4
WEANLING AGE — the period from the age of weaning, at five or six months, to yearling — is a good time for training. The foal is on his own, no longer influenced by Mama. His young mind is curious, and he is capable of learning a great deal. Proper training now can make a big difference in his later progress. If he is halter trained and accepts you as leader, it will make subsequent training easier because he has acquired the basics already. Good manners, respect, and “learning how to learn” are skills he’s already mastered.
If he is not properly handled at this age, however, and becomes spoiled or has bad experiences that leave him fearful, later training will be more difficult. Weanling age is an extremely formative period; it provides a great opportunity to set patterns for future progress. You want to make sure those patterns are good ones. If he wasn’t handled as a foal, you’ll begin setting those patterns now. If he was handled as a foal, you’ll build on his early lessons.
Weaning a Foal
Weaning is a stressful time for any foal (and for the mare), but this stress can be short-lived and less intense, depending on your weaning methods. The trauma of separation is more emotional than physical, so take this into consideration. The younger the foal, the more stressful the weaning, in most cases. A five- to six-month-old foal is usually more independent and better able to handle it, both physically and emotionally, than is a younger foal. Some must be weaned early; if a mare doesn’t give enough milk, for example,the foal will do better on a balanced diet of pasture/hay and grain. Some foals must be weaned early if the mare gives too much milk. This situation may cause joint problems in the foal who grows too quickly and places extra stress on his young bones and joints (see Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses for detailed discussions about this problem). But there are measures you can take to make the weaning transition go smoothly.
OLD WAYS AREN’T
NECESSARILY BEST WAYS
The traditional way to wean is to separate mare and foal completely. The foal is put in a strong pen or box stall where he can’t jump out. With this method foals run themselves to exhaustion and whinny themselves hoarse in frantic efforts to get out and find their mothers. After a few days, they resign themselves to life without Mama, but this abrupt and traumatic separation is always very hard on them.
A Low-Stress Weaning Method
As discussed in chapter 2, horses are herd animals, and they are happiest with other horses. Young horses feel very insecure without adults and are severely traumatized when weaned the old fashioned way — by separating mother and foal completely. Even if you wean several foals together in this manner in an isolated pen, the suffering will not be minimized; they will all be frantic. The least stressful way to wean is to put mare and foal in adjacent pens where they can see, hear, and smell each other. They accept this better than a total separation because they still have each other for company. The foal at five months no longer needs milk if he is on good feed, but he is still dependent on the mare emotionally and feels secure around her. If you take her clear away, it leaves him panicky.
Foals weaned in pens next to their dams usually spend time near the fence, but they are not very worried. There is little whinnying or pacing. They nuzzle each other at the fence, but the foals cannot nurse, so the mares dry up their milk. After a few days, they can be moved farther apart with little fuss, especially if the foal has other horses for company.
During their separation in adjacent pens, the mare becomes less worried about the foal, especially if she’s pregnant again. Her milk dries up and she comes to understand she no longer needs to focus on her foal. Unless he’s being weaned exceptionally young, the foal is growing up emotionally. He is like a human teenager: He’s ready to assert his independence and interested in the world. He no longer needs or is interested in being so tied to Mama.
WEANING TIP
Build a fence for weaning in such a way that the foal can’t reach through to try to nurse. Make sure it’s high enough that neither mare nor foal will try to jump it; 6 feet is a good minimum. V-mesh or diamond-mesh wire works best. The foal cannot put a foot or nose through it but can still see and smell and rub noses with Mama.
Minimize Stress
Too much stress hinders the immune system and leads to illness, and traumatic weaning (sudden separation of mare and foal) produces stress. Also keep in mind that weaning time is not a good time to deworm, vaccinate, or halter break a foal. Either do these before weaning or wait until a few weeks after weaning, when he has adjusted to his new lifestyle and won’t be so upset and stressed. Treatments and training are easier on him if he is accustomed to handling. With more experience, deworming, vaccinating, and trimming feet won’t be traumatic for him or for you.
