The Newborn Foal - Training Begins at Birth

The newborn foal begins his training as soon as he takes his first breath. He learns how the new world smells, and most importantly the smell of his dam. The sense of smell is how mares and foals know each other and you will see them taking in each other's scent the first time they touch noses. In fact, after the mare has imprinted her foal's scent, she will reject him if he gets the scent of another horse on him or he is covered with something that masks or changes his scent. His keen sense of smell will also lead him to his dam's udder long before his vision has focused. The handler should take advantage of this and make the foal familiar and comfortable with her scent quickly and often; imprinting him for future training.

The bonding between the mare and her foal is very important and I do not like to interfere any more than necessary for the first couple of days. Getting the foal used to being touched and handled can be done a couple of times a day for a few minutes. It is best to get down to the foal's level and let him come to you. They are usually very curious, and if the dam is not overly protective, will come over and check you out. Slow movements and soothing words will usually earn you a few strokes on the neck or back. Be ready for a sudden leap or kick - anything can set them off.

If the weather is good, you will want to start turning the mare and foal outside. Exercise is very important for a growing foal and the mare will benefit from moving around, but if she is chasing around after a running foal for too long soon after foaling, she can get overheated. If possible a small private paddock for a few days is easier on the mare and the handler. Many breeders don't put a halter on the newborn foal to take them outside, they wrap one arm around the foal's chest and the other around the rump and hold the dock of the tail and guide them where they want them to go. Another person handles the mare. I prefer this method because it is dangerous for the foal to be struggling against a halter at this early age - their neck and poll are fragile and they can get very frantic and hurt themselves. Keeping everything positive and calm from the beginning is very important.

Halter training can begin in the stall. A couple of days after the foal is born; I start putting the halter on the foal once or twice a day, petting and praising them for a few minutes, and then remove it. Gradually, I will leave it on a little longer, but not unless someone is there to keep an eye on them. Foals are very good at getting their feet caught in the halter, so it is important that it fits well. Sometimes, they will decide that they don't want to be caught or that they don't want that thing over their nose. I let them smell the halter and rub it on their neck and back and try to get them comfortable with the noises it makes. Once you are ready to put it over their nose you must be quick and fearless, get your arm around their neck and don't let go until you have the halter on. It is important that they don't learn that they can get away from this - every attempt is a lesson - good or bad. Remain calm and don't give them any reason to be afraid of the halter or you. After a few successful sessions with haltering they are not afraid of what is happening to them and typically enjoy the attention - I have had several foals come over to me as soon as I open the stall door to get their halter on and receive lots of praise and scratching. They soon learn that it also means that they are going outside.

Once they are comfortable with the halter, it is time to start training them to lead. You have already begun the process if you are guiding them outside like I described above. They can feel the pressure of the arm around their rump pushing into the direction you want them to go. When you add the lead rope, you just wrap it around their rump and back to the head and use it to give a little push from behind while giving a little tug on the halter to tell them to go forward. It is very important to remain at the foal's shoulder while doing this because if you are too far back you could get kicked and if you are in front of them they frequently strike or rear. They are easier to control at the shoulder - if necessary your hand closest to their body can hold them at the withers to stop any rearing, and the other hand can hold both ends of the rope under their chin and guide them. You can start this in the stall also if you have a very spirited foal, but it usually works better while you are leading the mare somewhere for the extra incentive of wanting to be closer to her.

By the time your foal is about two weeks old you need to start training him to let you pick up his feet. During the halter training in the stall, if you have someone to hold the foal, you can start this lesson. You only need to pick them up for a couple of seconds and put them back down. Try to put the foot down yourself and not let him jerk it out of your hand. Then give him lots of praise and scratches. Always remain close to his side and don't try to lift the leg up too high. If your foal does not want you to touch his legs, you will have to begin with just getting him over that issue. The more you touch him the easier he will be to handle and will learn to trust you. Positive experiences will result in more positive experiences and the beginning of a trusting attitude in your foal.

Linda Wanstreet owns Lost World Farms, LLC in Holly, Michigan and LWF Sport Horses in Ortonville, Michigan where they board, breed, train, show, and sell Warmblood Sport Horses. It is the home of Patrick, a 1997 Dutch Warmblood stallion.