also I forgot to add, that I have NO INTENTION of letting him keep his bits!! lol He will be gelded after 6 months of age. I believe only the most experienced and seasoned horseman/woman should handle 400kg + of raging hormones ;-)nice/calm nature or not....

Hi mylee.mann
What a little bundle of joy.
I have a skewbald thoroughbred, who I saw and handled from birth. He was a twin but sadly only he survived.
You can imprint yourself on this little fella as much as you want to.
play with him as much as you can. We use to play with balls, teddies, plastic bags hung in the yard, anything I could find to feed his curiosity.
He had my dog that use to play with him in the field, and a couple of sheep as well as an orphan foal.
His mum was scared of everything because she had a really bad start in life but she let him play and discover all that he wanted.
He is now 3 years old and has just accepted the saddle and bit, with me lying on his back as if it was second nature.
I have been using all of these things with him since he was little, never hurting him or forcing him, just letting him play with them.
Im not too good with advice but this is my own experience and I hope it helps.
Good luck with Ace
Sandie

Hi Mylee,
The picture of Ace is overwhelmingly sweet! This is going to be great fun for the two of you...
About "training" I suggest you start with small periods of time, stop when he shows fatigue.
First thing he'll have to learn is to come off of pressure, this will help you teach him to lead and later to tie. You'll be doing a lot of desensitization and also sensitization, remembering never to stop before he accepts the lesson, can it be so small.
Next important thing is picking up his feet, you can start with desensitizing his legs with a piece of plastic on a light bamboostick, useful anyway in all the desensitization procedures.
If you feel like reading about the journey ahead, I suggest "Understanding the young horse" by Les Selnow, and ofcourse "Imprint training of the newborn foal" by Robert M.Miller.
Having good company and playmates will keep him busy and happy, it seems you provide that already. Let weaning be a gradual thing, as gradual as possible....
Will you let us know how you're progressing, also over time?!
Miriam

Hi Mylee - Ace is so cute! You both have so much in front of you but I believe some short bursts of training can be started now. I agree totally with Miriam. I put a halter on my filly at six weeks old and started short training sessions with her - always with her mum present. The sessions were intermittent too but she always seemed to progress and I was amazed how much she remembered for one lesson to the next. Start getting him used to the halter first - putting it on then taking it off, then encourage him to lead etc. Lots of stroking all over - particularly down the legs and lots of praise for the right thing. Tricka was easy and I used a traditonal type foal halter on her. If Ace resists a foal halter you may have to try a rope halter or the smallest dually but your attempts to lead and get responses at this early stage should be very gentle and non threatening. Each lessons need to be very short - just try to achieve one thing at a time and always finish on a good note. Not sure what others will suggest but I started tying Tricka up and picking up and trimming her hooves when she was about the same age as your fellow. It is so much fun starting with a baby so good luck with it and we will be watching this thread for your up dates and progress.

Hi Ladies,

Thank you so much for you suggestions and sharing your knowledge and experience with me :-)

Ace will be weaned by his breeder, but he uses the method where he takes mum out of earshot. I was reading about this and how it can be quite traumatic, but he is an experienced stud manager and the other 5 foals that he has weaned so far have adjusted really well.
I am not sure how Ace will go, he seems to take things in his stride, and will try all the suggestions with halter/lead training and handling his feet etc.
He is quite good with me playing with his legs so far, (he has not had alot of handling i don't think) it is mainly his back, wither and rump areas that he needs a bit more work. I have been trying the approach and retreat method aswell as using lot's of praise and he calmly let's me pat him etc
Maggie I have bought a rope halter, but was looking at getting the smallest dually also...The breeder usually uses traditional halters so will see what he is like when he is being trained with one and if okay hopefully will be able to use a traditional halter. Although I am still thinking of getting a dually as watching Monty's videos they look really effective in handling etc.