Handling a Foal at Weaning Time
Wait until a few weeks after weaning to begin serious training. But weaning time can be an ideal time to gain his trust if you haven’t worked with him much before. Some foals grow up on pasture with their dams, without supplemental feed, and do very well nutritionally (this is the most natural way to raise a foal), but these foals often don’t get much early handling unless a person makes time for a daily training program.
At weaning, however, with Mama gone, the foal has to look to you for food and comfort. Even if a foal hasn’t had much handling earlier and is still either timid or very independent, you can handle him regularly after weaning and soon win him over.
The Untrained, Hard-to-Catch Weanling
It may be a challenge at first to gentle a foal that is in a pen or pasture with room to run and get away, especially if he was not imprinted at birth (for more on imprinting, see chapter 3). Feed him in the same place daily, and stay nearby for a few minutes or until he relaxes while he eats. Each day, gradually move closer to him. As he comes to tolerate your presence and your nearness, he will eventually let you touch him and, finally, halter him. Then you can make the transition to catching him each time you feed. Most weanlings will learn to come at your call, stand quietly for haltering, then eat the food you brought.
Occasionally, however, you encounter a youngster who refuses to let you catch him. You may have to resort to more creative methods (and using more people for help) to get your hands on him. Once you’ve finally caught him, put on a close-fitting halter, and leave him in a small pen for a while until he learns he cannot play games and run off.
As a last resort, if he won’t let you get close enough to his head to get hold of his halter, let him drag an old halter rope for a few days. Keep him in a small, safe pen where there are no protrusions or hazards that could catch or snag a halter or entangle the dragging rope. Letting him drag a halter rope is always a safety risk; no matter how careful you are, it could get caught on something. But it can be a useful temporary solution for the challenging youngster who has not had proper handling and gentling. Using a halter with a trailing lead rope for a few days, in a safe pen, can help you catch him while you are getting him accustomed to you and daily handling.
Even if he is evasive at first, you can always catch him in the small pen by quietly moving about until you are able to pick up the trailing rope. Never chase the youngster, especially if he is afraid. Walk around in the pen ignoring him, so he won’t view you as a threat, and eventually work close enough to get hold of the rope. He soon learns he can’t get away from you.
GET HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
If a youngster is impossible to catch, you may need several people to help you corner him in his pen against a solid, safe fence or to ease him behind a gate or to herd him quietly into a barn stall where he can be more easily cornered. Then put a well-fitted halter on him, one that’s snug enough so that he cannot get a foot through it if he tries to scratch an ear with a hind foot. Keep this halter on him until he gets over being elusive; that way you can grab it when you get close to him.
If you always handle him with quiet confidence and understanding, he will have no reason to run. If he is independent rather than afraid, he learns he cannot avoid being caught. If you catch and handle him several times a day, gaining his trust, he realizes there is no reason to try to get away and becomes easier to catch. Soon you can dispense with the trailing lead rope and then the halter.
Train Consistently, Gently, and with Authority
Ideally, you have handled the foal and he respects you. But even if you worked with him a lot and he’s trained to lead and tie, keep handling him as a weanling to further his experience. The result will be a well-mannered adult horse.
Start or Polish the Leading Lessons
Your foal will need ongoing lessons as a weanling. Even if you gave him a good foundation as a baby, you can’t expect him to be as responsive later, without some refresher lessons. As the young horse grows up, he becomes more independent and you may have to remind him that you are still the leader — that you must still be respected and obeyed. Some aggressive youngsters will challenge your authority if they have too much time off from lessons. It’s a good idea to continue regular handling so the youngster retains his manners and manageability.
If he did not have leading lessons as a foal, you must start at the beginning, using a rump rope or whip as a training aid (see page 62). At this stage he is larger and stronger than you are and can be a difficult pupil if he decides to pull back or resist. Avoid a contest of wills, especially a pulling contest with the halter rope; use the rump rope to encourage him to move forward when you ask and to keep him from halting or balking.
