Solidare's Foal's First Outing

Normally I wait until a foal is five days old before any kind of turnout. Because the vision of newborns isn't all that good, I find waiting this time avoids problems with them running into wire fences or taking a swim in the creek or pond although newborn vision didn't deter Legend those years ago.



With the issues surrounding Solidare and her new foal, I didn't rush to put the two of them outside either. I was worried about the usual newborn antics feeling the first real freedom. Solidare would have difficulty trying to keep up and I sure didn't want any more damage done to her already compromised back legs.

The weather wasn't co-operating either. I didn't want to take any chances or either of them getting a cold. With this colt acting like a dummy foal and not really doing much but eating or sleeping at first, I didn't want to chance he might stumble into some kind of trouble because of his lack of interest in his surroundings. There were lots of things to consider.



As the colt got stronger and began acting more normal, I knew the day was getting closer when he would finally see outside that stall. Still I waited on weather and forming some kind of plan to deal with Solidare in case her baby made her frantic exploring his new world.

Our spring has been more like winter making our fields pretty muddy and slick. Solidare doesn't need slick with her issues either so inside they stayed until this last week.Finally we had enough of a break in the weather to dry things out enough to make the front field safe for Solidare and her colt.



I expected the colt might not want to step outside into the unfamiliar because I have had new foals refuse to leave the safety and comfort of their stalls. That was not the case with Solidare's colt, however. He didn't think much of the halter or lead rope but following his mom outside he didn't give a second thought. He was outside on the concrete pad in front of the stall in an instant and in another one he was following his mother into the grass. The only thing this colt was worried about was getting to far away from his mother.



True to his "dummy foal" status he did not race around acting like some kind of fool which most colts do on their first turn out. Solidare's colt was cautious and stuck close by his mom. There was no running around at all. Just quiet exploration within a foot of two of mom. He never did get any farther away from her than what you see in these pics.