[tbluver]

what exactly is the process of imprinting a foal???

[RubySlipper]

With in the first few hours of the foals life you touch every part of his body indluding the iside of his mouth and his ears to get him used to your touch. You also get him used to clippers and you doing things to him before he is even able to stand up. That way he can't run away, amd he reaklizes that these things are not going to hurt him. I am sure you can look it up on line and find out a lot more about it. That is the little bit I know.

[Sandra-A1]

We have imprinted every foal that we have produced with great success. The foals grew up confident and easy to work with and around. They were easy for the Vet and Farrier to work with. Imprinting them did not kill their spirit not turn them into pets. They were respectful but not fearful. They were easy to train and won at their breed shows. They were also great trail horses and trustworty enough to allow novices and beginners to work with and ride them once they were trained. We were able to take them from the breed show's halter and pleasure classes and ride them in the timed games in the play days held where we kept them. They never got hyper or uncontrollable when ran and stood quietly out side the ring when waiting their turn.
If you are interested in imprinting I suggest you read Dr. Millers Book and watch his videos as they are most informative and helpful.
Here is something more detailed about it:

Imprint training the newborn foal

By: R. M. Miller, DVM

Imprint training offers a singular opportunity to permanently mould a horse's personality. For a short time, the new born foal is programmed to imprint stimuli. The right procedures at the right time yield dramatic results. There is no time a horse will learn faster.

Advantages

Imprint training can help ease handling, enhance later training efforts and reduce injuries. It shapes behaviour in the following ways:

Bonding with the imprint trainer. Immediately postpartum, the foal bonds simultaneously with its dam and with one or more persons handling it. Such foals see humans, not as predators, but as fellow horses.

Submission, but nor fear. During imprint training, the foal cannot escape (its natural method of survival) exposure to frightening stimuli. As a result, it becomes dependent and submissive in its attitude. The foal sees the trainer as a dominant horse or heard leader. Psychologically, this is the ideal relationship between horse and human. We must have submissiveness in a horse if he is to work for us. But, the submissiveness should be created not by fear (a predatory role) but by dependence (a dominant leader role).

Desensitisation to most sensory stimuli (visual. auditory. tactile. and olfactory!. Most parts of the body, including all body openings, are desensitised. Rapid, repetitious stimuli (flooding) are used until the foal is habituated, i.e. permanently non responsive to those stimuli. Loud noises, fluttering objects or being touched anywhere on the body will thereafter be calmly tolerated.

Sensitising to performance related stimuli. Specifically, the foal can bee taught to respond (rather than habituated, to head and flank pressure. The responsiveness allows control over the fore and hind quarters. The foal will lead where pulled, and will move its hind end laterally in response to the touch of a finger in the flank region. This is best taught on the day after birth, after the foal is on its feet.

Some believe that early bonding between the foal and humans will produce a "pet" foal. They believe that early foal-human bonding will produce a spoiled horse, indifferent to stimuli, which will lack the flightiness "necessary" to race or perform well. This is nonsense. Imprint training, properly performed, will enhance a horse's relationship with humans. It will teach it "good manners" and increase its responsiveness to stimuli which will later improve its performance.

The only "disadvantage" of imprint training is that, since it is best started immediately post partum, the mare must be brought in for foaling. This is actually desirable, because it allows rapid identification of any obstetrical problems. It also requires that the Broodmare be gentle and well mannered. If this is not the case, the time to change it is before the mare foals, or, better, before she is bred. One should not expect to turn out docile, well mannered foals if one doesn't have a well mannered mare. Yet, some people seem to take pride in owning untrained, ill mannered broodmares. To me, poor manners indicates ownership by an inept horseman.

Imprint training procedures

The initial imprint session takes about an hour. After the umbilical cord has ruptured and the stump has been disinfected. rub the foal dry with a towel. This procedure alone has a habituating effect.

When the mare gets up, allow her to smell and **** the foal. The foal will simultaneously bond with the mare and the person handling it.

Desensitisation

Start at the poll, gently but rapidly rubbing it until relaxation occurs (as indicated by extension of the head and a sleepy expression). Each desensitisation procedure must be repeated until the foal is oblivious to it. This is important. If you stop the procedure while the foal is struggling to escape, it will be taught escape behaviour. Persist until after calm recognition occurs. This means that the foal is habituated to the stimulus and will be permanently desensitised to it.

Next, do the external ears, then insert a forefinger into the ear canals, and desensitise them. The face is next, followed by the underside of the upper lip, the mouth, the tongue, and both nostrils. All of this takes 1015 minutes.

You cannot overdo a stimulus, but you can under do it Too many is better than too few. Most foals habituate to 30-50 stimuli, but use more if necessary.

Next do the eyes, the neck and the thorax. Rub the saddle area well. Do all four legs, including flexing of each joint repetitiously. Tap the bottom of the feet 50100 times each. Do the rump, the tail, and the area between the hind legs. Include the genitalia, and the udder region of the filly. Pay special attention to the perineum. Using a glove and some lubricant, insert a finger in the anus and wiggle it 50100 times. You'll be able to take a horse's temperature or perform a palpation in the years ahead without difficulty. It is a good idea, at this time, to rub an electric clippers all over the foal's body, especially around the face and ears. Use both large and small clippers, they may be frightened the first time they hear another kind.