MAKE THE HORSE “AMBIDEXTROUS”
Handle the young horse equally from both sides. If you do this from the beginning, he won’t favor one side. A horse who is always led from the left does not lead readily from the right. There may be times when you’ll need to lead him from the right — in an emergency when you must lead two horses, for instance, one with each hand — or must approach and catch him from the right or mount from the right (in steep terrain you’ll mount from the uphill side, whichever side it happens to be). If you teach him to lead equally well from both sides, he will be more versatile and you’ll be less likely to have a problem later.
DON’T PULL — GIVE
HIM SOME SLACK
Some horses become pullers because of the way they are led. If you constantly pull at a horse to try to keep him from going too fast, he responds by pushing harder into the halter. A handler may unintentionally cause this reaction by active pulling or even by just a heavy hand on the lead rope. Always give a led horse some slack so he can accompany you in a relaxed manner. It takes two to have a tug-of-war. Any pressure you exert on the halter to slow or stop him should be intermittent, not continuous. Well-timed short tugs are more effective than a steady, hard pull.
For the youngster who doesn’t know how to lead by walking alongside you (or suddenly decides he doesn’t want to), use a whip as an extension of your arm, so you can reach back and touch him on the hindquarters. If he’s hanging back on the rope or refusing to walk briskly beside you, a tap on the hindquarters will usually encourage him to move forward. You can also teach him to move forward in response to clucking (or “kissing” noises). This will come in handy later, when you want him to move forward on the ground or under saddle. Give a clucking cue and immediately follow it with a gentle touch with the whip if he does not respond. He’ll soon get the picture and move forward at the sound of clucking alone.
Anything you can do to encourage him from behind instead of pulling at his head makes a more positive and lasting impression, and he will be less apt to resist. With a large youngster, a pulling contest is one you can’t win. Judicious use of a rump rope, a stock whip, or a long willow stick will get much better results.
Leading the Overeager Youngster
Some young horses aren’t content to walk quietly beside you; instead they try to pull or drag you faster than you want to go. The pressure of a halter noseband is not enough to deter their charge-ahead enthusiasm. In these instances, you may need a lead shank with a short length of chain at one end. This method can be helpful if the young horse didn’t have enough handling as a baby and is a large, strong weanling or yearling before you are able to teach him proper leading manners. Remember, you don’t ever want the leading lessons to become a pulling contest. Diligent and careful lessons can resolve most “charging” problems, but a few individuals — especially young stallions — may require the use of a chain. Never overuse a chain, however, or you might damage the cartilage in the horse’s nose.
The chain is used over the nose and fastened to the halter so it puts pressure on the nose only when you want it to; at all other times it is slack enough that the horse will not feel it. To attach and lead with a chain properly, start at the horse’s left side and take the following steps:
Insert the end of the chain from the outside, and put it in through the ring on the side of the halter.
Once it is through the side ring, run the chain downward — you don’t want it wrapped around the noseband — then drape it over the nose, and clip it onto the inside of the ring on the right side of the halter. All the links of the chain in the nose area should be touching the horse.
Put a knot in the lead, just back of where the chain fastens onto the rope. This way, when the horse tries to bolt or go too fast, your hand should be able to hold the line when it meets the knot.
If you are using a nylon lead that tends to slip through your hand too easily, tie a knot at the end of the lead with additional knots spaced about a foot apart, along its length. These will keep the lead from slipping through your hands if the horse tries to pull away.
Fold the extra length of line, and hold it with your left hand. Your right hand holds the lead where the chain meets it.
Walk beside or just ahead of the horse’s shoulder, with about a foot of slack in the lead. There is no set rule for body position, as the size (and neck length) of each horse will vary.
A chain can give better control than just a halter if a horse needs another reminder about restraint.
