I have been reading alot about imprinting foals. It sounds like a great idea, but was wondering if any of you on this board have used it and if you find the results are good.
ELizabeth Hardy (12.38.198.125)
Posted on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 10:29 am:
Marty Hi.... I have used a different approach I let the mare and foal bond.. I do not rush right in and put my hands on the foal unless there is a medical issue. Even when I do handle the foal I will limit my time with the foal initially so as not to interrupt the mare/foal bond and not to overwhelm the foal...
Alot of people do not like imprinting as it can result in a foal that is too overly friendly..( does not realize it is a horse.. and treats you no differently that it would his dam or a playmate.)
The foal needs to be taught from day one that his handler is not another horse... some think that imprinting blurs these lines.
I think are some additional posts on this board about imprinting and would suggest you review them. And then decide for yourself if Imprinting is something you want to do.
My current filly was not imprinted but she is very people oriented, very easy to work with, leads, ties, stands for her feet to worked with, and she is just 5 months..
good luck
sandy (64.156.238.9)
Posted on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 12:32 pm:
I have always imprinted my foals at birth and have always had great success with it. I don't feel that I overly do so, I just run my hands over its entire body, play with the legs, the ears, the muzzle, let it know that human touch is nothing to fear, then leave it alone. It just seems to help for those times when you must handle the foal its first few days/hours of life. Like for treating the umblical stump and things such as that, or if you need to administer an enema. The foal isn't trying to escape from you while you're doing those things because it has that familiarity of your scent and touch from birth. Imprinting does not mean you need to interfere with the mare/foal bonding period. While you're rubbing the foal all over, you're not taking it away from its mother or keeping the mother away. I always let the mare be right there and lick and sniff and do whatever she wants to with the foal. If the mare and foal are nose to nose inhaling each other's scent, then I will be to the rear of the foal, touching its hind legs or something like that. I have a yearling filly here now that was imprinted at birth, and she is not overly friendly, thinking I'm a horse or anything like that, but she will walk right up to me and let me do anything I wish with her. I believe all imprinting does is takes away the fear of human touch and scent right from the start of the foal's life, and makes handling a lot easier.
Corine (80.100.15.107)
Posted on Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 12:59 pm:
I am a huge imprint fan! It really works...if you do it right! A big part of imprinting is making sure the foal will respect you as more dominant, my foals have been friendly, but did not "walk all over you". I think its a great way to teach at a time when the horses mind is open. But, as I said, it must be done right. There is hardly no way to get inbetween the bonding of mare and foal, read Sandy's message above, that's how it should be done.
Ofcourse, as with everything you can "overdo", I dont use the plastic bag/clippers/spraybottle in the first hour, but that is a matter of opinion I guess. Yet I DO walk the foal through water the first day, just because I have noticed many horses naturally fear walking through water, and it will make a difference!
I have also had the oppertunity to imprint a foal at birth, and three years later I was asked to break the same foal. I have a lot of experience breaking horses, and really never have any probs, but this horse (a TB) was a breeze!
Yes, go imprint, but do lots of reading first and make sure you are very consistant and firm, yet loving, you'll have a great horse for life!
sandy (64.156.238.147)
Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 05:53 pm:
Corine, You are so right! Imprinting does have to be done the "right" way. I would never think of taking a plastic bag/clippers or anything like that to a newborn. To me all imprinting should consist of within those first few minutes or so of the foal's life is touching it and getting it used to human touch and scent. Everything you do with that foal its first few hours of life will make a huge difference in how that horse is to train as it gets older. I think imprinting is definitely less harmful than chasing your new foal around at a few days old. But I have found that imprinting works best if you can do it as soon as possible after the foal hits the ground.
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