Remember that thing I did?

[which_chick]

The midlife crisis thing?

Yeah.



Meet Finn.



He's a weanling. Just got here this week from the breeder.

Dear breeder: baby horses should be raised OUTSIDE in SOCIAL GROUPS. Delivering a five month old weanling who does not know what grass is and cannot read social cues from other horses is a crime.

On the plus side, he leads and ties once you can get a hand on him and he is improving at grass and social cues via tutelage under Casper, Try's elderly, kind, fond-of-babies mare.

I would have more pictures but he's weedy and narrow with zero muscle tone and does not take a good picture at the moment.

Comments

[unicornduke]

Oh what a cute baby! How exciting!

[adafrog]

He's cute. What is he?
And ITA about not teaching them to horse is a crime.

[which_chick]

He's an Arab, I definitely have A Type.

The problem with Arab people is that they come in two sorts.

Sort 1: Arabians are Exquisitely Delicate Living Works Of Art and they should be admired and cherished for their exquisite delicacy.

Sort 2: Arabians are flouncy, sturdy, hardworking equestrian sports cars who prosper with REGULAR WORK. Failing to ride your Arab is like "enjoying" your Ferrari by looking at it while it's safely parked in your garage. I mean, I guess you could do that, but if that was ALL you did with it, you'd be MISSING THE POINT of having a Ferrari, y'know?

I am more a Sort 2 Arab person and the breeder is more a Sort 1 Arab person but unfortunately when you're trying to get someone to agree to sell you a horse, it's not useful to tell them they're doing horses wrong. *sigh* Fortunately, I kind of expected this style of shitshow and had set up arrangements in advance to basically scaffold Finn's transition from Box Stall Hothouse Flower to Lives In A Field With Other Horses.

[which_chick]

Also his "real" registered name is not Finn and his "barn" name was not Finn. Both of the names he came with were shit and we're starting over fresh with something that doesn't suck. His name is Finn from this point forward unless I need his registered name for some reason.

[adafrog]

I hadn't realized there was a type 1. Yeah, you have to kind of go with the crazy to get the baby.

[which_chick]

The Type 1 people are not generally out and about Doing Stuff with their Arabs so it's a lot harder to run into them unless you are dipping toes into the Arab pond. Type 1 folks do breed shows, but they don't often venture out into other activities. You won't see one at an open show, at the county fair, on an "everyone welcome" trail ride & cookout, at a competitive ride, at a rated dressage show, at a clinic for much of anything, out team penning, in a parade, doing a hunter pace, etc.

[adafrog]

Ah. Yes, they might get contaminated by those 'other' people. Makes sense. lol

[crockpotcauldron]

How is the baby racecar doing? How long until it gets to hang out with Bird?

[which_chick]

He's doing better at basic horse skills, which is encouraging. He understands that grass is food, hasn't run through the fence since his first day outside, and follows Casper's lead as to what is and is not alarming. He's getting better at being touched, but Needs Work on his stand-to-be-caught skills.

He is at my friend Trysta's house so I can only see/work him on Sunday mornings while the in-laws are at church because her in-laws are weird. Otherwise we'd have catching skills fixed by now. Trysta's house has horse-safe Ramm Flexfence and a baby-friendly elderly mare, both of which will hopefully teach Finn how to horse without killing him, which is why he's living there.

Finn gets Casper and only Casper (Trys's elderly, kind mare) for about three weeks and then we'll add in Ceres (older mare, has had a baby, likes babies, but is not a pushover like Casper) in mid-September and see how that goes. Ceres isn't... mean, but she's not gonna take any guff, either. If Ceres doesn't kill him, then he and Casper and Ceres can hang out for the winter. Next summer, I'd like to put Finn in the big field over at Laur's house so that he can get Advanced Social Skills. But, basics first. Step by step.

[crockpotcauldron]

Sounds like a solid plan. Exciting! How much can you tell about a horse's personality when they are still small?

[which_chick]

A fair amount! As with children, a lot of personality is kind of factory-equipped though education, experience, training and environment then act upon the basic install. You can frequently influence what a horse *does* in reaction to assorted stimuli but it's very difficult to change a horse's essential nature.

A calm, unflappable foal will grow up to be a calm, unflappable horse. This doesn't mean a horse that is dead to the aids, but it does mean a horse that will inherently be more ammie-friendly.

A reactive, spots-all-the-threats foal will grow up to be a reactive, spots-all-the-threats horse. Again, doesn't mean a horse that is insane and unrideable, doesn't mean a horse that won't be able to do a job, but does mean a horse that may take more active, thoughtful riding than others cut from a calmer and less-reactive cloth.

A foal that rears as their go-to when they are upset will, unless *taught* not to, grow up to be a horse that rears as their go-to when they are upset. Doesn't mean the horse will rear with riders, DOES mean that horse will maybe *think about* rearing as their first evasion, might be more prone to head in that direction if things went badly, if horse were in pain, suffered ill treatment, etc.

A foal that learns quickly and is light in hand will be a horse that learns quickly and is light in the hand.

A foal that wears emotions on sleeve and is very easy for a handler to "read" will be a horse that wears emotions on sleeve and is very easy for a hander to read.

A foal with a long fuse and a tolerant approach to handler mistakes will be a horse with a long fuse and a tolerant approach to handler mistakes.

All of these generalizations, obviously, are in the absence of severe environmental or emotional stressors. For an ordinary foal growing up in ordinary, middlingly competent circumstances, what you see as a foal is what you get as an adult horse. If you do have a significant change between foal and adult, it is typically not for the better. *sigh*

But yeah, you can tell a fair amount about them while they're still babies. This is also true of people who raise working dogs, as said people can evaluate a litter as chunky pups and tell you which dogs will be most likely to *work* and which dogs will need to have pet homes.

[crockpotcauldron]

That's very interesting! What's yours like so far? Did you have Bird as a baby as well?