Sheep and Goat Supply

Foal Training Explained: The First Two Years
Mare owners, if you'd like to get your colt or filly started out with a proper foundation, I would suggest the investment of $5.99 in my foal-training course.

 

- Download and print from your home computer
- 5 days, 5 chapters
- Learn at your own pace

 

If you've done a proper job of sacking out your baby (and this means desensitizing your foal on both sides of his body, in every nook and cranny, and you can't find another "goosy spot" for a million bucks) then we're ready for the halter. As simple as this sounds (and it is), failing to be objective by glossing over this material or ignoring certain warning signs, can come back to haunt you later. For instance, today it's not "The halter's on. What's next?" It's "The foal will now willingly and calmly allow me to put the halter on and take it off." It pays dividends to "not skip corners" when they're young. How many grown, 1200 pound horses have you seen charge off the moment the halter's unbuckled? Wow, is that dangerous. Or throw their heads up as the bridle's ear band comes over their ears, nearly clocking the handler in the teeth? Do you think that spoiled attitude is there – or not there – when the horse is being ridden and gets spooked? Answer: It's much worse. If you want your horse to withstand 100 pounds of pressure on the trail or in the arena, you've got to build in that much training by teaching it to withstand the little "1 pound" frights weeks, months or years in advance.