Showing foals??

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Royal Crescent

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I would love to show my foal, but am not sure that it would be good for him I saw a foal colic at a show last year. How do you know which ones may do OK with the stress of a show?
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My little guy is about 2 1/2 months old now and it will be another month before I would even consider it. How do you limit their stress? Do many of you choose to never show them until a year? There are not many shows around here, so the one I am thinking of is close but there is a fair and it would be crowded. Thoughts?
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I absolutel LOVE to show babies!!!
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One thing about it is if they don't show well you can blame it on their age - if a seasoned show horse or older horse behaves badly then you look bad.

When I take my babies to a show I always take their mothers! Even to Worlds if the foal is old enough to wean. I take the babies away from their mothers starting for 15 minutes and work up to an hour a day - you can put them in seperate stalls (give them both some feed if you wish to helo them cope), leave the mother in the stall (normally give her hay) and work with the baby on leading, standing, grooming, etc. This will get the mother and the baby used to the seperation - but they will still have their mom while hauling and staying overnite in a strange place. If you do wean and take to a show make sure they have a buddy - but also seperate them at home for periods of time so that they can handle being seperated. It also helps if the mare is calm and not a basket case - so if you have two foals that you would like to show I would go with the one that has the calmest mother - this will help the baby stay calm and stress free.

That is how I do it - I have never had a problem with the foals health at a show and have shown several babies to World Championship titles
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Natalie
 
What show are you planning on taking your baby to? Natalie is right, you don't want to just show up at a show and then all of a sudden take the baby away from the mother, put makeup on it and then expect it to stand still in the showring!! It is good to let your baby get used to being away from mom. We start taking the baby out of the stall(After being halter broken) at about 2-3 weeks. Not long just a few minutes. WE hold them near mom's stall and pet them,brush them, and reassure them. Then take them back in. We lengthen the time and take them further away each time. Best Wishes,Amelia
 
We do pretty much the same as above. I am working with one now that will show at the Ohio World Show. I take him outside the fence to practice walking on the lead etc. I also only take them to shows that are close by so they arent stuck on a trailer for long periods

Personality counts too. I only show the "outgoing" curious foals. I would never take a shy foal as I think the stress would be too much.
 
We've shown two babies this year and plan on taking at least two to Nationals. One we weaned (he is a Jan. baby) and the other we hauled with his Mom. Haven't had any problems at all, keeping their feed and feeding schedule the same is important while traveling. And I use a little probios just to ward off any problems.

We halter break our babies really early on and lead them to and from their turn out pens. Then when we start trimming feet and clipping we teach them to tie in sight of the mom.

When we hualed our baby with his mom there was a little crying going on when he first left the stall to be shown and then again when we showed her in brood mare class.

I think if you use good judgement on hauling your healtlhy, outgoing babies all should be fine. I agree with kaykay, if you have a shy one it may cause stress.

And remember when showing a baby you never know what they will do in the arena.............. :DOH! Our youngest weanling came out of grand a reserve trying to "breed" our two year old!!
 

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