A Natural Breeding Experience

'IN LIKE FINN' – MY COLT’S FIRST MARE

Witnessing my arab colt’s first sexual encounter with a mare was a very special time for me.
It was an enthralling study in horse behaviour and really showed me how a stallion courts a mare….naturally.

Finn is almost two years old and he is my second chance to get it right as far as owning a stallion goes.
I had his sire, Mandala Royale, from the age of six months until he was 22 when he died in 2003 and although I had a successful time with him in terms of competition, breeding and relationship – it could have been better.
Of course I realised all this after I had some years of experience with natural horsemanship and understood stallions behaviour a whole lot better, then I would often find myself wishing I had known enough to do things differently with him.

Finn was in utero when his father died and I’m convinced he in a reincarnation of Roy’s spirit. He is the only colt I bred from close to 70 foals Roy produced that was the image of him. He also inherited all of Roy’s mannerisms and seems to have a wisdom way beyond his years.
Being Roy’s last foal (and his dam’s last - Belbowrie Serenata who has excellent bloodlines), I called him Royale Finale and decided his conformation and temperament warranted keeping him as a colt to see what he produced.

So, when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a very in season mare arriving for some float training, the owner decided Finn would be worth trying as a sire. She had been considering breeding her mare but wasn’t sure if she was capable of having another foal at 17 years of age.
I assured her many mares breed well into there 20’s so long as they are physically sound internally and externally and are cycling regularly as this mare was.

Sophie was showing off to all the horses she met so I thought it was best to introduce Finn as soon as possible. I led him away from his family herd (he was still running with his dam, another old mare, her daughter and a gelding who all kept him in his place – at the bottom of the pecking order) to meet Sophie who was led to a safe meeting place with no fence between them.

For the next 45 minutes my partner and I watched (and photographed) Finn courting Sophie who was very willing but wanted some respect and trust before she would allow this fellow she’d only just met, come so close.

We held their ropes loose as a safety net so if she kicked with malice or if he rushed too much, we could control things a little.
As it turned out, Finn knew enough about equine body language from running with the herd all this time, to read her intentions and her couple of half hearted kicks kept him polite.
After nibbling and touching her from her nose to her tail including her legs with many approaches and retreats, it looked like he’d need plenty of time to get to know her before any sexual activity would occur.

I decided to take them to the paddock along side his herd and turn him loose while keeping Sophie on line until I was sure she wasn’t going to hurt him.
The touching and licking increased to testing her with some gentle biting – more like taking hold of her on the hocks, legs – she even lifted a front leg for him, and the tail.

He did some approach and retreat by rubbing against her and lifting his front legs before trying a jump up and even stood right behind her with his chest pressing her rear end to gauge her reaction.
Within 30 more minutes, he had her wooed and the mating began. It was lovely to watch – he was so in-experienced but knew exactly what to do and completed the coupling like a pro. I’ve never seen a young colt so sure of what he was there for and take his time so lovingly with a mare so ready to be served who also appeared to enjoy the whole process.

When it was over, I removed her halter and they wandered off to eat grass together and meet the other horses over the fence.
He was fine with his own family sniffing her, but when the group of geldings on the other side wanted to chat to the new girl, he protectively placed himself in between and even showed aggression towards much older horses he’d shown very submissive signs to only an hour earlier.
He then decided to herd his new wife away and assumed the lowered head with ears back of a stallion, circling her then driving her from behind to go well away from the others.

All of a sudden my meek and mild baby colt was behaving like the stallion his father was – and he was still 10 days off his two year old birthday!
I sat and watched his antics for a couple of hours – he showed of his paces to Sophie, trotting away and turning tightly around various obstacles in the paddock as if to say “Look at me – aren’t I the best”.
They cantered around together, ate grass together and looked so happy I decided it was safe to leave them running together for future un-supervised matings.
I remove the geldings from over the fence so Finn didn’t need to tire himself with herding Sophie away and left them to enjoy each other’s company.

The next morning, I found them both lying down close to each other, soaking up the sun and resting from all the activity which no doubt happened during the night judging from the squeals I heard every now and then.

