Sports
Halter breaking a foal can be a major experience for both the foal and the handler. Naturally, being a prey animal, a foal will try to find escape routes for anything it experiences as a threat and putting something around its head and pulling it with a rope is definitely regarded as such.
In order to make sure that the foal doesn't view us as a danger, we have to avoid anything that takes them out of their comfort zone. If any encounter with humans is a positive experience, we will - guaranteed - reap the fruits of what we do at a later stage. Nothing is worse than a horse that turns its back to you when you come into the paddock.
What we normally do is the following. When the foal is a few days old, we approach the mare and foal carefully and just kneel down to make ourselves as little as possible. Normally, the foal will be curious and want to sniff the stranger that we are. If you slowly reach out your hand, it will want to know more about it and it will come toward you. Don't make any sudden movements, as their reflexes will tell that they are being attacked and they will jump away. If you can stand up slowly, you may be able to touch it and scratch it on the areas that are usually itchy, like the bum and the shoulder. In these first few days you lay the basis of trust for the exercises to come.
When you feel it becomes easier to get closer to the foal, you can try to lay a rope on its back. We normally start doing that when they are a week or so old. More than likely, the foal will jump away and try to get rid of it, but after a few times it will find out that there is nothing to be afraid of and you can start moving he rope toward the neck and head.
Once the foal is comfortable with the rope, you can start doing the same with a halter (make sure it is the right size). And as long as it is comfortable, you can move the halter around its nose. The foal might find this strange initially and try to get rid of it, and all that is fine. If you repeat these steps several times, it will start to feel more relaxed about it. At some stage, you will be able to close the buckle and leave the halter on. It might be a little upset about it, but very soon it will accept this strange thing around its face. At that stage, you want to get it used to some pressure on the halter using a rope. You can hook on the rope and put some pressure on it and see how the foal behaves. More than likely, it will be a bit panicked, and it is important to release the pressure immediately. Stay beside the foal and follow it without pressure on the rope. Allow it to stay close to the mare, its safety and comfort zone.
Once it becomes more comfortable with pressure on the halter, you can then try to "lead" it with the rope. You will need a helper who can lead the mare and naturally the foal will follow. Make sure you stay beside the foal behind its eye, in order to make it walk away from you in forward direction. Don't position yourself between the mare and the foal. Ideally, you will have a second helper who walks behind the foal, but if you don't, you can put your right hand on its whither to encourage it to move forward. With your left hand you can play with the pressure on the halter if it goes too fast and soon it will learn that the pressure means that it has to slow down. Release the pressure when it goes at the right speed or when it suddenly panics away from you. Try to keep the foal close to the mare and reward it with scratching the itchy bits.
Halter breaking a foal doesn't need to take much time. You can get to the stage of following the mare (starting from the rope on its back) in just a few days. It is important that you do these exercises regularly and not for too long. We normally spend 5 to 15 minutes to do an exercise to get to the next step, and we do that a few times per day. The rest of the day, we leave the mare and foal alone. This way, the foal learns that dealing with people is fun (the scratchy bit), and it also learns that when we ask something from them, it will be something they can confidently do, without being pushed over their limits.
By Ane Visser. At Dutch Horses Unlimited, we breed and train quality horses in New Zealand with the focus on dressage and show jumping. We have young dressage horses for sale, as well as show jumpers. They are raised in a group of broodmares to make sure that they grow up in a natural social environment. We breed for talent, and at the age of three, they start their training under the saddle.
In order to make sure that the foal doesn't view us as a danger, we have to avoid anything that takes them out of their comfort zone. If any encounter with humans is a positive experience, we will - guaranteed - reap the fruits of what we do at a later stage. Nothing is worse than a horse that turns its back to you when you come into the paddock.
What we normally do is the following. When the foal is a few days old, we approach the mare and foal carefully and just kneel down to make ourselves as little as possible. Normally, the foal will be curious and want to sniff the stranger that we are. If you slowly reach out your hand, it will want to know more about it and it will come toward you. Don't make any sudden movements, as their reflexes will tell that they are being attacked and they will jump away. If you can stand up slowly, you may be able to touch it and scratch it on the areas that are usually itchy, like the bum and the shoulder. In these first few days you lay the basis of trust for the exercises to come.
When you feel it becomes easier to get closer to the foal, you can try to lay a rope on its back. We normally start doing that when they are a week or so old. More than likely, the foal will jump away and try to get rid of it, but after a few times it will find out that there is nothing to be afraid of and you can start moving he rope toward the neck and head.
Once the foal is comfortable with the rope, you can start doing the same with a halter (make sure it is the right size). And as long as it is comfortable, you can move the halter around its nose. The foal might find this strange initially and try to get rid of it, and all that is fine. If you repeat these steps several times, it will start to feel more relaxed about it. At some stage, you will be able to close the buckle and leave the halter on. It might be a little upset about it, but very soon it will accept this strange thing around its face. At that stage, you want to get it used to some pressure on the halter using a rope. You can hook on the rope and put some pressure on it and see how the foal behaves. More than likely, it will be a bit panicked, and it is important to release the pressure immediately. Stay beside the foal and follow it without pressure on the rope. Allow it to stay close to the mare, its safety and comfort zone.
Once it becomes more comfortable with pressure on the halter, you can then try to "lead" it with the rope. You will need a helper who can lead the mare and naturally the foal will follow. Make sure you stay beside the foal behind its eye, in order to make it walk away from you in forward direction. Don't position yourself between the mare and the foal. Ideally, you will have a second helper who walks behind the foal, but if you don't, you can put your right hand on its whither to encourage it to move forward. With your left hand you can play with the pressure on the halter if it goes too fast and soon it will learn that the pressure means that it has to slow down. Release the pressure when it goes at the right speed or when it suddenly panics away from you. Try to keep the foal close to the mare and reward it with scratching the itchy bits.
Halter breaking a foal doesn't need to take much time. You can get to the stage of following the mare (starting from the rope on its back) in just a few days. It is important that you do these exercises regularly and not for too long. We normally spend 5 to 15 minutes to do an exercise to get to the next step, and we do that a few times per day. The rest of the day, we leave the mare and foal alone. This way, the foal learns that dealing with people is fun (the scratchy bit), and it also learns that when we ask something from them, it will be something they can confidently do, without being pushed over their limits.
By Ane Visser. At Dutch Horses Unlimited, we breed and train quality horses in New Zealand with the focus on dressage and show jumping. We have young dressage horses for sale, as well as show jumpers. They are raised in a group of broodmares to make sure that they grow up in a natural social environment. We breed for talent, and at the age of three, they start their training under the saddle.
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