Poor Little Yearlings

amanda1 · Postby **amanda1** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:10 pm

OK, this isn't about THIS years foals, but might as well be. Today we got in 2 yearlings from a client who had been boarding them at another farm. Apparently he was paying $6 a day per foal once weaned. You really do get what you pay for.....

They arrive and get off the trailer, one filly and one colt, and I thought we had been misinformed. I thought they were WEANLINGS. But no, they are yearlings, born last April and May. They are SOOOOO small. If you told me they were 4 mths old I would not argue one bit. They are extremely skinny, except for big wormy tummies. They are so underdeveloped they are both ewe-necked and their little heads looks disproportionate to thier bodies. They came right off the trailer and walked quietly beside us. The owner said "Look how easy they are to handle"......are you kidding me????? That's lack of energy from being malnourished, not an easy nature :shock:

We put the filly with our yearling fillies who are very quiet and they took her right in. Filly and colt had still been together at the other farm. Before laying eyes on them we were concerned that the filly was still with a colt and that it may be a 2 in 1 package on her, but no concern there anymore, there's no way she's entering estrus anytime soon.

We had to take the colt and put him with a 14 y/o gelding to babysit, our own colts are so much bigger and play rough I was afraid they would hurt him. They are both so submissive to any other horse, make no eye contact, turn away, it's so sad. :cry:

Why do people think that they can do this the cheap way??? $6 a day?? What can you expect for that?

:evil:

Cathyleabo · Postby **Cathyleabo** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:03 am

Sounds like that farm needs a visit from animal welfare, and the owners need a little gentle education.
I wish them the best, sounds like they are in much better hands now.

geowarrior · Postby **geowarrior** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:39 am

I'm so glad you've got them now Amanda. If anyone can bring them back it's you. What caused the owners to see the light, if you don't mind me asking?

amanda1 · Postby **amanda1** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:59 am

Geo, thanks for the kind words. Apparently the farm they were at did not have enough turn-out to separate the fillies from the colts, so that was the ONLY reason the owner called us. He never said a word about their condition, just that he didn't want them together anymore. He also said he was thinking about waiting until next year to break them......I diplomatically told him that would be a smart idea, but what the *!@*??? If anybody put weight on them now it would be like Bambi on the ice, all four legs splayed out on the ground! :shock:

They look better already after only having them a week, we wormed the heck out of them and feed them small meals frequently. They also get high quality hay even though they are on pasture. But best of all, they have just started to run around a little bit. They don't have the energy to do much but I've heard a happy squeal or two!

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:22 pm

That's great. get them happier mentally first, and I bet the weight will follow.
Poor babies.

KamiBrooks · Postby **KamiBrooks** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:56 pm

Make sure you get photo of them against their peers. I know of a yearling that is in this kind of sitation and the owner says he's in a growth spurt. NOT, he's under developed from malnutrition of both his dam and himself. This is a TB that is supposed to race one day? Very sad to see horses bred on the cheap, but even sadder to think the owner expects a top athletic performance from them in the future.

amanda1 · Postby **amanda1** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:04 pm

Kami,

We are taking lots of pics to document their growth. Especially since we cut the owner a deal while they are out on pasture. We reduced his rate but said that once they need to be in a stall a lot we would have to charge him our standard day rate. If he is reluctant, I want to be able to show him the pictures and how much they have changed by then. I did take a pic of the filly standing between our Quiet American filly and a Congaree, both are nice sized fillies but by no means monsters. It looked like she could have been their foal!

If anyone can help with posting pics I would love for you guys to see them in thier pitiful state. The colt is out with our 14 y/o babysitter, who is usually in a pasture closest to the road. I had to move them up closer to the barn.....I was afraid someone would drive by and see the baby and call the ASPCA on us!

Jenny · Postby **Jenny** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:40 pm

Hi Amanda1
I was just wondering how those yearlings are doing! Growing I hope. Do you think they will ever race???? Recover enough from that poor of a start?? Does anyone know of a case like this and they went on to race and do well ? Interesting thread to start.

amanda1 · Postby **amanda1** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:46 pm

Hi Jenny,

They are steadily gaining weight and have gained some height also. They are starting to fill out and lose that sunken look. They still are pretty subdued but they seem happy. I can't imagine that they would ever catch up to the other foals of their crop, and unfortunately they are not well bred, so that lowerd their chances even more. At best, the owner could have expected low level claimers. I am hoping that when the time comes to start their training (as long 2 y/o's I hope) they show little promise and he decides not to waste time and money. The best thing for them would be to make nice riding horses out of them.

Jenny · Postby **Jenny** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:16 am

Hi Amanda
Well hopefully the cheap idiot has learned his lesson!!