Willie - ApHC 2010 Colt photo by Brandy Kines
By:Tina Lewis – Lewis Stallion Station
That time of year is here, once again, when we need to think about halter breaking and weaning our foals. Starting the halter breaking process before weaning is optimal as you can use the mare to get a halter on your foal for the first time by trapping the foal against the mare. Leading them to a small pen first is helpful, as well. With your left arm under his neck at his chest, use your right hand to grasp his tail at the dock as close to his buttocks as you can get. Lift it up in the air, firmly. I call this the brake. Once you have the foal in this position he will usually stay close to mom and remain fairly quiet while your helper puts a halter on him very quietly and slowly. Doing this once or twice will get him used to being haltered up and he will be voluntarily sticking his nose into the halter before you know it. Use the mare while you can. If your mare is “nasty” you may want to wait to do the halter breaking until after weaning. Once haltered up, it is usually easiest to have a helper lead the mare while you “pretend” to lead your foal. He will actually be following his mom but getting the idea of leading and following you and getting used to the halter and the process of putting it on and off. Practice stops and starts using the voice commands “Walk” and “Whoa”, but always let the foal go to his mom and stay near to her if he wants to. Make sure to have your helper stop and start the mare along with the foal if you want to be successful. He will not want to stop if his mom is continuing to walk away. The best time to play with your foal is while he feels safe, next to his mom.
For weaning, ideally, a foal should be 4-6 months old and should be left in the pen, paddock or pasture that he has been used to and feels most comfortable in when the time comes to wean. It is best to leave the foal in familiar surroundings by pulling the mare out and leaving the foal behind instead of the other way around. A babysitter mare or gelding, preferably one that has been a pasture mate since birth, should be left with the foal when the mare is removed. This leaves the foal with an adult horse he knows and trusts that will help protect and guide. This first step to weaning your foal can make a potentially stressful day much less so. A little preparation can make all the difference in the world to the foal’s level of stress on weaning day, as well as the stress of the mare and her owner.
Begin weaning by haltering up the mare or mares one at a time, “peeling” off her foal by leading the mare out of the gate and quickly turning her in the opposite direction of the gate opening. The foal will usually try to follow mom down the fence line rather than go out the gate behind her. The pasture or paddock must be sturdy and safe, as the foal will try to get to the mare. If your mare and foal have been kept in a smaller pen, rather than a pasture, you will want to have a buddy in a pen next to them for a while before weaning so your foal can become friendly with him or her by the time weaning day arrives. This will lessen the stress on the foal when mom is removed. I also suggest putting out some type of grain or foal feed, and free choice hay to take the foal’s mind off mom. This sometimes works to your advantage as the foal may get so busy eating he doesn’t notice right away that you have taken mom away and won’t be trying to push his way out of the gate behind her. Having more than one mare and foal to wean is helpful too as the foals comfort each other.
Move the mare or mares one at a time to the new pen or pasture preferably somewhere out of sight, and earshot so the mare and foal cannot see or hear each other. Second best would be out of sight, even if they can still hear each other’s cries. If space is limited, you can just put a pen or pasture between them. Putting them in a pen or pasture right next to each other will allow nursing through the fence and defeat the purpose as well as becomes a hazard and potential for injury getting hung up in a fence trying to get to mom. Mare and foal must be in safe and secure pens with strong and safe fencing. They will try to get to each other as the mother-child bond is strong.
Once the mare and foal are secure, they will cry for each other for a day or so. Try to keep both mare and foal comforted with extra hay and grain and lots of fresh water. Pacing and crying are normal and will subside. After the foal settles down, continue to feed a good quality grain designed for foals according to the directions on the bag of feed or your Veterinarians advice
A few days after weaning, you should try to get the foal haltered up, led around, feet picked up, groomed, fly sprayed, bathed, vaccinated and de-wormed. Ask your Veterinarian about vaccinations needed and which de-worming medication is right for your foal, for your area, as well as for the time of year you are weaning. You can also get an estimate from your Veterinarian of the weight of your foal if you don’t own a weight tape. We vaccinate and de-worm our mares just before foaling which gives the foal the antibodies in the colostrum when they are born and then vaccinate our foals sometime between 6 and 9 months of age.
Once we have accomplished weaning we need to begin halter breaking if you have not already done so, using the mare. Start out by approaching the foal down low at first, at eye level so as not to intimidate. Get down on one knee. Let the foal come to you. If the foal has not been handled at all, our first goal is to gain his trust so we can get a halter on and off with ease. You may need some help the first few times and a very small pen to corner him in so you can get the halter on. Remember to move slowly. A catch pen made from panels in the corner of a paddock or pasture works well using some grain and hay as bait to get the foal in it.
Once you have gotten the halter on, make it a pleasant experience so that each time is easier. Use lots of touching, petting and even patting. Never leave a halter on a foal in a pasture or pen. The risk of it catching on something and causing serious injury or even death is far too great. It may be a little trouble to try to get it back on again but a foal learns quickly and, after all, that is what we are trying to teach them, to allow the halter to be put on and taken off. If you leave it on you are not teaching him anything and you are endangering his life.
