[Jenje!]

I'm currently buried nose-first into Robert M. Miller's book on imprint training. This foal (147 more days!) will be my first, although I've witnessed several births over time (my grandfather's horses, all pasture-born and not interfered with). So I'm fairly open-minded, and like the idea of imprint training.

As I've been reading, though, I've run into one thing that bothers me a bit. Miller recommends starting the first stage of imprint training directly after birth and before the foal stands for the first time, even going so far as to say that any effort to stand should be stopped and training continued.

Now, like I said, this is my first baby... so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But my instincts tell me that delaying the first nursing isn't such a hot idea. Yes, a vet wrote the book... so maybe I'm completely crazy...

For those of you who imprint: do you do so before the foal stands to nurse, or after? A bit of both? Any and all comments are welcome, but I'd just as soon not wind up with a hot debate on imprinting vs. not. As if that'd stop anyone.

I'm leaning towards thinking that it might be best to do the first stage after the foal has gotten to her feet, nursed, and then dropped back down to rest. Looking forward to hearing some opinions on the matter! Thanks!

[Sandra-A1]

I have used his process on several foals with no problems.
You are not delaying the nursing process at all since it is a while before the foal is actually able to stand and nurse on it's own anyway.
You can start the "imprinting" then let the foal go thru it's learning to stand process and first nursing, then resume "imprinting" when the foal goes back down.
We are now able to go thru most, if not all, of the process before the foal stands for the first time and then get in another session after it goes back down after the first nursing. Then we leave the foal and mare alone (as in no more imprint training) until the next day.
While we start imprinting as soon as the foal is out and the cord breaks, I have imprinted some that were several hours old as well as over 48 hours old and have noticed the longer you wait the harder it is and more it takes before you achieve the desired results.

I would suggest you watch his imprint training video of at all possible because it is a BIG help to actually see Dr. Miller explain his process as he is actually doing it......you can rent it here: http://users.dundee.net/shawlin/md.htm
Just look in the Judging and Special Interest section.

[Jenje!]

Thanks!

I wouldn't have thought that it would, until I read his thoughts on not allowing the foal to rise or attempt to rise until you're completely done (both sides), and his mention that the foal may begin to try to nurse on your fingers, ect. and that it should be ignored.

I'll see about getting my paws on that video, and from there I guess we'll just see what happens. So excited! The foal kicked my hands several times last night. So cool.

[prettyqtrs]

Heres' what we do...
Our mares are very comfortable with us being with them while foaling and once they have the foal. We are in the stall with them while they are giving birth.
*Many will disagree with doing this and say that this delays birth, which I'm sure it can and does with some mares. But, with our girls... they are handled all the time, are very comfortable with us in by them, near their foals, ect. So we are confident that things will go well. We've had foals in previous years...always have done it this way and we also had a good heathly baby and a the mare was fine*
We are ready and prepared incase anything should go wrong and we have clean towels ready to help dry of the foal. We stand at the back end of the mare (most of the time there's also someone at her head talking to her) and we make sure that the sack breaks when it's supposed to and that the foal is breathing. Once the foal is full out...we start rubbing it a little with the towel. Then the mare gets up, comes over nickers to her foal, smells, lick her foal, ect. Once we give them time to bond and figure out who each other are...we'll go back and help dry off the foal while the mare is still investigating her new baby. We do not delay our foals from standing and nursing. Once the are attempting to get up we back off and let them do their thing. This also allows more time for mare and baby to bond. Once the foal is up and has nursed...we'll go back and do more imprinting. Usually our's foal at night...so after we know eveything is a-o-k with the mare and foal. We'll leave them alone and just do check-ups on them throughout the night. And then we start handling more the following morning. Though we have had mares foal in the morning...so once we do all of the early imprinting...we'll then leave the rest of the time to bond and then a couple hours later(with check ups in betweeb) again, then we'll go back and do more imprinting and playing with the foal.

Hope that helps some.

