- Breeding
- Horse Breeding, Part 1: The Estrous Cycle
- Should You Go Into Horse Breeding?
- The History of Horse Breeding
- Buying a Horse
- How to Buy Horses: A Step by Step Process
- Top 3 Ways Using Horse Classifieds Can Save You Money
- What to Look For When Buying a Horse
- General Horse Articles
- An Introduction to Dressage
- How the Recession Is Affecting Equine Employment
- How Humane is Race Horse Retirement?
- Horse Feeding
- A Look at Horse Feed
- 5 Horse Feeding "Don'ts"
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- Horse Grooming
- eZall Shine & Detangler Transforms Ratty Manes and Tails Into Flowing Tresses
- Keeping Your Horse Beautiful with Horse Products
- Mane Saving Ideas
- Horse Training
- Training Mythunderstandings: Heeding Groundwork: Class Review
- So You Bought A Friesian, Now what!
- Training Mythunderstandings: More Early Lessons for the Green Horse
- Horses & History
- Horsing around the Sierra Madre - 1974 Style.
- The History of Horse Breeding
- The History of Overalls
- Horses & Sports
- Ask Chelsie Natural Horsemanship - What Does It Mean To Disengage My Horse?
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Nearly $7 Million Generated Annually for the District of Columbia
Starting Early: Training the Foal
05/26/2008
For a horse to become disciplined in a particular area, it is important for them to go through several stages of training. It is crucial that this training begins early, and ideally, when they are a foal.
For a horse to become disciplined in a particular area, it is important for them to go through several stages of training. It is crucial that this training begins early, and ideally, when they are a foal.
Beginning to handle a foal can start as early as birth, or when it comes time to wean the foal away from its mother. Many feel that it is important to start at birth, so that the foal develops interaction with humans as early on as possible. This is important so that the foal understands that the human will not harm it and will begin to trust it. This will breed a respectful relationship between human and horse.
The first steps in training the young horse in its first year are very simple tasks; no riding while it is young. These simple tasks include allowing a halter to be placed on its head, be led to walk by a human, and stopping when directed. A foal needs to learn to be calm during grooming and veterinary exams. The young horse can also be trained to stand still while its feet are being picked up to have its hooves trimmed. Then a foal can be taught basic skills that it will need to know for the rest of its life, such as being loaded into a horse trailer, and to not fear noisy objects. While living around a human, a young horse can learn to get used to human devices and noises.
Some do insist that you do not handle the foal until weaning. If you wait until the horse is weaned from its mother, some argue, you will create a stronger bond as the separation from its mother will cause fear. If the foal understands you will protect it, it may readily follow you. Horses at this age are still highly impressionable, and while they may be quicker than they were at birth, they are still a fraction of the size and strength of a full horse.
The importance here is starting young. Some do not begin training until the horse is able to be ridden, but it takes much more skill to train a full horse without being injured in the process.