If the horse tries to bolt or travel too fast, the lead will be pulled through your hand to the first knot and will stop there. This sudden jerk will cause the chain to meet his nose. Like a choke collar on a dog, it is engaged only when he goes too fast. Most horses stop or slow down when the chain puts pressure on the nose; then the chain will automatically loosen, release pressure, and give an instant reward for stopping or slowing. It should not exert pressure unless he starts going too fast or unless you ask him to stop.
To engage the chain at other times to make the young horse behave — if he is fractious and trying to rear or drag you along — give one firm downward jerk on the lead, then immediately slack off. Never keep steady pressure on the chain or its effect will be greatly reduced.
Teach Him Whoa and to Stand Quietly
A young horse is often rambunctious, but he must learn to stop and stand quietly. Teach him that Whoa means stop and stay stopped. If you combine the voice command with the signal from his halter, telling him Whoa each time you put pressure or let him run into pressure with the halter, he will soon make the connection.
Each time you halt, make him stand a moment before you begin any new movement. Let him stand on a slack lead with no pressure. Even if he’s fidgety, don’t keep pressure on the halter. Standing still should not become a contest of strength. Every time he starts to move, let him bump into halter pressure. You are a “post” to which he is tied — he meets resistance only when he moves and is then rewarded with slack when he stands. Don’t let him move around after he halts. If he fidgets, insist that he stand. If he learns from the beginning that Whoa means stop and stay stopped, you’ll have fewer problems later.
A young horse must learn to stop and stand quietly.
Demand Good Manners When Grooming
A horse also must stand quietly for grooming. If you consistently make him stand — and never tolerate infractions such as moving about; rubbing on you, the fence, or the stall wall; nibbling at the rope — he’ll have good manners as he grows up. Bad habits developed at this age become frustrating or even dangerous when he is older if he dances around, stepping on your feet or shoving you into a wall. Insist on good manners while he is young, with reprimands when he misbehaves and praise when he is good.
Let Him Experience His Surroundings
As you progress with training, lead the youngster on longer walks. This reinforces his respect for restraint so he is manageable when you take him farther from his stall or pasture. He will be less likely to balk at going away from home or to try to drag you back at a gallop. As you gradually go farther in your walks, he learns about new sights and sounds and becomes more familiar with things he may encounter when you start riding him. Lead him down the lane, or on a back road, or out in open country behind the back pasture so he can learn about bushes, rocks, gullies, and wildlife.
The youngster who has never been out of his home pasture or barnyard can be very insecure when you start riding him. Training is much easier if he has had some gradual acquaintance with new things all along.
Training Lessons for Routine Health Care
Much of early training involves desensitizing the horse to things that would otherwise be alarming to him, things he must cope with for the care he will need during his life. An untrained horse is difficult to vaccinate and deworm and won’t stand still for trimming or shoeing. Procedures done for health care and general management are well accepted by most horses only because they have been trained to tolerate them.
These tasks are more pleasant for him and you (and the farrier or veterinarian) if the youngster is accustomed to routine handling. If he’s been gradually prepared, less restraint will be needed, and a task like deworming won’t turn into a battle of wills and strength.
Mouth Handling for Deworming and Bitting
Mouth handling is an important part of the young horse’s routine. He should get accustomed to having his mouth and ears gently touched. Most horses like to be rubbed, and even timid ones learn to accept having their ears and face rubbed if you work up to those areas gradually: start at the neck; they are not so ticklish there. In the process, also rub the muzzle and mouth area, and stick a finger into the corner of the mouth.
Most horses don’t mind a finger in the mouth if you don’t startle them with it. Rub the side of the mouth, then put a finger into the corner. As he gets used to this on a daily basis, or whenever you groom him, wiggle the finger around in the interdental space (where there are no teeth). Do this periodically, and the young horse will accept it readily. This will be a tremendous advantage when you put a dosing syringe into the corner of his mouth for deworming or other medications. He will also be less suspicious of having a bit put into his mouth later.
BE FOREWARNED
It can be a challenge if a horse is a weanling or older before he has routine foot handling or had a bad experience with his first foot trimming. The young horse is larger and stronger than a foal and can be a difficult pupil if he already has his mind made up about not letting you pick up his feet.
