''m not professionally trained in horse training but some tricks I''ve learn are the clicker training which Cassie talked about, its the best fun, then the other thing I''ve tried and it really works is pressure and release. Not sure how effective this is on foals but I''ve found it useful for Sweety and Wazza.

 

[Wings]

:rofl Ya nut

All my work is built on pressure and release, why Tilly reacts so badly from front on work I don't know, possibly some of the fall out from the day she got out?

I'll keep things simple tomorrow, the main task is getting them chipped so the vet and I will be manhandling them a bit. In the afternoon I'll handle as many feet as I can so I can book a time slot with my farrier. Mostly I want them letting me catch them and yielding to some basic pressure and release. Leading can come later now that they are all were they are supposed to be!

What I have noticed is.... (and Loki is the only one with extensive handling, the others are all very raw!)

Thor will accept almost anything, he has no touchy body parts and he is very soft natured. He also has a bold streak so he doesn't get rattled.

Loki takes convincing but prefers to think his way out of annoyances rather then flip out. He'll keep me on my toes simply because that brain is so sharp rather then because of any particular issue.

Red does NOT like his face being touched. I think simply having the halter on will help with this. Touching him anywhere else doesn't get the same reaction so a little desensitizing will do a lot of good.

Tilly will fight me to the death on her issues but if it's not those issues then she's a doll. She'll snuffle and snuggle and has no issues with touch, she responds to release and praise very well and laps it up. She always seems to do better.

Picasso is reactive and he is strong, but there is no nasty feelings. He hasn't bit or kicked once or even threatened to do so. He has been over mothered by his foul proud mother and relies heavily on the other foals for support. Singled out now I expect he'll seek to buddy up to the people available.

So that's some reflections on how the bubs are handling all this new scary stuff I'm throwing at them. Overall I'm quite pleased, and I'm looking forward to graduating them out of their current spots over this month!

 

[countrymini]

Sounds like u have it all under control.

 

[Eagle]

I am worn out just trying to visualize the adventures

I am glad all turned out well and good luck tomorrow with the vet

 

[Wings]

I'm in pain this morning.

Plus Red and Tilly kept waking me up last night to call to their mums

I most certainly prefer the paddock weaning I did with the other 3! That worked much better for all of us!