As I excitedly relay the story of Finn losing his virginity to my friends, I realise that it couldn’t have been any better for him or Sophie.
I’m happy knowing that my current knowledge has helped him learn about life with mares in a relaxed and gradual manner, unlike his sire who was always anxious and difficult to handle when serving mares due to the traditional approach of only hand serving and no herd to run with.

So I’ve made amends with Roy’s spirit who didn’t have that same opportunity all those years ago and we are all smiling.

Ask Cynthia - Preparing for Hobbles

Hi, I recently mentioned to my farrier that I was interested in hobble training my thoroughbred. The method I have been told to use (by several professional horse breakers and friends) was to put the hobbles on slowly over a period of weeks and eventually the horse will come to understand that he is restrained (for want of a better word) and was warned that the horse may resist unpredictably at first.
My farrier passionately objected to this method of training and sugested that you may be able to provide a better and much safer way to teach my horse to accept hobbles. I appreciate any advice as the last thing I want to do is injure my horse.
Thanks for your time, Helana.

Hi Helena,
Your farrier is right - there are better ways to teach the horse to accept hobbles - putting them on without any prior preparation is putting your horse in a 'sink or swim' situation.
So, the best way to approach this task is to first make sure your horse can lead by the legs - loop a 3.5m training rope around the leg and from the front, add pressure gradually until the horse lifts its leg forward. Do many repetitions of this until you can lead forwards and to the side easily with the horse following the feel without any reaction. Its a Parelli Level 2 task.

Then you can take the looped rope and put it around both front legs together and again, as the horse to follow the pressure forwards without opposition.
The next step is to put a few twists in the rope between each leg to simulate hobbles while you are holding the rope so it can be easily released if he becomes very scared. Also get him to yield his hind quarters from each side rather than lead him forward to see what he will do when movement happens as you don't necessarily want to teach him to walk with hobbles on.

Once he is used to that you can try the real hobbles but if possible, see if you can link them with a piece of baling twine (single strand) so that if 'all hell breaks loose' the twine will release.
Also for the first dozen times you put the real hobbles on, keep a halter and lead on so you can control him if he decides to try and run or leap about which would be unlikely if he's done well with all the previous steps.
But then you have to test him out a bit and see how many different friendly games you can play with him while the hobbles are on to simulate the pressure he may encounter when left alone.

You should be able to gradually get more active to the point where you can throw the rops all over him, slap a stick and string all around him and over him and wave a plastic bag around and over him. Of course you will get him used to all of these things without the hobbles on first!
Let me know if you need more help - perhaps a lesson to get you started will make it al clear for you if this explanation isn't. Cheers,
Cynthia.

EVENT REPORT - January Camps

Two special groups of people converged at the beautiful 'Mountainside' pastures at Golden Valley for a whole week of being with their horses and fellow students to increase their skills.
First the 6 kids aged from 8 to 13, along with their parents, enjoyed 3 days of learning how to play games with their horses, how to be safe when riding, natural horse care, hoof care and how to have fun, especially when playing in the dam.
It was wonderful to see the support and involvement from the parents and the achievements made by the kids, helping each other and gaining confidence in their abilities.

After a one day break on Australia Day, the adults camp began with 9 adults of varying levels progressing from basics to advanced techniques during the 3 day course. Mind youit was hard to get re-started each afternoon after a filling lunch, especially when a Japanese Sushi meal is served - thank you Yasu!

The pastures at Mountainside were lush, relaxing and offered varied terrain and natural obstacles.

if you'd like to see some more pics from the camps - go to this Photo Album Page.

 

New Product Review - The Old Macs 'Pee Wee' bit

& New Book Review - Horse Follow Closely by GaWaNi Pony Boy

Student News & Photos

Send me your pics and news - I enjoy hearing from newsletter readers.

Bev and Merlin as a foal

Niamh and Goldie won the Fancy Dress at the Westbury show - scary eh!

 

CALENDAR OF TASMANIAN EVENTS

MARCH
5th - Natural Nous & Pony Pals Play Day at Harveydale - Ph. Steph. on 63 624474.
4/5th - Private Lessons in Southern area with Cynthia.
18th - Group/private Lessons with Cynthia at Lilydale - ph. Liz on 63951590.
25&26th - Pete Ramey Hoof Trim Workshop- book with Jen Clingly on 63 695555.

