As soon as you have a new colt or filly, you will want to hug him and give him as much attention as possible—and so will your visitors. Few things are more appealing than a newborn baby, regardless of the species. However, showering a new foal with affection may not be best.

Before giving your new horse even a pat on the head, you need to decide who will have the responsibility of handling the foal and what methods will be used. You will also need to assess the demeanor of the mare as they can be very protective. Imprinting at a very early age is a common method of desensitizing the foal. No matter the method, go at your own pace and do what is natural for both you and your baby horse. 

Handling

Never handle a foal before he forms a strong relationship with its mother unless an emergency arises; otherwise, you may confuse him, and the colt may believe you to be his mother. Boy, would that be awkward.

When holding a foal (out of love or restraint), never squeeze him; instead, hold him firmly around the chest and rump. If he escapes, the foal will believe he is stronger than you are and try to get away as often as possible. Although the colt is currently weaker than you are, give him a few months. If you haven’t been able to restrain him by that time, you may have quite a feat on your hands.

The foal will react as you touch him, but try to touch him all over including: his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, back, legs and feet. If the colt pulls away, try again immediately. You need to show him that you mean him no harm; you are an ally. Hold each foot up for a few seconds before releasing it. This will get the foal prepared for having work done on this area and increase his balance.

When restraining a foal, you have a few options:

• To keep the foal still, place one arm around his chest and slowly lift the tail with your other hand
• To guide the foal, wrap one arm around his chest and the other around his backside

Training

Just like handling, you must choose when to begin training your foal. Remember that the longer you wait, the harder the foal may be to train. In this case, you really can’t teach an old horse new tricks.

Most “well-rounded” foals should be trained in the following areas:

• Leading: Teach the foal to walk, trot, and stop beside you without trying to get away. Lead ropes may be helpful for this training, but use discretion as to when to introduce these.
• Wearing a halter: Get your foal used to a halter as soon as possible. The halter should be a perfect fit, not too big or too small (this will need to be adjusted frequently, as the foal will grow rapidly). Use a halter on a foal when you can be present to monitor the foal. If you’re away and the halter is stuck on something, your foal may be injured as he tries to break free.
• Reacting to new experiences: Foals are skittish around loud noises and surprises. Ease these fears by introducing new sounds, smells and sights into the horse’s life daily (e.g., new brushes, turning out with other horses).
• Basic life skills: These include being loaded onto a trailer, understanding human interaction and reacting to other beings appropriately.
• Refraining from inappropriate behavior: Never allow a foal to bite (even playfully), kick or strike out at anyone or anything.

Handling and training foals is difficult, but it is important that both the foal and you keep tempers in check at all times. Before you know it, you will have a perfectly trained horse with excellent manners. Now, to prepare it for riding…