Thank you! 

Richard Boatwright this makes a lot of sense. My 2 yr old was "poked" alot with a stick from previous owner I believe it made him dull to it. We had to find another way to get our message across when he was crowding my space, running over me and he use to turn around and try to kick. I refused to get into a wee match with him. I swear he use to seek conflict! I wouldn't engage and it was like taking away his power. Smacking him, shoo'ing him away would only make him more aggressive, we say "he fights back". According to the trainer where he is now, he no longer does this but you can't go picking fights either.  Hopefully I can get along with him now.  

Stephen Gowling interesting on the hay.. I wonder if what you're talking about, fermented hay, is the same as "chaffehay " around here. It comes in a bag, chopped alfalfa, it's fermented.. smells highly of vinegar. They either love the stuff or hate it! But it's supposed to be extremely low in sugars. I tried it for a while but I kept getting bags with tiny holes in them and they'd go bad. It would grow yeast which was the beneficial part for them to eat ..only problem was I couldn't differentiate between yeast and mold. I gave up. There's a million ways and feeds and other stuff to feed horses it's so easy to get lost at sea!  I will admit I've probably tried most of them 😆 I do love the convenience of the alfalfa cubes and they are usually very clean. Having dealt with 3 impaction colics this year already from bermuda grass hay. We quit feeding it and have just been using alfalfa and what little is on the pastures right now. Grass is coming in but it will be too much of a good thing soon. 

I forgot to tag him thank you! 

Stephen Gowling we have several alfalfa cubes manufacturers that boast "no binders" and I use those too for certain horses.  But for my babies these mixed cubes are small and soft and they seem to like them best. I can see the white powdery binder in some of the cubes. Was just curious because some people refuse to use a cube with the binder as if it was a bad thing ... from everything I've read up on bentonite.. it certainly doesn't seem harmful to a horses system, more like a benefit. Around here we get our alfalfa hay trucked in. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's not! Getting to be that time of the year where it's going to be trash so we usually switch to alfalfa cubes for the consistency and less waste. Apparently my horses are too good for stemmy dry dusty alfalfa and they'll stand on more than they eat it. Expensive bedding 😬

Stephen Gowling do you know if there is a difference in bentonite used as a binder in say, alfalfa cubes ...and bentonite clay. Or is it the same. I've heard a few different theories. I'm currently feeding my colts some alfalfa cubes that contain bentonite I'm assuming as a binder. But these cubes are so soft break up and crumble easily. It's alfalfa,  whole northern oats, and whole northern flaxseed (and bentonite) they love them and I think they are doing quite well on them. I'm waiting for my dealer to get the "fortified" version with a complete vitamin mineral pack. 

Thank you 

Richard Boatwright thank you for the reminder! I get so caught up in how gentle they are becoming i definitely don't want them "dull" so far they are not dull at all on my groundwork they are still very reactive to my cues of moving over and forward and backward. I'd like to keep it that way for sure. I keep my sessions short .. maybe 10-15 minutes at a time.  After I'm done they stand tied up while I work my other horse and do some chores. Then they are turned out in the pasture till it's dark. It's just nice to have a few quiet well mannered respectful colts around. That 2 yr old that's at the colt starter was the complete opposite.  He was mean, pushy, rude and spoiled. We made a little progress here before sending him off. We got him from someone else and inherited a slew of issues along with it. Plus he's HUGE  and knew it. He used his size to his advantage and would try to shove you with his shoulders. He was above my pay grade! 

Richard Boatwright im super proud of both my colts! I've made great progress with them both over the last week. Lots of handling, loading and unloading in the trailer, walking over my ground poles and up over my bridge. Lunging and getting them to move their feet, hips and shoulders. I feel like I'm cheating because they are making it very easy on me.  My little dunskin is excelling a tad faster than the roan. But that's ok. I just have to change my approach a little for him. I'm learning a ton as well. Got my dunskin tied today and he did great. First time and also lots of brushing and lifting up feet .   Farrier is coming next week I know they are definitely in need of a trim so I'm trying to prepare them for him to make this as smooth as possible. I want it to be a good experience... any tips?  I lift up all 4 feet pretty easy and hold till I feel them relax then I release the foot. Having a little trouble with the back feet they want to jerk away alot but I'm persistent and patient.