Vaccination Ease
Some horses are needle shy because they were not desensitized as youngsters or because an inept person caused them pain during vaccination. But you can train the young horse to tolerate injections.
A properly administered injection causes no pain (the horse doesn’t even know he’s had it), but advance preparation ensures that it’s accomplished easily, with no alarm for the horse. Usual injection sites are the side of the neck (a few inches above the shoulder blade, midway between the mane and the underside of the neck), buttocks, and pectoral muscles (on either side of the breastbone), and, occasionally, the large muscle covering either side of the rump.
These locations should be touched, rubbed, and pressed during grooming, so the young horse is not sensitive or ticklish there. A common method for giving injections is first to press the target area firmly before inserting the needle; pressing desensitizes the spot and also ensures that the horse is aware of and accepting the touch.
On areas with mobile skin, such as the neck or breast, sometimes a twist of the skin will help desensitize the spot before insertion of a needle. Do this periodically as you groom the horse; as it is painless, he will tolerate it readily and thus will not be alarmed when a needle must be slipped in.
Foot Handling for Trimming and Shoeing
Every young horse should have his feet handled as part of daily grooming or training routines, so he will be comfortable with this when they are cleaned or trimmed. It’s best to start handling feet when he is a baby, but if this wasn’t done routinely (or if you purchased a weanling or yearling that didn’t have his feet handled as a baby), pay attention to this part of his training.
If the youngster is well halter trained, you can do foot-handling lessons with him tied. Often it works better, however, when an experienced person holds the young horse and reassures him as you attempt to handle his feet. Whether he should be tied or held for these lessons depends on the individual, his stage of training, and his personality.
Some young horses jump around more when held; they are better off tied. Others will set back when tied and are better off held. If the young horse is a real problem about his feet, first refresh his lessons at halter (to stand patiently when tied and when being held), and have him become more dependable in that phase of training before you try to wrestle with his feet.
Start as you would with a foal, getting him relaxed about having his legs touched and brushed. Pick up his feet as described on pages 31–32 and page 89, encouraging him to shift his weight to his other legs to keep his balance. If one foot seems to give you more trouble than the others, spend extra sessions on it.
If he kicks or tries to jerk away a hind foot, determine whether the horse is reacting from fear, distrust, habit, or annoyance. Knowing your horse and his usual reactions can help you determine the reason for a particular response. If he is truly afraid, you must get him to relax and trust you. Never punish a timid horse for kicking or taking away a foot. Be persistent, and keep working with the foot until he realizes that no harm will come to him.
Whenever you’re patient and persistent, you’ll make progress. Don’t worry if at first you can’t hold a foot very long. Hold it briefly, then put it down at your discretion. Don’t allow the horse to determine when to put it down. If you can hold it for an instant and put it back down without his attempting to take it away, this is progress. Praise him, then go on to another foot, working around to that one again. As you work with him daily, pick up each foot more often and for a longer period. Every time you do anything with him, pick up his feet as part of the routine.
CORRECT WHEN NECESSARY
A horse who is reacting out of stubbornness or who is trying to dominate you needs more firmness. Correction, such as a swat with your hand or a tap with the handle of your hoof pick or whatever is appropriate for that particular infraction, may be in order if he jerks away the foot or takes a swing at you.
Get the horse used to foot handling. Hold the front foot between your legs, and use a hoof pick to clean or tap on it. Hold the hind foot fairly low at first, in a position comfortable for him.
If he does try to take away a foot, hang on. Don’t give in. As soon as he relaxes, put it down. Soon he’ll learn that he cannot take his foot away and will realize that you’re not hurting him and that you’ll put it back down when he’s calm.
After the young horse accepts having his feet picked up, don’t just pick up a foot for a couple of seconds and put it right back down again. This does not prepare him for having his feet worked on. Hold the foot in shoeing position. Hold a front foot between your legs, hold a hind leg across your thigh. Hold up each foot for a longer time each day. Carry a hoof pick in your back pocket and when he is comfortable about having his feet handled, take a few minutes every time you work with him to actually to clean his feet.
