Horse Talk

[Doc McCluckins]

Here is a good link to see what color possibilities there are in horses Equine Coat Color Calculator.

I personally would recommend buying a foal rather than breeding. There is a lot of risks to the mare when you breed her and you run a pretty significant risk of loosing your mare, the foal, or both. It is also really expensive to care for a mare throughout her pregnancy and post partum. Not saying you shouldn't, but just make sure you consider all the risks involved and the costs. It is usually cheaper to buy a foal to raise one. Even a well bred one. My first horse was left an orphan when her mom died giving birth to her. My avatar is a mare and I love her more than most people. She is incredibly well bred and has nearly flawless conformation. I would never be able to risk something happening to her though.

 

[abigalerose]

Thanks everyone for all the info and advice! I've been thinking that if I don't end up breeding her, I'd like to adopt, I actually just followed some horse adoption pages on Facebook a couple days ago and I think it's something id like to do. I would actually really love to adopt from BLM again, I had a mustang when I was younger but unfortunately I had to sell him. Id love the chance to adopt another. But at the same time, if I don't breed her I would kind of like to find a weanling, just because I'm having so much fun and learning so much by training her, I'd like to do it again in the future and start with as young of horse as possible. I know the BLM adopts out weanlings sometimes, so that might be an option. Plus I have plenty of land to keep horses on, June is at my grandparents and they have 60 acres, and I know they wouldn't mind me getting more horses as long as I continue to pay for the feed, etc. and I'm moving to a farm this summer just right down the road from them, it's small but there's plenty of room for a horse or two. I'm about to take some more riding lessons since it's been so long, and then I'm going to try and get my little sister some lessons as well, and if all goes well and she really does have an interest in riding I'll get her a horse, she use to not have any interest in them but June has peaked her interest. I would love to find a draft/morgan cross for her that's been used for beginners and kids, but of course that will be a while because I want to make sure it'll be something she really wants. I'm going to try to limit us to 3 horses, max. But you know how hard it can be sometimes! Anyways, I don't think there was any specific reason she wasn't halter trained, they just never got around to it. But their grand kids spent lots of time with her and gave her lots of treats, so she's gentle, but she's also spoiled. If I ask her to do any actual work she tries to bite. But when it comes to learning she's smart, and she's calm and not spooky at all, I've sat on her as of yesterday. We just have to work on the fact that she has to do work when asked. She's lazy.
So, looks like once I get her trained, I'll be deciding between breeding, rescue, and BLM. Of course, if I get my sister a horse before then I guess I technically wouldn't need to get another one because she'd have company. But you never know. And I wouldn't be above just rescuing a companion horse either. I've got room, time, and money, so I'm all set to have a couple of good horses. I wish I could get more of my family into riding.

 

[ForrestGump]

In a lot of states there are programs for youth and adults to gentle or train mustangs. The trainers are eligible for TIP money, so in the end it doesn't cost you anything to get the horse. I'm not sure what state you are in, but you should look into it in your area. In my state it costs $25 to adopt and at the end of the training program the trainer gets $200 and some other prizes. If the horse is adopted/purchased by someone else, the trainer gets to keep the profit.

 

[abigalerose]

They mustang I had when I was younger, I did with a program like that within the 4h group I was in, but I'm not sure if they're still doing it. I could find out though. But in July there's going to be a "mustang makeover" thing about 2 hours from me where they're going to have trained and untrained horses available for adoption. I'm seriously thinking about going but I want to see how far June's training has gotten before I do.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

I got a 3yr old mare last spring, my dream horse very pretty and sweet- unless you were not the boss with her.
Anyway, she was trained to ride and was great at the place we got her from. About four days after we brought her home she started biting. Her mood would change in the blink of an eye, one minute she would be fine and doing what you want next minute she'd bite you. She was not the same horse she was where we got her (I took lessons on her with her old owner before we brought her home for a couple months) when her old owner was there she was good as gold, but when she'd leave, she was naughty.
We gave her back to her owner who sold her for us to someone who could be more of a boss around her
After we sold her my mom and I were a bit shell shocked, we would keep thinking that the 16 yr old gelding we had was going to bite us all the time, he never did, he is a great horse and now I want him (we have a bond now, I guess the reason I didn't want him when we found him was because I had already found the mare).
But he is my sisters horse and she won't give him up

 

[abigalerose]

I think a bond with the horse is everything. The gelding I had before this mare was 7 years old and had been on tons of trail rides and camping trips, awesome trained, side passed and all that good stuff, "push button", he was prefect when I went and got a lesson on him and when I brought him home, but he missed his first owner (he raised him and trained him) and didn't like me so it didn't work out

 

[Violetsfeathers]

I think a bond with the horse is everything.The gelding I had before this mare was 7 years old and had been on tons of trail rides and camping trips, awesome trained, side passed and all that good stuff, "push button", he was prefect when I went and got a lesson on him and when I brought him home, but he missed his first owner (he raised him and trained him) and didn't like me so it didn't work out

x2

 

[abigalerose]

So I've decided from now on (unless I find a Rocky Mountain Horse or Gypsy Vanner near me for a reasonable price- ha I doubt it) that I'm just going to rescue any other horses I get. I've been following rescue pages and recently discovered that there's lots of "nurse mare foals" out there that have been orphaned and need homes which has me totally amazed and not in a good way! I would love to save a couple babies once I get things set up properly at the farm. And of course I'd like to do the mustang thing again as well. I know I can't save them all or anything, but adopting a couple over the next few years wouldn't hurt. And June needs some good friends anyways.
Btw, here are some more pictures of my baby

 

[Bunnylady]

Most people with horse experience will tell you, bottle babies are the WORST. They generally imprint way too much on people, which means that they have no respect for them. 1000 lbs of no respect is dangerous. Generally the best way to deal with an orphan foal is to have at least one adult horse that will push it around and teach it about being a horse and its place in the herd, and the human only handles it to train it as they would any other horse. It's funny - until you have handled a baby that is a completely clean slate, you don't realize just how much even a green broke horse has learned, do you?

 

[abigalerose]

Yeah I was reading about that, I definitely wouldn't do it if I didn't already have a horse, but since I do maybe it'd work? Or maybe I should stick with BLM mustangs. I really do want more than one horse, I don't like having my horses just be by themselves and I'd like to have at least one more for my sister/mom/dad/grandpa/friends to ride when they want. June will always be my main horse but I'd make sure to spend time with everyone else and give them something to do too. I think June may be lonely right now, she was with her mom and another mare and gelding up until I bought her.
Of course I could always rescue an adult horse but I kind of like the idea of being the horses first and only owner (like I would be with a foal or mustang). I've always gotten along better with horses I got when they were young than the ones I got when they were older. But we'll just have to see. I have a lot of work to do before I get another. I want to get June riding and then the farm I'm moving too, I want to fence in a small paddock off of the barn, and a bigger pasture on the rest of the land, I'll have to figure how to set up a good watering system since there's no pond, and we have a big empty attachment on the barn that I think I could turn into a very very tiny indoor arena. I've got lots of plans haha. I want a perfect living situation for June and I want a (small) herd for her to hang out with. And then there's so many little things I want to buy for her just to spoil her. I have a horse problem.