I am really looking forward to this journey and am so glad you guys have given me some pointers and advice as I am one that is always wanting to continually learn and I will most certainly keep you all updated on how Ace and I go :-)
(His breeder named him QT's Aesop, which I like the name Aesop, but I think Ace suits him much better ;-)....)
Look forward to sharing my updates!! and thank you again!!

sorry where I put "praise and he" i was meant to wrte "praise When he"

another quick question,
with the dually halter what size would be best for a weanling? pony or small? Ace has a "little" head compared to the other foals. I would need something that fit's him for the next few months, and with these babies growing so quickly am wondering if it would be better to go for the small dually so that I can continue to use it on him for some time.
Also just another thought, he will be going from a large herd to a property where there is only one other horse...(an older mare)I was planning on keeping him in a smaller yard to help him adjust to new surroundings, but I wonder how going from such a large herd to being virtually alone with one other horse will affect him? What can I do to make this an easy stress free transition? (probably impossible but thought I would ask) Dealing with babies is certainly more complicated than dealing with a trained older horse, and I think I will be quite protective of his needs etc... so be prepared for daily questions lol
As I was saying in my previous post the breeder will halter and lead train him aswell as do work with his feet and introduce him to the float...which I will be involved with as much as possible. (I have to small human children and work part time and Ace is an hours drive from me).
The other question is and this will probably sound silly but would it be over the top if I was thinking of getting him used to a winter rug? Would any of you recommend this or not? I know for obvious safety issues for the foal that it could be a problem, but if I gradually introduced him to it and desensitized him to the feel of it on his back, strap around his belly and back legs etc and also the sound when he moves about would it be okay?
I know I sound like a newbie here but when it comes to having a weanling foal I am :-)
I am quite confident with handling and groundwork but it is the details in raising that I am a little nervous about....a bit like when you have your first child I guess!!
If you would prefer to email me any suggestions my email is
mylee.mann@hotmail.com
I am also thinking of doing a daily journal / video of my experience with Ace so that I can look back on things that I can work on and improve or just so I have a record of our journey.
My husband will be a huge help also but he likes to pretend that he is not a horse fan ;-) lol he doesn't have me fooled!!

This is so exciting for you Mylee and I hope your experience with Ace gives you as much joy as Tricka has given me since her birth now 6 years ago. She was my first and only foal and yes it is stressful initially and very like your first child but you will soon relax and enjoy the experience just as you did with your child. Re the dually - I think it is a must once Ace is older and his training starts in earnest but if he is responsive to just a foal halter or rope halter then there is probably little need for one now so that may save you having to buy two. Currently Ace would need the smallest - the red one - while later he will probably grow into the medium sized black one. All models have quite a bit of flexibility and I can still just fit the red one on Tricka - 15 hands - when I misplace her black one. I purchased the red one for my pushy little shetland and didn't use it on Tricka when she was a foal as I didn't know about it but she was fine in the foal halter and later the rope halter until after she was broken in. Naturally Ace will miss the larger herd and his mother when he comes home to you but the fact that he does have another horse as a companion should be sufficient. Hopefully he will be weaned sometime before you bring him home as that will reduce his anxiety. However be ready for him to be somewhat stressed and panicky when he first arrives. Make sure you have a nice safe smaller area for him to go into initially and have the old mare close by. If possible don't put them together straight away - have them get to know each other first through a fence - preferably post and rail. Not sure of your facilities but perhaps Ace in a small yard with the mare tied up on the outside of the yard - you will need fairly solid fences and if not electric tape may be necessary. I hate to use electric tape on a young horse especially when he has first arrived but it is better than having him caught up in a fence and injuring himself. When I first brought my two year old beautiful warmblood filly home I put her in a small yard but it only had a cyclops and barb wire fence one side and she just barged straight through it to get to the other horses. Fortunately she didn't hurt herself but I built post and rail fences all over our small property after that with an electric tape on the top. I am not sure where you live but I put a small rug on Tricka for her first winter when she was about 6 months old. She probably didn't really need it but our weather in Melbourne is so variable - can drop from 40degrees to about 15 degrees within in a few hours and can be winter one week and summer the next. I think rugging them early is good for them too as it is another thing that they can get used to while they are still young and easier to handle. It will be interesting to note what others say on this one. With his weaning I guess it has to be up to the breeder but like so many things there are two schools of thought here. One is to remove the mother completely (your breeders) while the other is to have them close by so that they can still talk to each other through a fence. As I wean my calves the second way I did the same for Tricka and her weaning was very easy. I bet your husband becomes very much a horse fan when you bring Ace home!
Perhaps I should have sent this in an e-mail as no doubt I have bored all the other forum readers as I have got carried away somewhat. I am just so excited for you as it is such an exciting time even though a little stressful too. If you do a daily journal you will have this special experience for keeps. Good luck with it all. Not sure where you live but as well as Monty's books etc I can highly recommend an Australian author and horseman of years ago Tom Roberts and his book "Horse Control - The young horse". It was my manual for Tricka as I didn't know much about Monty at the time. If you are interested then let me know and I will e-mail you and perhaps even be able to find a copy to post to you.