[AnnaBelle02]

My mare had her first foal (and my first as well) almost two years ago now.
Throughout her pregnancy I debated whether I wanted to be there for the birth or not and whether I would get right in there and start imprinting right away or give him some time first.
In the end I decided it would be far better to let "Mother Nature" come first - I allowed my mare to foal pretty much on her own and then I allowed she and her new baby time completely alone together (about an hour or so) before I went in.
My imprinting was still a total success. He was a bit afraid when I first went in - but he followed his mother's lead and once he saw she was comfortable with me there I was able to get my arms around him with minimal struggle - and the process began.
I know that many people have had great success with the approach you have mentioned, but I think you need to do what you think will work best for you and your mare. I wanted my foal to know what it was like to be a horse first and fore most and that he should act like a horse and possess horse instincts - and rely primarily on them, then listen to me second.
He has been an amazing colt to work with, and I think either way any sort of imprint training is deffinately beneficial.

[freedom32]

I've never bred my own horses, but I will say imprinting is a wonderful thing, every baby I've ever had that was imprinted was so much easier to work with.

[Cara]

Be careful with imprinting, I don't know first hand 'cause I've never done it. But i do know that both buck branaman and richard winters (big trainers) charge more for training if the horse is imprinted! Apperently if you do it wrong it has BIG consequences, I personally don't know about the benifites (but obviously there are some!), but do your homework - and I'd say talk to some other people who have had experience with it, before you do it. I do know that my trainer ocasionally does imprinting (she doesn't breed her own horses, she does it for others), she's had a lot of training in this area though.

[Super_Trooper]

I think imprint training is a wonderful concept. If you think about it, put two kittens into two different rooms, one with horizontal stripes and one with vertical stripes, till they are 8 weeks old....then switch them, they are going to be freightened. If I decide to breed Veruca, Im going to do imprint training with the foal for sure.

[BestofPrincess]

we have started at birth before standing, not all the foals get up right away, they usually rest for a bit before trying, and we do work then, and then when they start to want to get up, we keep them down tilll the settle down, then we will let them get up .... ill go into more detail later got to get to school
FINISHING...... you want the foal just like you want a horse, to think what they do was your idea, not theirs (if they think it is thiers you run into problems weather its a baby or full grown horse) We rub the foals all over with hands and towles, inbetween legs, ears, nostrals, mouth, around eyes, but.t hole, ect. With fillies we get them use to having their teats touched with colts thier equiptment. We tap on their hoofs, manipulate thier legs, but one of the first things we do is treat the imbelicle (sp?) and check for the suckling reflex (always). The suckling reflex is important to the foals survivle. We do have a team of people and some one will be with the mare, making sure she is ok. We also do every thing on both sides, and do it all over again once they are up and have nursed. Then give them alone time, but we try to get more imprinting in every few hours at first and for the first week at least 5x a day (the sessions are only a few mins long, thats all the foal can really take) With in the first week I start halter work, taking on and off the halter, letting the wear it for a few mins while I am there, then lead rope work getting them to not care about a lead rope being tossed around their body and hitting them any where. We also pick up their hoofs while standing, get them use to being manipulated. We work on getting them to give to pressure, move away from pressure on the shoulders, hip, and chest. Once their necks seem strong enough giving to the pressure of the lead rope. Some basic leading work we do may just be with a lead rope to get them to fallow you, and rewarding them at first for even a shift in wieght in the right direction. By a week old the foals I have worked with can lead, not perfectly, but they can lead and are not being draged nor draging people. They will learn personal space, by when they invade at a young age we push them away. By three weeks I usually start trailer loading, by four they can usually load with no hesitation, bathing comes soon too, I introduce it to them by washing thier mom and getting the water near them every now and then, usually by a month and a half I have a foal who can lead, load, bath, clip, pick up hoofs and be groomed. I usually dont do real tying work till 2months old. The process:
Minutes after birth, letting mare say hi


finding out the imbelicle cord never broke, getting ready to cut it

vauge picture of imprinting

manipulating head, neck and legs

same

trying to get him up..... hes just laying on me

proping up some.... unseccesful

suckling reflex

same

first time up

trying to nurse off of a bucket

trying to get him to nurse

not caring at all about a blanket

[Xiphias]

Well I saw Dr. Miller's imprint training video and I was very impressed, also I have met BestofPrincess's colt Cosmo, and he has the most impecable(SP?) manners and acts like a big boy, at 5 months old, totally calm with anything that goes on around him....when I finally get to raise a foal from birth, I will be doing Dr. Miller's method for sure! Cathy