A Good Start
Starting the horse under saddle
A start isn’t something… it’s everything. Everything you need a horse to know can be taught to him when he is just an hour old. This is the ideal, for the horse and human to begin their relationship as soon as the horse is born. Imprint training can totally transfer a horse’s negative opinion of a predator into a positive one. This doesn’t mean he can’t reform an opinion as a result of none ideal handling, but there is no doubt that the horse is much easier to teach when he is not defensive.
We do not always have the ideal of working with a horse that has been imprinted, and even if we did, it is important to not ever make assumptions. Inside every wild horse is a gentle horse… and inside every gentle horse is a wild horse. Never, ever lose sight of this. Every horse will test your depth and quality of horsemanship, and every horse will teach you something very valuable.
Starting a horse under saddle is not a job for the unskilled, nor the rough and tough. It requires savvy and skill, mental, emotional and physical fitness. It’s a job for a Horseman who can teach the horse how to be a great partner.
Goals & Principles
- To keep it Natural for the horse. No blindfolds, restraints, rogues, gags or gimmicks.
- To consider the horse’s post of view – if you were a colt meeting a human for the first time, having the human want to get on your back… how would you like it to be done?
- To develop the horse systematically with a program in mind.
- To take the time it takes to do it right.
- To treat him as an individual.
- To teach, not to train.
Horses are born cowards, claustrophobics and panic-aholics! It is our job to help them with their inadequacies so that they can become our perfect partners for life.
When is the most natural time to invest our energy with young horses? How much is too much? What is not enough?
Foals, yearlings and two year olds are entire subjects in themselves, but I would like to share a few thoughts with you on these topics and how you can apply Natural Horse.Man.Ship so as not to fall into the tropical and normal ruts.
Foal Imprinting
Foal Imprinting is what happens within the first 2 hours of a prey animal’s life, good, bad or otherwise! A newborn foal, in order to survive in the wild must be functioning mentally, emotionally and physically within a short period of time, or his chances of survival are slim. Predators on the other hand are born defenceless and become self sufficient at a much slower rate.
The newborn foal must start up its computer immediately, bonding to its mother, the herd and its surrounding. It has some innate programming that gives it clues such as: stand up and try to find the teats and start nursing. More often than not, the foal will find everything but that, then finally through the process of elimination it hits the target on a consistent basis.
Here is your opportunity to cause this new foal to think you are possibly a relative of his, even if you look and smell like a predator, just don’t act like one.
What I mean by this is that for those people who are lucky enough to be in on the birth, most people do the wrong thing at the right time to convince the foal right from the start that we are in fact as dangerous as we smell! This is easy to do: just check to see what sex it is, give him an injection, throw some iodine on his navel and then go back to your cave and have a cup of coffee! This is the normal thing at the Natural time!
The alternative is to stay with he mare and foal for at least 2hours and have intermittent sessions to convince both mare and foal that you are not a threat, and in fact are part of their life, a good part.
If you do not get to the mare and foal at parturition, this is not the end of the world. Some foals never see a human until weaning time and they still turn out fine. What is important to realise at this time is that you are now dealing with the foal in what is called a critical learning period. You must also realise that you have missed the the foal imprinting stage. There is a difference between the two. The foal imprinting slogan should be “First impressions are lasting impressions and the critical learning period slogan should be “The earlier, the better”.
It is my opinion the the most critical times for you to invest time with your foal are the first 2 hours of life, the first 24 hours, the first 72 hours and the first 168 hours, and at weaning time.
Imprinting breaks down the prey-predator barrier. Here are some thought and suggestions for you to consider from falling to weaning:
- Predators are born helpless, they have delayed imprinting. Prey animals are born with a fully developed mind. They can think as soon as they are born.
- Don’t be afraid of interfering between the mare and foal. Foals imprinted in their first hour are attitudinally different from foals imprinted after that time.
- Being with the foal can encourage the mare and reassure her it can become a three way bond. This also depends on your relationship with the mare before foaling.