Even if there’s no dirt in his hoofs, go through the motions of cleaning the feet. When he gets used to having his feet held in a working position, as for cleaning, he won’t be so impatient or upset when the time comes for trimming or shoeing.
Tap on the hoof with the hoof pick to get him used to the feel of it: you want him to accept having nails pounded. Add rasping to the routine as soon as he is comfortable with having his feet handled. Just a few swipes with the rasp on each foot will do. The more tools you acquaint him with, the more at ease he’ll be with how his feet are handled by the farrier. Most foals need their feet trimmed once or twice as babies and weanlings and several times as a yearling. It’s best if you can handle the feet ahead of time so trimming is not traumatic. Set the stage for trimming and shoeing to be good experiences, not something the horse resists.
TRIMMING TIPS
Gradually extend the time you handle feet, keeping your horse comfortable with it. If feet need trimming, whoever does it should never hold up a leg so long that the youngster becomes impatient. To avoid a wrestling match, trimming should be done swiftly, so the leg can be put back down before the horse starts resisting. This may mean doing the job in stages: working on one foot and then going on to the next, coming back to each one again to finish after the horse has had a chance to stand on it. If you work this way, he will be more comfortable and cooperative, because his legs get a rest.
Hold a foot in a position that does not cause the horse discomfort or anxiety, not too high, not twisted out to the side. The young horse must learn about having his legs held in working position, but take care not to put any strain on leg joints.
Fly Spray and Other Bugaboos
A few lessons getting your horse used to the sound of a spray bottle in practice situations will pay off later. Give him as many lessons as needed to get him over his fear of the sound of the spray. First use the spray at a distance, then, as he comes to tolerate it, come closer. Because you have prepared him, when it comes time to use fly spray or wound spray, your horse won’t go into orbit.
Life Lessons
Horses don’t reason like we do, so training is based on progressive, step-by-step lessons — conditioned responses to various situations. They learn to tolerate things that don’t hurt only after they discover they are not hurt by certain actions, and they learn to respond to our requests by finding they are rewarded by release of pressure when they do what we ask.
A horse can be taught to tolerate activities he instinctively fears if we show him there is no cause for fear. Just as a cavalry horse was taught to tolerate gunfire and battle action, a horse can learn to tolerate many unnatural situations. What you teach him will depend on your plans for his future. If he will be a ranch horse or rope horse, he must get used to cattle and to ropes touching his body. If he’s a show horse, he must tolerate being clipped. Think ahead, and while he is young, plan to give him some “life lessons” for his particular career.
USING A STABLEIZER
For a young horse who is nervous about clipping, one way to get him used to it at the same time you have to clip him is with the Stableizer. This tool is a more effective, more humane version of a war bridle and often works better than a twitch, lip chain, or tranquilizer for calming and immobilizing flighty or unruly horses. It’s a loop that goes over the head, putting pressure behind the ears and under the top lip next to the gum.
When you pull the cord handle to tighten it, pressure points behind the ears and beneath the lip are stimulated. This causes the release of painkilling endorphins and blocks adrenaline production, causing the horse to relax and feel good. He doesn’t worry about being clipped, having his feet trimmed the first time, or any other new experience that might be frightening — and remembers feeling good about it while it was being done. The Stableizer can make the experience a pleasant one, and after a time or two the horse will tolerate the clipping without it.
The Stableizer applies pressure behind the ears and under the top lip next to the gum. When the cord handle is pulled, it tightens, stimulating pressure points in these areas and releasing painkilling endorphins. The result is a relaxed horse who feels good.
If you will be clipping him, for example, give him lessons before you have to do it for real. First get him used to the sound of clippers. After he realizes the noise is nothing to be afraid of, hold them closer and let him feel the vibration. Once he tolerates that, you can do a little clipping, starting on the areas that are least ticklish and sensitive, then finally clipping him wherever you need to.
