Posted 2007-06-26 8:31 PM (#62906) Subject: Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Member
Posts: 38 Location: marcola, oregon
We have a new paint foal (see Album!). My daughter would like to enter the mare and foal at the 4H fair next month. He will be about a month old by then. Do we leave him loose in the trailer with the mare tied? We are new to trailering a foal so any tips appreciated. (Our trailer is a 3H slant). Thanks....
Posted 2007-06-26 9:31 PM (#62910 - in reply to #62906) Subject: RE: Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Member
Posts: 44 Location: Odessa, MO
When we hauled our new borns we tied the mare and left the colt loose.. What we did do on our 3 horse slant was tie the slants so they are open and the mare has some room to move and that way the colt wasn't having to mess with the slants... Didn't seem to have any problems..
Posted 2007-06-26 9:39 PM (#62912 - in reply to #62906) Subject: RE: Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792 Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
I would tie the mare and leave the colt loose when hauling. Can you remove the stall dividers? Or some who secure them so that the colt does not get under one of them ...and hurts himself?Oh...use this time to also teach the colt to load. Enjoy your baby Please let us know how they do at the show. Good luck!
Posted 2007-06-27 8:43 AM (#62935 - in reply to #62906) Subject: RE: Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Veteran
Posts: 167 Location: Monroe, WA
Since our mares have always had to be bred off our farm, and of late we have been doing AI breeding (more hauling of mares and babies to vet clinics) we have become past masters of this one!We use a two-horse slant BP trailer, either remove the divider and pad the hinge points or just tie it back securely. Bed the back half of the trailer pretty deep - baby WILL lay down there and it sure helps to cushion their little legs. Tie mom up front, with enough length on the tie that she can put her head around a bit to see and touch the foal - don't want that mare getting upset because she can't make sure baby is OK! If the mare has not been hauled with her baby before, OR if she's a shaky hauler herself, be real careful..... If she blows up you can have an almighty mess.Our mares are all A-plus haulers, and will stand solid to let the kid have most of the trailer area. We got our senior mare home this last haul to find that the two-day-old filly had laid down right under her mama's front end - poor mare had ridden over two hours standing way back with her neck stretched out to NOT step on her precious baby. We never felt one bobble in the truck, either, so she did it real quietly!Most of it is having a good hauling mare - and if you haul baby like this, you will end up with a great hauling horse later on.Best of luck,
Posted 2007-06-27 6:43 PM (#62976 - in reply to #62906) Subject: RE: Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391 Location: Columbia, KY
If possible take the dividers out when you haul babies. even with the dividers fastened back the foal can still sometimes manage to get under them and stuck inbetween. that happened to our young foal the first time we hauled him. his mother was tied up in front of the trailer- and luckily is VERY calm- the poor foal was stuck in the small area between 2 tied back dividers.
Tie or not tie foal in trailer?
Please let us know how they do at the show. Good luck!