Once you have your foal haltering up easily you should be leading him beginning with a few baby steps. You may use a butt rope for a little impulsion from behind if you do not have a helper to keep him moving. Use a soft cotton lead, a non-slip knot and make a good sized loop that sits just on top of the hocks, over the buttocks at the point of the croup with the lead following along his back, down at the withers and then going under the throatlatch, through the halter under his chin and out along the lead rope that is attached to his halter. Use both the lead rope and the butt rope lead together allowing pressure from the front and the rear of the foal at the same time until the foal learns to give to the pressure from the front. You can then use just the lead rope attached to his halter and not the butt rope lead and remove it when you don’t feel you need it any longer. Foals learn very quickly so this may only take a few minutes or it might take a couple of sessions.
Reward even a small step or two with a “good boy” and a pat. Use small, easy taps and don’t ever just pull on a weanling’s head. Not quick taps, but a firm, pull and release. There should be a series of easy, pulls and releases to encourage the foal to step toward you. Use the voice command, “walk”. You may sometimes have to “unstick” those front feet by tapping to one side or the other instead of directly forward. If he takes one step either way you should stop and reward that by releasing the pressure (the taps) and patting and a saying, “good boy”. Not pulling in a steady pressure on the weanling’s head is one of the most important things to remember. Pulling causes the weanling to fight and try to find some sort of release from the pressure. He may begin to rear up. If he starts to rear and is about to flip over, use sharp taps and quick releases, not hard pulls, remembering to keep the head from hitting the ground (or anything else). Sometimes you cannot avoid the foal flipping over but keeping his head protected is first and foremost at that point. You can do this by keeping enough pressure (or putting it on) at the moment when it may hit the ground or any other obstacle with a sharp pull. Remaining calm and cool headed is very important because the weanling generally isn’t going to be.
Keep training sessions short as his attention span is short and you want to keep it fun for him. Start with about five or ten minutes and increase that as he grows and learns. End each session on a good note. Unfasten, release the halter and walk away from him. Don’t wait for him to run away from you or try to reach out and pet him (usually unsuccessfully) one last time. You must remain in control and keep his interest and his respect.
Once your weanling is being caught easily, halters up easily and is leading around the property using the voice command, “walk”. You will probably have introduced the voice command, “Whoa” at some point in there and will have practiced it as you walk him around his pen or your property. Now let’s teach him “back”. Use the voice command “Back” and tap back on the lead rope saying it firmly. You may tap his chest with the end of the lead to help him understand what you are asking and even physically push his body backward. Practice these 3 voice commands over and over in no particular order. Mix it up for him so he does not learn to anticipate the next move. Once he is leading, walking, backing and stopping on command it is time to stand (not tie) at the hitching rail. You can wrap the lead rope a time or two around the hitching rail (do not tie it at this point) leaving about 9 inches of lead between him and the rail and begin teaching him about grooming. If he sets back or pulls at all, he easily and quickly finds release. Pull it tight again leaving only 9 inches or so and continue to brush and comb the mane and tail, pick up the feet and lightly pick them with a hoof pick, slap the bottom of each hoof with the palm of your hand repeatedly to simulate the farrier. You can introduce fly spray, give him his first bath starting from the hooves and slowly moving up the legs with the stream of water all the while talking to him and letting him know it is ok. Talking is important. Horses respond to our voice and it soothes them. Do this until the foal is very comfortable at the hitching rail, bathing and no longer “testing” the lead rope. You can then wrap it three times around and eventually tie it in a quick release knot that can be untied quickly in the case of panic and pulling back.
The next thing you want to do with your weanling while walking him all around your property, is lead him up to a trailer that is safely attached to a vehicle and quietly and calmly let him familiarize himself with it so he is not afraid. Have the door to the trailer open. Be very patient. You will need to step up into the trailer and use the same light pull and release taps on his head to keep him facing and looking into the trailer. Do not pull on his head or try to force him into the trailer. When the time is right, when he is calm and relaxed and interested…ask him to step up into it. This could take a day or so. Do it with no pressure or stress and he will eventually walk right in, especially if you use some hay and grain to entice him to come into the trailer with you. If he gets halfway in and wants to back out…let him. Then begin again. Do this each time you work with your weanling now until he jumps right in. Once he has gone in, walk him in and out of it, over and over until he leaps up into it with confidence. Then just let him stand in the trailer awhile. You can wrap the lead around and let him stand and eat some hay. Brush and groom him. Make it pleasant and fun. Your foal is now weaned, halter broke and ready to go somewhere. So let’s take him somewhere. A broke, gentle and calm horse starts with good, solid groundwork. There is so much groundwork to be done before you toss that saddle on. Groundwork that will prepare him for the day you take that first ride. That day will be here before you know it.
