[Anxious1]

Santana is 3 weeks old and I have been working him on halter training and leading. We have been at it now for about 1 week and my routine is to seperate Mom and Santana with a gate in between so that they see eachother easily.

Mom usually walks away and is seemingly thinking "Thank God, someone to take the kid for a bit". Santana usually reacts with a relaxation of the body and neck is no longer high.

I am using the bum rope training method and that has been going well and he takes about 5 steps towards me with little pressure.

Last night I went out and was going to start the session and I usually do so with some sacking out with thee lead rope and halter and anything else nearby. He came right to me and let me scratch his cheek and mouthed my jacket a bit and gave him a firm "no".

I then grabbed the halter and the ears pinned and he faced me and threatened to rear.

I looked at him and decided that he might be off today so instead I stroked him and did some work with his hindquarters such as moving away from pressure etc.

This is my first foal and is this behavior normal and he was just having a bad day or is this something to be expected (yeah, I know, there is nothing to be "expected" right) and we need to work through it? Our sessions are never more than 10 minutes.

I will be working with him again tonight so any feedback is appreciated.

[Amber.Molly]

I would suggest letting him be a baby for a while. 3 weeks is pretty early to be working with him away from his mom. For sure I would do SOME work with him - like maybe carrying 'scary' things into the pasture with me, or leading mom around and having baby follow or something, but I wouldn't be working on giving to pressure yet.

If it were ME, I would wait till he was at least 4 months old to do any 'serious' weanling training. He's just a baby.

As for the rearing... maybe he was wanting to play with you.

[Anxious1]

I have been so on the fence with this and I keep hearing that it is better to start the halter training now and then not. My riding instructor really believes in early training so that is why I started now.

I don't think he wanted to play as his ears were pinned.....

[Berlunz]

I agree 3 weeks is way to early. Part of it is also just him being a baby. All foals like to test their limits and by petting him when he pinned his ears you just rewarded him for bad behavior. Its the mothers job to put the foal in place when he crosses the line. Some people wonder why you wait 7-8 weeks to sell puppies, even though they can leave much earlier on. Its because the mother and other puppies teach them vital social behaviors. A mother puts a pup in its place and the other puppies let them know when they do things that hurt (like biting). I like seeing lots of mares and foals together because it teaches the foals good interaction behaviors and even does some great personal space training. Because they learn if they get to close it means trouble and that they cant always push you around. Its always nice if you can have the mother teach these lessons since she is bigger and can handle the foal. Where as you and the foal (should he really get into it) are maybe a match, at best.

This doesnt mean you cant halter train but taking him out of his pen away from his mother for "sessions" is a bad idea. A simple thing to do daily is put the halter on and pull it off and lead him around for just a couple minutes so he gets used to it. My trainer halters from day one but all they do is halter, take the momma and baby to the turnout, take off the halter and let them be. As time goes on you increase you practice and time but just a daily halter on, small lead with mother around, halter off, is enough to get the basics in their heads

[StarfireArizona]

It sounds as if he was perhaps playing with "another colt". Mine never did that to me exactly, but I saw him do it to his mother & our old gelding many times. Colts like to rear & nip legs as a form of playing, whereas fillies are a bit more "ladylike" in their play behavior.

You may have to work a bit harder at establishing yourself as boss. Give him a quick cuff in the shoulder or chest if he mouths your clothes...and make him back up a few steps. He will get the picture quickly....

Best to make sure you are top dog early while this guy is still little.... When he gets bigger with much more attitude, it will be a lot harder

[Anxious1]

Starfire - That is exactly what I was thinking as well, much easier when he is smaller and keeping it simple.

Berlunz - I gave him a firm no when he pinned his ears and he did not get a reward. The stroke was 15 minutes later, after I walked away.

The only way that I can get him haltered is when they are seperated. He is too big now to hold and when they are seperated he is against a fence and calms and I am able to halter him.

In the paddock there is no way that I can do it.......

[Mare]

AWW, the stud colts are a joy. I always start mine with a hand on their chest and one on the hindend. I do this about three times a days, pretty soon all I have to do is touch their chest with my hand and they know to stand. When they stand still make sure to release the pressure. Then we practice on putting the halter on and off. I dont separate them from mom when I do this. You can do all sorts of things rub them with the lead rope, pick up feet, brush, ect.. The boys always seem to be alittle more spunky. But arent they a joy!

[bnttyra]

Little Rocky can be quite the handful too! We did not separate him from mom while halter breaking him or working with his feet. It only took about 15 minutes and he was leading like a pro and lets you mess with his feet. I think if you leave mom in the pen, you might have better luck. He could feel threatened by you without mom right beside him.

[Anxious1]

I am starting to wonder if he might just be very skittish. He is very shy around us and will come to us when we outstretch our hand but if we take a step up to him he is generally on the other side of Mom in no time flat.

This is where the frustration comes in with just trying to get him to stand still and deal with anything more than just petting and scratching.

I have tried to get him to stand still with Mom right there and it is a chasing game, round and round Mom we go and that is not a good idea either ;-(

[StarfireArizona]

Originally Posted by Anxious1

Starfire - That is exactly what I was thinking as well, much easier when he is smaller and keeping it simple.

Berlunz - I gave him a firm no when he pinned his ears and he did not get a reward. The stroke was 15 minutes later, after I walked away.

The only way that I can get him haltered is when they are seperated. He is too big now to hold and when they are seperated he is against a fence and calms and I am able to halter him.

In the paddock there is no way that I can do it.......

The thing is with some mares, they are so permissive & don't teach the baby any manners at all....mine was one of them. Desi ran & bucked, rearing up on all the horses when he was with mom, ducking back behind her when they got riled.....but as soon as he was weaned & put in with our old gelding, he calmed down & the bratty behavior all but disappeared. Rusty is a crusty old man, but he made a gentleman of a delinquent

While I do agree 3 weeks is a bit young to separate mom & baby for any length of time, what you could do is separate them for a couple minutes while you put on the halter. After a couple minutes of quality quiet time together, then lead him back out to mom & do the exact same "quality" things you did a few minutes before....and this should include putting the halter on & taking it off. Do this a few times and your baby boy should associate it with comfort since both his new friend & mom are both there. Do some leading while mom is either walking on her own or have someone walk mom & you can lead baby to follow. This helps you establish who is in charge.....

Even at 3 weeks though, you cannot allow him to get away with things such as ear pinning, nipping, running by & kicking out, etc. Growl "NO" in the deepest strongest voice you have....and even take a step toward him with your arms raised....making yourself look BIG. He should take a couple steps back & will remember thinking he was gonna die. That 125 pound baby is going to be 700 pounds before you know it......and then see who pushes who around