Hi Maggie,

Thank you for getting back to me :-) I have an update on Ace, he has been weaned!! :) for about a week now, the breeder has also begun with halter/lead breaking. Apparently Ace is taking it all in his stride, but is a little stubborn, I will hopefully visit sometime this week and watch his progress. I will definately get a dually for later on and thank you for idea's on sizing :)
I remember the Melbourne weather very well lol!! I used to live in Melton.....I do not miss their winters!!
After reading about you putting a rug on Tricka, I think I will get Ace one...it isn't as cold here in SA but we are close to the South East, and temperatures get pretty low in winter. And I agree that rugging is good when they are going, but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track :)
The place where I am agisting him has a small square holding yard, which is quite stable but there was one gate that needed repairing, I will head out there this weekend and take another look and make sure that it is secure and safe ready for Ace to come home!! I am so excited!! :-)
I will defiantely enquire about some electric tape also and introduce Ace to Tilly (The mare) over a stable fence so they can get to know each other. Tilly has beautiful ground manners, so hopefully she will be okay meeting a little baby...and vice versa.
Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement!!
It is great to be able to speak with some one who has had hands on experience with raising and training their own baby.
I would love to read that book too!! I will see if I can find a copy, but will give you my email anyway :)
it is mylee.mann@hotmail.com

Well I must be off, we have been hit with the dreaded gastro and I have to irritable kids to sort out lol

Kind Regards,

Mylee

sorry was supposed to write *young instead of going*

Everything seems to be happening now so quickly. Can't believe he has been weaned already - that's amazing. It wont be long now until he is with you. Thanks for your e-mail address - I will be in touch.

Hi Mylee,
I put a rug on my foal when he was a few weeks old,I got one that went over his head as it was a nice snug fit and had no straps for him to get caught on, he now looks for his rug when it gets cold and he is nearly 3 now.
Im so glad your little man will be with you soon, its really difficult when they are away from you.
I also found a lady that made head collars with velcro strips at all the points of the halter where there is a clip or ring, that way it falls away if they get caught up, dont know if you can find one but they are great, and so safe.
Good luck
Sandie

The velcro strips on the halter sound like a great idea if you wish to leave the headstall on. How do they work though if the horse plays up a bit - do they hold? I always prefer to take my headstall off once I release my horses so that there is no risk of them being caught up. It should be part of the horses training to accept having the halter put on and taken off. It worries me when I see horses left with headstalls on particularly when they are running free in a paddock or field and their owners are not present.

Hi Mylee, I have a question for you...You said in your very first post that your foal was a bit nippy but now you can cuddle him without getting bitten. Can you please tell me how you achieved this as I have a 6 month old colt who is very nippy at the moment, I cant even pat him on the forehead without him trying to bite my arm! Anyone else with advice too would be appreciated, Thanks!

Hi Jenny - just lost my comment as I forgot to hit 'Add comment" so here goes again!! Is your colt halter broken and have you got a red dually halter for him. If you have a dually halter then I would put it on him whenever you are handling him for awhile. If he goes to nip - correct him with the dually, then pat and cuddle him again - another nip - correction. Continue doing this until he associates the nip with the correction and allows you to pat him and place your arms around his neck for a cuddle. If he is unhaltered and running free then if he approaches you as if he is going to nip or attempts to nip while you are with him then send him away as you do for the beginning of a join up. Only allow him back if he is approaching in a docile, submissive, lets be friends manner. this should work so good luck with it - remember to be consistent! Do hope Mylee responds too as we have not heard from her for some time. I know she was meant to take delivery of her new foal on the 14th April so maybe she is just too busy caring for it. Hope everything is going OK Mylee if you are still out there!!!