APRIL
2nd - Natural Nous & Pony Pals Play Day - Ph. Steph. on 63 624474.
8/9th - Beginners and Advanced 2 day workshop at Lilydale with Cynthia. Bookings required.
15,16,17th - Easter Trail Riding Camp at Golden Valley - book with Cynthia.

MAY
4,5,6th - Agfest - Natural Horse World Displays & Demos
20/21st - Whole Horse Workshop with Cynthia and other practitioners.

EVENT INFORMATION

Lilydale 2 day Workshop - April 8/9th at 109 Doaks Road.
Two groups will receive 2 sessions focusing on ground work and riding each day.
Lunch can be catered for and the evening meal is included in the cost of $150 for the 2 days.
Camping overnight is welcomed, just BYO electric horse yard and water bucket.
Places are limited to 6 in each group (Beginners and Advanced) so book early with Cynthia.

Easter Trail Riding Camp - April 15,16, 17th at Golden Valley.
Come and explore the beautiful trails in the valley, guided by Cynthia with instruction before we start out each day on a new adventure.
Accommodation is available for people at the Mountainside Cabins or you can camp with your horse at my place (shower and toilet avail). BYO electric yard, horse feed and water bucket + your own food.
Cost is $150 for the 3 days and spaces are limited to 6 reasonably competent riders.

Whole Horse Workshop - May 20/21st - venue to be confirmed.
This workshop will explore in detail all aspects of horse care and communication covering the five main areas of:

This workshop is ideal for the beginner wanting to get started or the horse owner wanting more information on a more natural approach to horses. It is not necessary to have your own horse.
Other practitioners will also present their topics of expertise so book your place with Cynthia ASAP.

CLASSIFIED ADDS

For Sale: Pharslee Kyra --known as Bella, 15.2hh 7 yrs bay reg. Anglo Arab mare, naturally handled from birth, sound, limited outings, no vices .$2200
Royale Samsara -- 14.2hh 13 yrs, chestnut re. part Arab mare working at level two naturally, sound no vices $2500. both situated at Boat Harbour, for more information ring Jane 6445 1118.

Can't believe he is still here!! Rising 4, 15.1hh Cleveland Bay gelding.
Lorenzo has had time to mature in big paddocks and now needs someone with exp. to bring him on. He is very quiet and can even be a bit dull. But is so big hearted, he could excel at tricks with the right teacher.
I have no time or inclination to break a young horse but I don't want him to miss this year as he is ready to do so much. Best of homes only. Ph. Meg 62 575 268.

For Sale – Thoroughbred gelding, beautiful temperament, dapple grey, 15.2hh, 6yr old, started in dressage and over small jumps, good in traffic, on beach, on trail, in company or not, can be lead off other horse or lead other horse off him, good with dogs, good to catch, shoe and float, slightly timid when meeting new people. Reluctant sale due to owner’s pregnancy. $2,900 neg. Phone 63948201 or 0419 370 232.

For Sale - Palomino Mare, welsh cob x, 15hh, 4 yrs old, handled naturally from birth, very friendly, floats well, a pleasure to have around, done some PNH and ready to be started under saddle. Approved home only. $2500 ono.Ph 03 63 956165.

For Sale - Dressage Gelding, 16hh+, 3 yrs old, Welsh cob x TB, very correct, big flowing movement, would suit experienced preformance home. Approved home only. $3500 ono Ph 03 63 956165.

Opportunity: Use of facilities which include exercise track, round yard, straight pool , stables and truck for people interested in re-training or training gallopers. A close by the beach cottage could be available to the right person which is very reasonably priced. Even possibly people with clients for the yearling and weanlings sales or one of our cottages could be rented out to the person or persons. Willing to listen to any terms suggested by interested parties. I would ideally like a natural horseperson, as I am very impressed with the methods. Ph. Tony on 62 931142.

For Sale: Beautiful 2 year old chunky liver chestnut reg quarter horse mare. Sound but has a tendon Injury on the hind leg so would be suited for breeding gorgeous babies.$1500. Call Viv 0418315391.

If you have an add you would like included in the next newsletter please email it to me by the end of April.

 

Lee Davis and Daisy competing at the Tas. Mountain Cattlemen's Annual Event. (photo by Nadeen)

Newsletter 57 - Jan/Feb. 2006

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