Imprinting Your Foal

The time to begin imprinting your foal after a normal delivery is as soon as possible
after the cord has broken. Remember that the foal will remember everything
you do in the first hour or so of it's life.

When we had our first foal we didn't know about imprinting but handled her
out of pure excitement. We later learned that it was exactly what we should have
been doing only more of it. You must remember to pay attention to how your mare
is accepting your presence and your handling the foal. Always have someone with
you if at all possible and please be careful!

1. Begin with the head. Rub the foal on the face gently, particularly the upper lip.
Rub the eyes, nose, ears, putting your fingers in the mouth and ears and rubbing
until the foal stops resisting.
2. After resistance has stopped place the foal halter on very gently.
3. Make sure you have rubbed both ears not just one. Each body part must be rubbed.
4. Rub all over the body, covering both sides throughly until the foal relaxes.
5. Rub each leg and the feet. Lift the feet and tap the bottoms several times each.
6. Lift the tail and rub underneath as well as the length of it.
7. With the foal standing, place your arms around it's girth and gently apply a
small amount of pressure.Lay a small towel on the foals back and leave it
there for a short while.
8. Get your clippers and just get your foal used to the noise and the vibration of them
touching it's body, poll, fetlocks, nose, ears etc. This will help your foal accept
them later when you begin using them.
9. Go ahead and remove the halter at this point and give the foal and mare time to nurse.
10. Make sure to pet your mare, letting her smell the foal smell on your hands.

Within the next few hours go over the imprinting process again.
In addition begin to cradle the foal in your arms, with your left arm across the chest and
your right arm around it's rump. You can begin teaching the forward and back movement
and the whoa in this manner. Also start teaching the foal to give to pressure with the
halter and a small lead. As soon as the foal gives to the pressure, even with turning it's head
release the pressure. Before you know it your foal will be leading!

Work with your foal while it is small as they grow and gain strength fast.
Enjoy!

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The Walking Horse graphic came from: Pleasure Gait Farms