Starting 7 Month Old Cob Colt

[sallygardens]

Hello

I am new to horses, totally and utterly! I now have 2 horses, a 4 1/2 y old mare called Sally and her son Conan now 7 months.

We have help with training Sally to drive, and eventually ride. She has lived most of her life out in fields with a herd and so hasn't had much to do with humans. We are just learning ground rules at the moment so a long haul ahead.

They have been with us 3 weeks now and I spent that time getting them used to me. They can now be groomed all over, although I've not tried picking up feet yet. We have had teething problems, it's been a very eventful time and steep learning curve.

Once Conan was happy to be groomed and let me put my arm over his neck and in the places I'd need to touch to put on a halter I introduced him to one. I attached it to the gate and he sniffed and chew at it for a couple of days. Then I put it in my hand and rubbed him with it and jangled it in my hand so he could get used to the noise. I started by just putting his nose into it and holding the halter nose band in place for 2 seconds, then taking it away. After a couple of days doing that without any flinching I put it on him with no trouble. I put it on him most days now for half an hour. He seems to like it and is interested!

My next step is to start teaching him to lead. I'd love to get him leading because at the moment I lead Sally which all goes smoothly until Conan runs hell for leather up between me and Sally, catches on the rope and, well, you get the picture!

I'm not sure where to start. Would love advice from anyone who has done it successfully. Is 7 months too young to lead?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Rebecca

[cokey]

Hello Rebecca!

Sounds like you're doing a great job with Conan. That's exactly the way I went about introducing a halter to my youngster, Angel. And yes, Angel used to do the running between me and his mum bit too.. All very entertaining..!

I wouldn't say that 7 months is too young to lead at all. Angel started to be led around 3 months, so you're fine there.!

Do you have anyone to help you when you start to lead Conan? If possible, I'd have at least one helper - someone help by leading mum in front of Conan, and maybe someone else competent to help by applying pressure behind Conan. I'd also have as long a rope as I could handle safely (in my case it was a 22ft rope), but I'd definitely have him on at least a 12ft to allow him some "drift" should he become panicked for any reason.

Then, I'd have my helper #1 lead mum in front of Conan, and standing at Conan's shoulder, I'd ask him to walk on by putting a tiny bit of pressure on the lead rope. If he comes forward, brilliant - release the pressure immediately and praise lavishly. If he resists (and be aware that he could resist a LOT!), hold the pressure whilst your helper #2 puts pressure on behind him, by maybe whirring a rope, or just making a noise or commotion behind him. NOT by hitting him. Then the INSTANT he takes a step forward, release ALL pressure (you AND helper #2) and praise lavishly again. If you don't have a second helper, you'll need to do the leading AND applying pressure behind him, which can be difficult, but is possible using a NH stick and string if you've got one of those..

The important thing though is the release of pressure the instant he makes even a shift of weight forwards. He needs to understand that you want him to move away from the pressure, which in itself is something that horses can find very difficult - they are innately a push-into-pressure kind of animal. So by being completely solid and consistent about the release you'll help him to learn much quicker.

Hope this helps a bit..

[sabre]

I absolutely agree with cokey I lead my foals from the day they first go out in the field with their dam. The only thing I would add but your boy may be a little on the big side to start is that if I am alone I have a long lead rope and clip it onto the foalslip. I then gently run it down the offside and behinh the flanks so it sits where the driving breeching would sit. it is much easier then to use this rope to pull forward and encourage walking without pulling too hard on the foals head/neck and possibly causing problems. A good scratch on top of the tail head sometimes encourages them to move froward too.
there is plenty of time you have done well with everything you have done so far and he obviously trusts you to have got this far.

[sallygardens]

Thanks for the advice. We have started him with some leading around the field and he's doing really well. I just put a little pull on the rope, keep it there until he rocks forward, or steps, or walks and then release the brace. He is learning to lead from both right and left side. He's a great little fella. I've not had any experience of training horses, or ever with foals so I don't know how a foal is supposed to act ... but he seems to be full of the joys of life and brimming with spirit.