Welcome, and the best of luck with your miniatures, Charlotte and John...this can certainly be a place for much helpful information! A great photo--this is indeed what it is all about!
I read the closed thread, and with all due respect, I have to say that I did NOT find any 'meanness' , nor any 'bad apples' there--some very straightforward opinions, perhaps, and some opinions and advice BASED UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED at that point. In past, there WERE a very few 'bad apples' here, but that has been dealt with. I will not fault tagalong, nor Nathan, nor any post that was there this morning when I read the closed thread, for their advice, based on their experience and education(and there is NOTHING wrong with formal education, BTW.)
I am also one of the earlier members of this Forum(though because of Forum restructuring, the member numbers 'began again' a couple of times even BEFORE the count shown in the member ID info at top left, so even they aren't totally accurate; there ARE a few here, and some who no longer post, who WERE here from the VERY beginning, around '97, I believe--my own participation began in Jan. of '99.) Tagalong is so VERY correct in that those of us who have had a LONG time in the horse world have seen, over and OVER, situations arise that could be prevented, IF someone with knowledge and experience spoke up, AND someone was willing to listen!!(It takes both.)
Most of the advice about catching foals, etc., has been well-based, and doesn't need for me to repeat it.I will say that I am in COMPLETE agreement on not keeping a horse as a stallion, OR breeding; certainly not for the foreseeable future; my reasons mirror others already outlined.
As one who has been immersed in the world of horses, as a pretty much fulltime obcession, since I was 9 years old and got my first ('big') horse(of my own!), has owned, bred, shown, and trained miniatures since 1984,and consider myself still learning EVERY day, by choice and design, and is now 66 years old, , I would urge you to hear what is being said by knowledgable and concerned 'horsepeople'. You will come to find that 'advice' may come from some who are NOT so knowledgeable-they are here, also; defensiveness is often their hallmark. I have found this to be the case throughout internet forums-and IMO, it will become clear who bears listening to and who, perhaps, not so much. There ARE areas where there are more than one 'right' way to do much of what is done with/to horses; conversely, there are some areas where the 'rules' are much more 'hard and fast', IMO--especially where safety of both horse and handler are concerned--a good tenet to remember.
Buckskin gal stated a good position to take very well in her excellent post on the closed thread.
I have to ask--are the halters being left fulltime on the foals? If so, I would urge you, at the first opportunity, to remove the halters, putting them on only when you are actually working with the foals. Many longtime horsepeople would agree that leaving a halter(especially a flat nylon halter, which will almost certainly NOT break under stress) on an unattended horse can be dangerous to the horse. I know you may feel they need to be on for you to 'get ahold' of the foals; I understand this thinking-but by making a concerted effort to use the various suggestions as to catching/handling the foals(there is NO substitute for TIME SPENT TOGETHER), you should in very few days' time be able to 'catch' the foals, haltering them for handling and teaching to lead. Be sure that when they are haltered, that the halters are adjusted to be a snug(NOT tight!) fit-again, for safety.
Again, best wishes with your miniatures!
Margo