Thankyou MaggieF, he is halter trained and I do have a red dually halter now so I will give your suggestions a try. I have been sending him away in the open paddock but he seems to think its a game and runs around me with his neck arched and legs flying! I have just started to teach him to tie up and he is doing really well, he is alot more subdued while tied so I will use this time to brush and rub on him, pick up feet etc, if he tries to turn and bite, he will ''check'' himself. Thanks again

Hi all,
I was curious as to what Monty says about handling foals. I went to the search bar and typed in handling foals and an answer from Monty came up.
It is question & answers 06/01/05 handling foals.
Very interesting answer from Monty.
Hope this helps,
Ronda

Thanks Ronda - I will check it out.

With our little mare, who's now 2, we exposed her to everything we possibly could! Touching her every where, having things touch her, playing with her ears, mouth, legs, feet..everywhere! We also exposed her to going in and out of the barn, being tied, being around bicycles, fourwheelers, dogs, I mean anything! She is so calm now it's great! She recently cut her leg and was so quiet letting us wash her leg and wrap it 2x's a day. My daughter even brought her into my house a few times!! (she's just a mini i might add). I think the more they can be exposed to as babies, if done in a safe, calm way, the better they will become.

lovely comments and experiences, we've not long brought a young pony coming up for 2 in June, He's been handled, but had never been rugged nor his feet trimmed so he was in a bit of mess when we first got him, he was bloated, had worms quite badly and didn't trust anyone touching underneath his body. there are before and after a month pictures on Facebook/DayFieldStables He'd been having fed bread and treats so has gotten into the habit of nipping, but we'll get the Dually for helping with that. We don't feed him by hand especially after watching Monty's views on it. Like the idea of using balls for interaction, he loves charging around then halts right next to my daughter for a fuss before galloping around again then back for another fuss.
That's too for the long winded comments, always good advice and worth reading.

Mel x

Mel, isn't it amazing what a brush can do? In one month, BamBam looked like a totally different horse!! He must be so happy now to be with someone who loves him :)

I love to see pictures of others horses, Bambam is so cute. I would love to have a young horse and thought about buying one this spring but my husband said no way, we have enough horses and really he's right. I'm the only one who really rides except my daughter who comes home from college occasionally. It's hard to keep up with 3 or 4 horses. I'm supposed to start a 5 year old for a neighbor up the road but they've been so busy they haven't had time to bring him to me. I'm actually glad they haven't brought him yet it's given me some extra time to work with my horse whose needed to work desperately. I've been long lining him and he's doing so well, yesterday I had him doing figure 8's through the round pen with a tucked chin. This is a horse that has always been so heavy in the mouth and fights the bit. Then we went for a long ride up the mountain he was perfect and didn't even try to hurry home, I was so proud of him. If he keeps up the good work my nine year old daughter might even be able to ride him, I never thought that would happen. She's only been able to ride him around the yard but never outside the yard.

Hi Guys, I haven't been on the forum for such a long time, I will pop back on this evening and rejoin the discussion. I have just bought my colt home, He has been with us for a week now :) and settled in beautifully!! Jenny in regards to your question with biting, I asked a good friend of mine who is very experienced with dealing with youngsters and she said to drive them away as their mother would, don't encourage him back to you until he has shown displays of apologising ie, chewing, licking and blinking etc, I originally gave Ace a tap on the shoulder within a split second of him biting so that my response to his behaviour was quick and decisive. However I personally like the driving away, waiting for him to apologise before I let him come back to me. He is such a well rounded little fellow, I spend alot of time with him just touching him all over brushing him while tied up etc he is a little bit aloof with me still but he has only been home for a week. I can't wait to try join up with him :) I will post more later as I am about to head off and spend the afternoon with Ace :)

Hi Mylee - welcome back to forum. It is great to know you now have Ace home with you now. How exciting is that? Totally agree with your advice here. If your youngster is free in the paddock/field and comes up to you with ears back and trying to assume dominance then drive him/her away until they approach submissively - just like join up really. If the nipping is occuring when you have your youngster on the halter then use the dually for correction. I am about to post a thread listing all the videos for Monty and Kelly's Horsemanship Essentials on Horse and Country tv. Some of these are excellent for owners of young horses. Wish I had seen them prior to breaking in my Tricka!

