Finn update
May. 8th, 2023 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickI sent Finn to Sleep-Away Camp for three-ish weeks in April so that he could Learn About Boarding Barns and cross ties and wash racks and generalized "Boarding Barn Life" including shit like lunging (we don't lunge) and hubbub and exposure and so forth.
He did fine at camp. Learned to lunge, understands cross ties, has seen a hose (it was mostly chilly), got to meet lots of other horses and people, etc. The barn he was at belongs to my instructor of the last eight years, Allie. (I don't generally discuss lesson because, well, it's teeny incremental improvement and not something that can be discussed with breathless excitement all the time, but rest assured that there are weekly lessons and I am taking them. Anyway.)
As a part of his camp experience, Finn moved up from living with just Trysta's 30 yr old pony who Likes Babies to living with three kindly geldings and a not-super-kindly mare in a pasture situation. Horses need to be able to horse. They need to be able to read social cues and they NEED to be able to respond appropriately. If they don't have these skills, it's a fucking lifelong shitshow and an ongoing management problem.
I know this because Emmitt, who is at Trys's house gaining weight and learning manners, DOES NOT HAVE SOCIAL SKILLS as a four year old stallion. Emmitt has no business being a stallion with his current owner. Struggling-With-Meth R. bought him as a two year old, when she was doing OK. However, R. is now terrified of Emmitt (we have some theories as to why but no solid information) plus also went off the rails with meth and quit feeding her horses.
Trysta roped R.'s mom into feeding the other horses, who were in somewhat better shape, and then collected up Emmitt and moved him out to her house where he has put on about two hundred pounds. (He was a Henneke 2 when he arrived. He's a strong 4 now.) I've also put some handle on him so that he's a lot easier to catch, halter, lead, tie, groom, pick up feet, etc. Oh, and he loads on and off a horse trailer. He's a good guy underneath it all and has mastered the "do not LOOK AT or TALK TO mares when I have you in hand, asshole" skill, which is an essential skill for studs to have.
ANYWAY, through no fault of his own, Emmitt doesn't really understand how to horse and doesn't take mares seriously when they say No Thanks Sir. He presses his suit pretty firmly and repeated double-barrel kicks don't do much to cool his jets. Emmitt's balls are being lopped off in late June, which will fix 90% of his problems and make him into a Good Guy that R. can own or, if she fails again, a Good Guy that I can break and sell.
The delay in ball-lopping is because we put Emmitt to Peake, who failed to settle with Nice Stallion, sire of Dead Baby Horse, when we hauled her up there in 2019. Peake is the only surviving daughter of Beloved Dead Mare Nick, and I'd like a baby out of her. When we sent Peake up to Nice Stallion, they did the shots to put mares into heat thing. I don't know that that works AS WELL as throwing a mare in with the stallion for the duration of the first natural heat of springtime. So...
This was actually the plan like two years ago in 2021 but we could not get ahold of R. because she wouldn't answer her phone or her door or anything which I guess, yeah, Meth. Anyway, we HAVE Emmitt now and so we are proceeding with the plan. Despite his life circumstances, Emmitt isn't badly made and his bloodlines are appropriate for crossing with the Peake. This is how I know Emmitt lacks social skills. Peake is getting tired of double barrel kicks at Emmitt. But it's been a month and she hasn't come back in heat, so yay? We'll see.
But I digress.
Finn's trip to Sleep-Away Camp and hanging out with slightly more challenging buddies in a field was all in preparation for Finn learning to Be A Horse in the Big Field with the Mean Mares. (Recall, when he arrived, his social skills were nonexistent.) So, when Finn got back from camp, he went right into the big field with the mean mares (and his long-time buddy Casper the 30 yr old mare).
"Ok, son, you can dog paddle. Let's go to the deep end."
*splash*
Thing is, there is a limited window of time to teach young boy horses how to horse before they start trying to breed every mare they see. This window closes for most male horses at about a year and a half old though most stallions do not successfully breed mares until they are two. Finn turned 1 year old at the end of March, 2023. Like, there's not a ton of time to get this sorted out. I am On A Mission. We are NOT HAVING a stud who is a jerk, even if he's only going to be a stud for two seasons before being upgraded to gelding life. He is GOING TO KNOW HOW TO HORSE and he is GOING TO BE CAPABLE OF BEING IN A HERD SITUATION WITHOUT KILLING HIMSELF OR ANYONE ELSE.
So, in April, Finn went to Camp. And April 22, Finn came home from Camp. He's been in the big field with the mean mares since then. The first week there were some scuffs and some bite marks. Since then, not a new mark on him. He is super polite, backs up, reads and responds to social signals correctly. Dude has got sweet moves. Respecting Space. Understanding No. He's working it out at the water trough and at the round bales and he EVEN got to be in the run-in section of the barn during the rain over the weekend.