Despooking a Future Trail Horse
If you’ll be riding the horse in open country, there are many things you can do to help facilitate this transition when he is too young to ride. It’s best not to start riding a horse until he is a long (older) two-year-old or preferably a three-year-old. During leading lessons, take him to interesting places so he encounters new things gradually and becomes less fearful and more confident. Lead him through gates that you open and close, mud puddles (this may take several patient lessons if he is not familiar with walking through water), ditches, and gullies.
Around the barnyard, accustom him to walking calmly past wheelbarrows, tarps, vehicles, and other scary objects. Have someone drive slowly past him as you hold or lead him until he gets used to the noise and movement of cars and trucks. There are many things you can acquaint him with before he must encounter them out on the trail — bridges, dogs, a clothesline in the wind, anything you think he needs to become more at ease with. Many of these can be presented to him in nonthreatening lessons in his own backyard, where you can give him plenty of time to check them out and approach them at his own speed and comfort level (see Crossing Water on pages 144–46).
Loving Your Young Horse without Spoiling Him
Lots of handling is good for the young horse if it’s done properly. The neglected, unhandled youngster is easier to train in later life than the spoiled horse raised as a pet and allowed to develop bad habits.
Practice Consistency
A young horse must learn what to expect from you, know how to react to what you ask of him. His reactions will be consistent only if you are consistent. If you are not consistent in how you handle him, he will become confused and may stop trying to do the right thing. Make a practice of doing things a certain way, giving signals a certain way, so he will always know what you mean. Without confusion or doubt, he can give the correct response.
If you’re consistent in what you expect from him and don’t allow him to get away with poor behavior or bad manners, he will grow up knowing his limits and be more obedient than will a spoiled youngster that had no limits. A young horse who is always handled with consistency is also more comfortable with you and knows where he stands in the relationship. Inconsistency creates insecurity.
Be the Boss, Not a Buddy
A common mistake made when handling young horses is to treat them as playmates rather than horses. If a youngster thinks of you as a peer rather than a leader, he’ll try rough-and-tumble games as he would with a young herd mate. He needs to learn, early on, that humans are in charge and should be respected. Don’t allow him to invade your space, bump you, or bite you, and he must never threaten to kick you. He would not dare do that to a dominant adult horse. If he accepts you as boss from the beginning, life will go much more smoothly for both of you (see chapter 17 for ways to deal with the pushy, aggressive individual who needs to learn good manners).
Prohibit Game Playing
It is often tempting to play with the young horse, but this usually leads to trouble. He soon becomes larger and stronger than you, and innocent games of foalhood can become dangerous. Insist on correct and well-mannered behavior from the start; your horse will be much easier to train and won’t become inadvertently dangerous in his disrespect.
Dealing with an Aggressive Weanling
Occasionally, you encounter an aggressive weanling who wants to play games in order to challenge and dominate you. This is common in young stallions, but even a gelding or a filly may test you too much. Some youngsters become increasingly hard to handle if this behavior is allowed to continue.
The best solution, especially if the youngster is living by himself and you are his only outlet for game playing, is to put him with an older horse who won’t tolerate his pranks. An older horse will soon set him straight; this horse will teach the youngster to be more humble and submissive, thus making your training tasks much easier.
Other horses can teach the youngster more about behaving himself than any human can. A herd situation is the healthiest environment, mentally, for the young horse, as he is able to interact with his elders. Sometimes, however, you have no choice but to keep a horse by himself; in this case, you must be firm and consistent in your handling of him so he learns to respect and accept your role as the dominant herd member in his life.
Be Flexible
Don’t assume that each horse will react the same way to a certain training method or way of handling. The more foals you raise and train, or the more young horses you acquire, the more you too will learn as you attempt to teach them.
Treat every youngster as an individual, and alter your training methods, if you have to, to fit the needs of each one. Every young horse you train will teach you something new about handling horses.