Cataloguing life with my new filly.
Having been offered a private field at the yard where Jack can live out his retirement as a happy field ornament rather than a stressy stabled one, I started looking for another youngster...despite having said "never again" last time! Having been a gelding lass through and through the arrival of Gracie last year and the subsequent bond with her made me re-think, especially as the last colt I bought turned out to not have two complete testicles! So I started looking for a filly and eventually found this little lady...
Her advert said "to make 13.3hh" but as I have no desire to ride her, height is not important. By the time she is old enough to be backed, I will be pushing 60 and besides, hopefully I will still have Gracie, so she's been bought primarily as a companion for Jack, to learn manners, be educated and to just....well.....grow! Certainly for the time being.
She was nicknamed Roxie by the lady selling her, which was fine, but I thought of her as more of a Lexie. But I also liked the name Honor so I needed to get her to home to decide which suited her best.
The seller was going to have her passported and microchipped for me but this fell though the day before I was due to collect her as the vet had to go off to an emergency.
Lexie was weaned as we collected her. It sounds traumatic but I understand the owner's comment about weaning and moving at the same time...it gets the trauma over all at once. Lexie had a 10 second tantrum when mum was removed from our trailer, but then stood quietly. She had already been Little Miss Independent in the field and her behaviour enforced that. Apparently het mum was put back in the field, put her head down to eat and didn't call once! We had driven 125 miles to collect her and I wouldn't normally travel a baby horse that far but the route was primarily motorways and straight roads, so although long, it wasn't arduous. Lexie travelled loose in my trailer with a block of 4 small bales ratcheted together in the nose so that she wouldn't come under the full-width breast bar...and a nice deep straw bed. We didn't get a peep out of her and she wasn't sweaty upon arrival at the yard.
I decided to keep her in Gracie's stable for the first week, so that we can get to know each other. I can start to introduce her to new things and by the time she goes out into 3 acres with Jack she will hopefully know me well enough to come and see me rather than bombing off!
She didn't eat much for the first 24 hours but was calm, curious and only a bit shouty for mum. She was happy for me to scritch her from her head to her tail, although I didn't attempt legs or hooves at this early stage! By the second day she was tucking into her hay and pooing normally. This all boded very well....
Having been offered a private field at the yard where Jack can live out his retirement as a happy field ornament rather than a stressy stabled one, I started looking for another youngster...despite having said "never again" last time! Having been a gelding lass through and through the arrival of Gracie last year and the subsequent bond with her made me re-think, especially as the last colt I bought turned out to not have two complete testicles! So I started looking for a filly and eventually found this little lady...
Her advert said "to make 13.3hh" but as I have no desire to ride her, height is not important. By the time she is old enough to be backed, I will be pushing 60 and besides, hopefully I will still have Gracie, so she's been bought primarily as a companion for Jack, to learn manners, be educated and to just....well.....grow! Certainly for the time being.
She was nicknamed Roxie by the lady selling her, which was fine, but I thought of her as more of a Lexie. But I also liked the name Honor so I needed to get her to home to decide which suited her best.
The seller was going to have her passported and microchipped for me but this fell though the day before I was due to collect her as the vet had to go off to an emergency.
Lexie was weaned as we collected her. It sounds traumatic but I understand the owner's comment about weaning and moving at the same time...it gets the trauma over all at once. Lexie had a 10 second tantrum when mum was removed from our trailer, but then stood quietly. She had already been Little Miss Independent in the field and her behaviour enforced that. Apparently het mum was put back in the field, put her head down to eat and didn't call once! We had driven 125 miles to collect her and I wouldn't normally travel a baby horse that far but the route was primarily motorways and straight roads, so although long, it wasn't arduous. Lexie travelled loose in my trailer with a block of 4 small bales ratcheted together in the nose so that she wouldn't come under the full-width breast bar...and a nice deep straw bed. We didn't get a peep out of her and she wasn't sweaty upon arrival at the yard.
I decided to keep her in Gracie's stable for the first week, so that we can get to know each other. I can start to introduce her to new things and by the time she goes out into 3 acres with Jack she will hopefully know me well enough to come and see me rather than bombing off!
She didn't eat much for the first 24 hours but was calm, curious and only a bit shouty for mum. She was happy for me to scritch her from her head to her tail, although I didn't attempt legs or hooves at this early stage! By the second day she was tucking into her hay and pooing normally. This all boded very well....
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