First steps for foals
Training the young horse starts almost as soon as he can stand on his own four feet. Just a few days after birth, once the foal has recovered, you can start his education. Time spent early on handling your foal will be rewarded by a calm, co-operative animal later on.
A foal will not appreciate you muscling in on his intimate time with his mother to push him around and bother him for hours on end. Little and often is the key: ten minutes every day will make his training into a game he can look forward to.
It's important for you and your foal to get to know each other a little first. The horse trainer, Cherry Hill, in her book, "The Formative Years" (http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/... says; "The suckling foal is characteristically inquisitive yet timid; fractious yet vulnerable; feisty yet fearful."
The training process is all about gaining trust through communication. Everything you do - all your body language, even the tone of your voice - will be registered by your foal. It's important, then, to control every action you make when you are around him. Moving slowly and talking gently will all help your foal decide you are not a threat.
At the same time, allowing him to push you around will convince him that you're a doormat and not worth taking any notice of. Set consistent rules, and when he breaks them, show him firmly, but gently, that you won't accept that sort of behaviour.
The first lessons will be all about teaching your foal to accept human contact. Stroke him all over his body: the back, head and legs are especially important. Run your hands down each of his legs in turn. Then touch his face - start with his nose, then the top of his head between his ears. Rub his ears, and play around with his mouth. Touch his girth area and belly, and lift his tail. You can also hold your foal loosely, with your arms around his chest and rear end, so that he learns to be passive and stand still. He may try to break out of the circle of your arms. Gently, but firmly, guide him back. Never punish him, and he will eventually get the idea.
You can then start to teach him how to lift his feet. Gently slide your hand down the inside of his leg, catch hold of the fetlock, and leaning slightly against his shoulder to shift his weight over, pull his foot up lightly. This is a real turning point in the trust bond between a foal and a human. For a flight animal like the horse, to allow someone to lift and hold his foot is to give up his ability to flee. All foals will instinctively avoid doing this - your job is to convince him that he can ignore his instincts and trust you.
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