Imprinting young foals

[intouch]

I read recently in thehorse.com that some research had shown that imprinting newborn foals made little difference to the relative ease of handling when they were weaned, and possibly affected the bond between the mare & foal.

I know there are circumstances when a foal has to be handled, but I've been of the opinion that it's best to leave mum & baby to get on with it, show baby I'm not too scarey by handling mum.

Then when the weaning process starts, (we start by putting them in separate looseboxes when they start to come in at nights, about 6 months, but don't separate them during the day till mum indicates they are not welcome) the foal quickly comes to accept us feeding, working round and pretty soon, handling, haltering, leading etc.

Just wondering what other people think - we are expecting a foal in April from a feisty mare who was very possesive last year. Although her foal is now quite amenable, we couldnt get near him in the field til they were brought in.

[linus65]

Hi,
I don't know very much about the imprinting of foals other than what I have read over the years - and if by imprinting one handles the foal as soon as it is born by touching etc all over while it's lying down etc - I have never done that and wouldn't consider it. Best leave Mum to bond with baby for the first few hours.

Of course, if I have been fortunate enough to be there at the birth - I would handle the foal a bit, but after making sure they are both ok and foal suckling I would leave them to it.

On the other hand I always started with the head collar straight away when baby goes out with Mum. And making sure, slowly but surely, that the foals learn how to lead with aid of ropes behind and learing to yield to pressure all over - so I would lead both out and make sure to handle the foal - soft brush all over, feet lifting etc for a few minutes every day even if they are out.

I worked (and occasionally still do) as a horsebox driver and there is nothing worse and more traumatic than going picking up mares and foal at stud where the foals haven't been handled or led. All the main studs in Ireland lead both mare and foal and it cuts out a lot of hassle.

IMHO the sooner one starts the less work it takes and at weaning it's much less traumatic for the foal having to first get used to being away from mum and then having to deal with getting used to handling.

As for the possessive mare - I had a few of those in my day lol - and found that by making sure to spend time with the mare and the foal several times a day and by leading her around while handling the foal close by helped a lot. Even if they are living out I would make sure to do that daily.

Just my 2 cents worth.
Lena

[Donal]

Hi Folks
my 2 cents worth.....:
I believe there's a danger here of mixing concepts, that is confusing "imprinting" with "handling". As far as I understand (and I have tried to have a good look at it) imprinting is a process which happens within the first hour of birth and relies on certain natural tendencies of new born animals and handling is a process which is ongoing and relies on a confusing myriad of ideas and theories.
In the course of my travels I have come across horses that would back up both schools of thought for imprinting, the ones who won’t let anyone near them because “he had a bad time as a foal and now he doesn’t like the vet” and the ones that “are a wee dear because he was hand reared” and let me tell you one is as bad as the other! I also have had the honour of being able to compare different approaches on the same group of animals over several years; I’ll tell you my experiences and let you decide:
About seven years ago I was asked to visit a National Hunt stud in the north, it is run by two ladies with an amazing knowledge and experience of breeding racehorses, the yard consisted of about 15 mares and foals and various 1,2 and 3 year olds. The system they employed was brilliants in its simplicity. The Mares with foals where kept in large pens in groups of two or three, the rest were separated according to their pier groups and housed in the same way, much like a herd of cattle except as a 5 star version. Every day they would be herded in and out of their relative paddocks and were never directly handled until the need arose, worming, hoof care etc etc. I have never been to a yard where the horses were so relaxed and content with their lot. There was only one fly in the ointment for this idyllic setup, SALES TIME! This was the point at which (and every horse will reach it) when these animals were expected to join “the real world”, big transporters trucks, travelling parading in front of crowds’, not to mention the preparation for all this. Stories of yearlings falling off ramps, being doped, and panicking in lorries were abundant. These were the issues I was asked to solve.
To cut a long story short (and stop this post turning into a novel) I did this by a process of “handling” as I was rarely present at the birth and once that hour is gone it’s gone!
The process I started was in itself designed to be simple and to fit with the current regime. Firstly: as early as possible a head collar was put on each of the new crop of foals, this was done with as little trauma as possible but at the same time with some determination and was the key experience for the foal, we had to “show” him that we could interact with him without eating him yet still be regarded as a prevailing participant. The rest of the process basically involved me visiting the yard twice a week at feeding time and going round each of the pens literally just touching each of the foals in turn and walking away (the walking away bit is the secret shhh!) until we reached the point that each of the foals trusted (or ignored ) me. Stretching this into leading literaly one step a day was easy for me and the foal. Each new request was simply a small extension of what he already knew and therefore no longer an issue.
I am a firm believer that training horses is not a series of schooling lessons but an attitude and a consistent method of daily interaction between horse and owner. I learnt very early on in my career that there is no point in me our any other professional being able to handle a person’s horse, the owner and the horse need be able to interact with each other and resolve with their own issues together on an ongoing basis.
Sorry for the ramble but I’m sure you know what its like once you get started
Donal