Hi! Mylee - just remember this: Now that you have Ace home you are his "herd" and it becomes an excellent time to really bond with him. His familiar herd is gone and you are now the most familiar to him. So take advantage of it and spend as much time as you can with him. It takes most horses 3 - 4 weeks to really settle in and become comfortable in new surroundings. It's the perfect time to teach him to depend on you for his safety and comfort.

Hi Maggie :) thankyou :) sorry I haven't been able to email lately!! I have started to play netball aswell as bring Ace home and my weeks have been a blur. I will get onto horse and country tv it sounds like it has some great videos on there that will give me heaps of tips. Thanks Shelley!! I am glad you said that, I was told by a few people that foals need to be left alone to grow up and just be "horses" without too much human interference. But In saying that I want Ace to bond with me, and have noticed he is certainly alot more antsy as the weeks progress. I have been working on tying him up and grooming him, picking up his legs and rubbing him all over. He is leading at the walk beautifully but still needs work in tying up. I will keep you all updated as to how I am going :)

Hi everyone :)
I had a fantastic day with my boy yesterday, he was back to his quiet placid self so must have had a few bad days. I took him out of the yard yesterday and let him eat on the other side of the fence while I tied him up and groomed him and picked up his feet.
He is fantastic with his front feet but not so great with his back. When he resists I will put his foot back down as he tends to move and lose balance, as soon as he is standing again I will pick up the back hoof and hold it until he stops moving it, then I place it down gently and tell him how great he is :)
Lucky for me, my boy is a very quick learner and after a couple of goes and positive reinforcement he is getting so much better!!
I then took him for a walk past the lambs (these are scary little things that run out at him and baa) he truly can't understand what they are lol but again after a bit of desensitising he is getting used to them. Also walking past huge tractors and big sheds.
Just a quick question, I want to attempt join up with him soon, but we only have the square yard. I watched Monty's lesson on join up in the square yard but am lacking the confidence to give it a go....I don't want to overload him so to speak..

Hi Mylee - As is usually the case there are so many different views of what we should do with our youngsters. I agree with Shelley and I think it is valuable to teach them to lead, pick up their hooves and tie at a relatively early age - makes it so much easier later. However I also think that they need their space to be by themselves and to be with other horses as other horses will teach them so much too. One of the greatest mistakes is allowing our youngsters to be too petted and loved so that they grow up to be spoilt with little respect for humans. Try to keep this in mind while you are with Ace - cuddles and pats must be on your terms not his and he needs to be taught the boundaries - i.e he shouldn't invade your space or push on you with his head or body or boss you in any way. It may be cute and loving while he is young but it becomes a big problem later. You are his mum now and along with gaining his trust you need to teach him respect as his own mother would as he grows older and tries to dominate you. My Tricka's Mum, Pie, was the most gentle and loving Mum any foal could wish for when Tricka was a baby but as she grew up Pie was very quick to put her in her place with quite a savage nip if she jumped into her, knocked her roughly or tried to take her food.

Hi Maggie :) Thankyou :)
I spend about 1hr with Ace each day and then he is left out in the paddock to graze and be a horse. I just work on tying him up, Picking up his feet, grooming and leading. Alot of these things had only been done with him once or twice before I got him home so wanted to make sure that I made them solid foundations for him. He is quite a respectable boy, he is not pushy and the pony keeps him in line. She is 20 years old and is great with him! In the hour that I spend with him 20 mins is all I spend patting him etc. He wasn't too keen on me touching his back or rump, his back legs etc so I felt these area's needed to be worked with asap. He is also a very quick learner and very intelligent, I think I have so far been very lucky to get an intelligent receptive young baby! :)
How is Tricka going?

All sounds great, Mylee. Have fun with Ace. He has found a good home and I am sure you will both get along fabulously. So good he has a pony companion too.