Re: Help with new baby!

["C. Osborne" <whiteokarabians@email.com>]

She sounds like a perfectly normal baby to me.  And, this too will pass.  I've raised my share of babies, and I really don't give imprinting much creedence.  After they are a year old or so, I can't tell the difference.  And, the 'imprinted' ones who are not handled after the imprinting are just as skittish as the 'never been touched's'.

 

So, just get in there and do what you've gotta do to be a friend if you want to.  But, the best thing I've found is to just be around them without wanting anything specific.  Brush mom, feed mom, walk mom on a lead...baby will learn by seeing that mom doesn't think you're gonna eat her.  Pushing yourself on her will just make the pray animal that she is wonder why you're so interested in her :-)...maybe cause she's gonna be dinner...

 

She's 100% instinct right now.  She'll come around, don't worry!  The day will come that you really wish she didn't think you were so great (say, when she decides that you're the one playmate that she can kick at and you can't kick back...yep, that's a favorite game!)

 

Good luck...babies are sooo much fun as long as you let raising them be fun and don't get caught up trying to over do all the psychobabble :-)

 

Corrine (who has suddenly developed an opinion about durn near everything....)

----- Original Message -----

From: Juneir@aol.com

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 11:14 PM

Subject: RC: Help with new baby!

Last week (April 7th) my mare gave birth to my dream filly - you know, the
one you design in your head and never quite end up with - well I did!  
Anyway, I bred her to be the horse that I will grow old with ( I'm 59 now and
figure that 89 and 30 are probably a good match). So every thing has got to
be right (my first mistake!). Did the imprinting and early handling, halter
on and off each day, and for the first three days everything was just fine.
Then as I was putting on the halter on the 4th day, just at the buckling
stage with no hands to contain the baby, a chicken flies off the stall
partition, spooks her, she pulls back and falls over, bangs hard against the
wall (luckily nothing injured) and now is extremely spooky around me, doesn't
want her head touched and I can't get the halter on her at all.  My approach
has been to back off and just love her up (halter hanging from arm) every
time I go in the stall. She runs from me (and this hurts) but I make sure
that I get her (no fight just opportune spot) and love her every time.  I'm
not making an issue of getting the halter on or even trying to. Several
friends have said that I better push the haltering now or it will be a major
issue later but my instincts are to take it slow. Comments? Anyone with
experience and advice?  She was not at all spooky until she went over
backwards and is bred to be of a quieter disposition. Thanks for any advice.  
June