- Imprinting does not ruin the foal’s spirit, or instincts. It enables him to become comfortable in the human environment.
- Imprinting does not cause the mare to reject the foal. This happens only when the mare is afraid of the foal.
- It’s a good idea to practice prior and proper preparation with the mare. Have her responding with respect without fear. Long before foaling, her attitude towards being caught, handled and accepting human dominance throughout lateral lunging or the 7 Games should be in hand.
- Be aware of hormonal changes in the mare.
- Be patient and don’t rush.
Influencing factors on the foal:
mare – herd – environment – human
Each of these is important in the foal’s development:
Mare: That the mare likes humans, is not afraid and that she teaches him what he needs to know to be a horse.
Herd: As the foal grows up, to be around other horses, mares, and foals, as if it were a totally natural environment. The will learn herd etiquette. Youngsters running with only their dam can develop delinquent behaviour.
Environment: Uneven ground, rock, creeks, tree, hills, ditches, etc. gets the foal hand, teaches him to think and to know where his feet are.
Human: Natural approach, prove to him that you are not as bad as you smell!
THE FIRST HOUR
True imprinting has to occur within the first 2 hours of birth. As soon as the mare finishes cleaning, you may begin. Be careful not to interfere with the foal’s first efforts to stand. With the foal lying down, it’s a good time to massage all over, insert fingers gently into all orifices several times until quiet. Work on the underside was well, and hold legs and feet until struggling stops. When it does stop…release immediately. This teaches the foal to yield.
You can see here why imprinting will help the foal be more accepting to human duties such as veterinary and shoeing.
Repeat these steps until the foal is quite relaxed about it. Then introduce plastic bag sounds, clipper sounds and sensations, etc. Play with your foal right under the mares nose to keep her involved and less anxious.
TEACHING FOALS TO YIELD
We like to start the yielding exercises when the foal is steady on it’s feet, usually very soon after birth. Using your finger tips on chest, hip, neck, shoulders, girth, and around the tail area, you can apply a light but firm series of pressure and releases to teach the six yields. Forward, backward, right and left, up and down.
It can take very little pressure and the most important thing to remember is to release as soon as the foal responds each time. The foal needs to learn that he is responsible for moving himself. See if you can get the foal to relax between each movement.
In teaching to yield to pressure, the Process String can be used. Loop it around the foal’s girth with the end pulled between the forelegs.
The Progress String will tighten when held firm and will release instantly when the foal yields.
Never put the foal in a sink or swim situation Hold firm and let the foal take the pressure off itself.
Allow drift whenever necessary. Teach the foal to yield forward, backward, right, left, up, down with he String. Once the foal learns this, ask for a walk, trot or canter. This is possible within 2 to 4 days. I advise that you have 2 – 3 Progress string available, 2 for leading (joined together) to allow the foal enough room to drift and one for the rump to give support if needed.
SEVEN DAY INVESTMENT
There are 168 hours in one week, how many hours are you willing to invest into your next partnership for life? My suggestion is… to be close to your foal’s environment for 100 of those first 168 hours.
During the first few days of playing with the foal, we like to let the mare and foal go exploring, changing environment, different pastures, etc. to gain experience in different terrains, moving in and out of gates, playing and exercising. Let the playground be as natural an environment as possible. When the foal plays…he learns. Hills, streams, rocks, bank, etc. teach him to become the true athlete – Naturally!
When moving the mare and foal, LEAD THE FOAL, NOT THE MARE. The foal learns only to scatter himself all over and upset the mare, and the mare knocks you over trying to keep the foal in her vision. What really works is to lead the foal with the Progress String around his girth as described earlier, and the mare stays right next to the foal.
Within the first week it is possible to teach your foal to come to you when you want, to lay down, to trailer load and to be brave about many of your suggestions.
RIDING THE MARE
One to three weeks after the mare has foaled, you can start riding the mare with the foal by her side. At first allow the foal just to follow, and make sure you are in a controlled environment. Another suggestion is to play some chasing and manoeuvring games with the foal. This is done by riding towards the foal and causing him to yield out of the mares way.