Good boy, Finn!
He did fine at camp. Learned to lunge, understands cross ties, has seen a hose (it was mostly chilly), got to meet lots of other horses and people, etc. The barn he was at belongs to my instructor of the last eight years, Allie. (I don't generally discuss lesson because, well, it's teeny incremental improvement and not something that can be discussed with breathless excitement all the time, but rest assured that there are weekly lessons and I am taking them. Anyway.)
As a part of his camp experience, Finn moved up from living with just Trysta's 30 yr old pony who Likes Babies to living with three kindly geldings and a not-super-kindly mare in a pasture situation. Horses need to be able to horse. They need to be able to read social cues and they NEED to be able to respond appropriately. If they don't have these skills, it's a fucking lifelong shitshow and an ongoing management problem.
I know this because Emmitt, who is at Trys's house gaining weight and learning manners, DOES NOT HAVE SOCIAL SKILLS as a four year old stallion. Emmitt has no business being a stallion with his current owner. Struggling-With-Meth R. bought him as a two year old, when she was doing OK. However, R. is now terrified of Emmitt (we have some theories as to why but no solid information) plus also went off the rails with meth and quit feeding her horses.
Trysta roped R.'s mom into feeding the other horses, who were in somewhat better shape, and then collected up Emmitt and moved him out to her house where he has put on about two hundred pounds. (He was a Henneke 2 when he arrived. He's a strong 4 now.) I've also put some handle on him so that he's a lot easier to catch, halter, lead, tie, groom, pick up feet, etc. Oh, and he loads on and off a horse trailer. He's a good guy underneath it all and has mastered the "do not LOOK AT or TALK TO mares when I have you in hand, asshole" skill, which is an essential skill for studs to have.
ANYWAY, through no fault of his own, Emmitt doesn't really understand how to horse and doesn't take mares seriously when they say No Thanks Sir. He presses his suit pretty firmly and repeated double-barrel kicks don't do much to cool his jets. Emmitt's balls are being lopped off in late June, which will fix 90% of his problems and make him into a Good Guy that R. can own or, if she fails again, a Good Guy that I can break and sell.
The delay in ball-lopping is because we put Emmitt to Peake, who failed to settle with Nice Stallion, sire of Dead Baby Horse, when we hauled her up there in 2019. Peake is the only surviving daughter of Beloved Dead Mare Nick, and I'd like a baby out of her. When we sent Peake up to Nice Stallion, they did the shots to put mares into heat thing. I don't know that that works AS WELL as throwing a mare in with the stallion for the duration of the first natural heat of springtime. So...
This was actually the plan like two years ago in 2021 but we could not get ahold of R. because she wouldn't answer her phone or her door or anything which I guess, yeah, Meth. Anyway, we HAVE Emmitt now and so we are proceeding with the plan. Despite his life circumstances, Emmitt isn't badly made and his bloodlines are appropriate for crossing with the Peake. This is how I know Emmitt lacks social skills. Peake is getting tired of double barrel kicks at Emmitt. But it's been a month and she hasn't come back in heat, so yay? We'll see.
But I digress.
Finn's trip to Sleep-Away Camp and hanging out with slightly more challenging buddies in a field was all in preparation for Finn learning to Be A Horse in the Big Field with the Mean Mares. (Recall, when he arrived, his social skills were nonexistent.) So, when Finn got back from camp, he went right into the big field with the mean mares (and his long-time buddy Casper the 30 yr old mare).
"Ok, son, you can dog paddle. Let's go to the deep end."
*splash*
Thing is, there is a limited window of time to teach young boy horses how to horse before they start trying to breed every mare they see. This window closes for most male horses at about a year and a half old though most stallions do not successfully breed mares until they are two. Finn turned 1 year old at the end of March, 2023. Like, there's not a ton of time to get this sorted out. I am On A Mission. We are NOT HAVING a stud who is a jerk, even if he's only going to be a stud for two seasons before being upgraded to gelding life. He is GOING TO KNOW HOW TO HORSE and he is GOING TO BE CAPABLE OF BEING IN A HERD SITUATION WITHOUT KILLING HIMSELF OR ANYONE ELSE.
So, in April, Finn went to Camp. And April 22, Finn came home from Camp. He's been in the big field with the mean mares since then. The first week there were some scuffs and some bite marks. Since then, not a new mark on him. He is super polite, backs up, reads and responds to social signals correctly. Dude has got sweet moves. Respecting Space. Understanding No. He's working it out at the water trough and at the round bales and he EVEN got to be in the run-in section of the barn during the rain over the weekend.
Good boy, Finn!