Rub the entire body with a piece of crackling plastic. Take lots of time. Watch for habituation, as indicated by relaxation, before any stimulus is stopped.

If desired, you can desensitise the newborn foal to gunfire, police whistles, loud music, flapping flags, whirling ropes and hissing sprayers.

The second session is done when the foal is on its feet. I like to do it the second day. It is important that the foal not learn to escape when teeing worked on, so have an assistant hold it. Position the foal nose to nose with its dam to allay apprehension in both. Quietly test all the areas done previously. You should be able to pick up the feet and tap on them, insert a finger up the nostril or in an ear and wiggle it, etc. If an area is not adequately desensitised, repeat the process.

Encircle the girth area with your arms, and rhythmically squeeze the chest until habituation occurs. This prevents "cold backed" or "cinch bound" horses. These sessions with the foal on the feet should be exceed 15 minutes or the foal will fatigue. So, several short sessions maybe necessary on this second day.

The stimuli to which a young foal can be desensitised are unlimited. I desensitise them to flapping blankets, a stream of water from a garden hose,, and I will lead them through belly deep running water. I will load them in a trailer at 45 days of age, with the mare, and take them for a ride. The foal is also exposed to livestock and dogs.

Sensitisation

Having desensitised or habituated the foal to all of these frightening stimuli, I now sensitise certain responses. The objective is to establish a conditioned response, so avoid repeating a stimulus once you obtain the desired response.

Hold the standing foal by yourself, and poke a finger into its opposite flank. To escape the pressure, the foal will eventually move slightly towards you, and away from the pressure of your finger in its flank. Immediately reward the foal by relieving the pressure of your finger. Step backward to allow the foal to move its hind end laterally, towards you, but away from the pressure.

Pause wait 230 seconds. Then repeat the stimulus. Immediately reward even the slightest movement laterally by stopping the pressure. Most horses will learn in 35 experiences. In a little while, the foal will have been taught to move laterally whenever it feels flank pressure. Don't ask for more than one step at this time, but do both sides. In a day or so, after the response is consistent, you may pause and then ask for a second step. Later, you ask for a third step, and gradually shorten the interval between the steps. This process, know as successive approximation takes patience and perceptivity on the part of the trainer. It is the secret to horse training. It is how the sliding stops of a reining horse, the dynamic footwork of a cutting horse and the intricate manoeuvres of a dressage horse are produced.

Next, pull a well fitting halter on the foal. Be sure to remove it after the training session to avoid accidents. Working with an assistant, in a well bedded stall, gently pull the halter to one side. The assistant prevents movement of the foal forward, back or to the opposite side. Eventually, in order to maintain balance, the foal will move slightly in the direction its head is being drawn. Immediately reward by relieving the pressure. In this manner, the forequarters can be trained to move laterally. Eventually, using successive approximation, the foal can be circled. Gradually, the circle is expanded until the foal is leading in a circle. After several sessions, the foal will be leading. If desired, a loop of rope behind the foal's rump can be used to stimulate forward movement. It also helps if the foal is encouraged to lead towards its dam. By one week of age, if the mare can tee ridden, lead the foal from the mare, in a small pen or corral.

An enhanced relationship

I first became aware that neonatal foals can be trained and their behaviour indelibly shaped, about 30 years ago. Subsequently, a behaviour shaping routine evolved which I call "imprint training". I have no illusions that the training of new born foals is a new idea. In fact, there is no doubt that human beings have done this for thousands of years. All I have done is ritualised the procedure, given it a name, attempted to scientifically explain why it is so effective, and publicly promoted and encouraged its use because it enhances the relationship between horse and human, and, from a veterinarian standpoint, greatly facilitates the practitioner's job.

Client education

Ill mannered horses are the bane of the equine practitioner. If you can encourage your clientele to imprint train their foals, your work is greatly facilitated.

I did free imprint training demonstrations for my clients for many years, but very few of them learned to use the method. A few years ago, I made a video film about imprint training foals. During an annual seminar for our clients, I showed the video. It was the turning point. Our clientele adopted the training method in large numbers. Perhaps the video was effective because we are so conditioned to television. Perhaps it was effective because it is convenient to use and can be used repeatedly.

Whatever the case, imprint training is now commonly used in my practice area. Since imprint trained horses are more manageable, far fewer injuries occur to horses and people. It has made life easier for my clients and me.

[spyro1]

Imprinting is a wonderful thing to do with your foal. I helped to imprint my girlfiends appy filly last year and what an experience. It makes you feel so close to the foal and you get a very warm feeling when all your hard works pays off. I later ended up buying this filly for my sister in law. She was so easy to work with. She tolerated everything and wasn't easily spooked, like a lot of babies are. I think that every horse should be imprinted at birth

[friesianluvr]

Thanks for the detailed post! I had wondered about imprinting and will buy the book for more info...
Hope to breed my mare next year, this sounds very useful.

[Dawn]

A lot of people few imprinting as forcing the foal to do and accept something. I view it more as taking the opportunity to bond with the foal and gain his trust. It's not cruel. If you observe a mare or any other animal mother, they will do the exact same type of things.