I like to ride with a Carrot Stick in my hand so that I can touch the foal every chance I get to convince him that being touch from the human on his mother’s back is ok!
Weaning
Normal = instant separation!
Natural = put mares and foals on either side of a pipe round yard, allowing the foals to still nurse a little (mom gradually thinks enough of that, and keep herself backed off from the foal).
Each few days, move them a little further from each other and start playing with the foal to keep his mind busy and to create a stronger bond.
Natural logic is the key. Understand what happens in nature and use natural logic. 4 – 6 months is ideal for weaning for both foal and mare. Weaning too early or too late can invite perverted behaviour.
In short, prove to your foal that you are a positive force in his life. Teach yielding exercises for communication and respect. Invest as much time as possible with the mare and foal in the first 168 hours to develop a natural bond then leave them alone a natural environment with other horses and let Mother Nature do the rest!
If you feel you need more information we suggest obtain the video called “Imprint Training the Foal” by Dr. R. M. Miller.
Yearlings
….THE UGLY DUCKLINGS
The tow easiest things to do with young horses is “over do”, or “under do”. There are a few things humans can provide for young can provide for young horses that Mother Nature cannot, but there are many things that Mother Nature can provide that humans cannot. The secret is to find the perfect balance and do the best we can with what we have available.
Yearlings need good food, exercise, socialisation, creeks to cross, hills to climb and a little attention from humans. This would be a good natural balance. The normal environment that most yearlings get is too much food, too little space and too much human interference.
A possible solution to lack of space might be to find a facility that can provide the space and environment your young horse needs.
If you have your young horses on pasture, a pitfall to watch out for is only gathering them when the day comes to paste worm or trim feet. An idea might be to gather them the day before you intend on processing them and give tham a pleasurable experience, or gather them once in a while just to say hello.
I play with our yearlings on ground skills about 2 – 4 times a year and let Mother Nature do the rest!
Starting Young Horses Under Saddle
The question most people are asking themselves is whether to start their own youngster or send it to a professional. Then, once started how long they should continue riding him? I will try to shed a little light on these questions.
Horses teach riders…riders teach horses. This is a principle that is often overlooked and this is when humans get into trouble with their horses.
Some people are natural riders, but that Does not necessarily mean they have the knowledge, knack or skills that it take to start a horse that has never been ridden.
Another consideration is whether the horse in question behaves within what is considered the normal range of behaviour when it comes to accepting the human, the saddle, the rider and the bit.
My opinion is that starting young horses under Saddle is an advanced subject, and the best results for both the horse and rider that I’ve seen is from natural horsemen that have passed Level 4 AND have an affinity for your horses. Most humans are not prepared to deal effectively with young or green horses that have less than 300 hours of riding.
When selecting a professional, there are two things I would consider. First does he or she use Natural Horse.Man.Ship? Secondly does he or she specialise in young horse preparation?
If a young horse is started in the spring of his second year, how long should you keep riding him?
We shall start by asking the question “How long do you want your horse to last?” Do you want a Partner for life or do you want a horse you might have to throw away in 2 or 3 years???
If you want a Partner for Life, I would put him back to the pasture for a few months once you are sure that he has accepted the human, the saddle and the rider. That usually takes 10 – 20 hours of riding for most young horses.
I would prescribe another 10 -20 hours when you bring him back in. The next year I would double these figures. When he is a full 4 years old he can start to accept a more comprehensive schedule.
Riding A Horse That Has Been Spelled For Awhile
Statistics show that many people get hurt riding older and dependable riding horses. The reason? Humans ass-u-me that old dependable will act just like he did before the spell after he had been ridden for several months in a row. They just saddle him up and get on…and take a flying lesson without a pilot!
Solution: don’t forget how to do Pre-flight checks with a horse…Prior and Proper Preparation Prevents P— Poor Performance Proclaims Pat Parelli!
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