Today we look at handling your foal and preparing him for training.
Once your foal gets a bit stronger and more independent the new world he finds opening up to him is going to be a little scary at first – so whatever you do, try to take it at his pace, and not yours. Remember that until he is comfortable with the current aspect of his training; don’t move him onto the next part.
Taking care of a horse can be a fun and rewarding experience. Just like any domesticated animal or pet, they rely on us for their well-being.
The first basic step in caring for your horse is to provide adequate feed, water, and forage. Grain comes in a variety of forms, such as pellets or textured. The compressed brand being granulated into pellets, and textured grain (also called sweet feed), allows you to visible see the oats, corn, and molasses. The preference is yours, but keep in mind your horse may prefer, perform, and thrive better on one versus the other. The amount of grain that you feed your horse will depend on his performance level, general health, and nutritional needs.
Pets are usually considered to be a very close member of our families. We feed them, bathe them, spend time with them, play with them, and love them with every part of our being. This includes when they are sick, ailing, or healthy. We want to take care of them as best as we can, making sure our companion will be with us for many years to come.
In this series of articles I will explain how to take a young/ untrained horse and safely teach it to lead. This will help to deepen your relationship, and the level of communication with your horse. Each article will have a systematic approach that will be both easy to understand, and to teach your horse. I will break down each baby step and teach you how to teach your horse each lesson. There will be examples in the training phase that has corrections and also what responses to watch for in your horse. My hope is that this will “demystify” some of the concepts in working with young/ untrained horses.
Its so exciting isn’t it having a new foal around. I just love them, they are so gorgeous to look at and so vulnerable, that I find them completely adorable! OK, so that’s enough of my sensitive side, lets get on with some content.
First off lets say that the foal has been born healthy – it’s the care of the foal and therefore its mother, in its first few weeks that I’m going to cover here (I may later cover the period immediately after the birth and how you check that the baby is healthy, but I will have to do some more research for that).
Salt blocks are an essential part of a horse’s nutrition plan. For both the most active and least active horses, having a steady dose of sodium does the body well. For horse owners that want their horses to be able to go for extended rides, there should be an extra emphasis on salt blocks. There are many different brands of salt blocks, though. Each one brings a little something different to the table, so depending upon your horse, you will want to choose the salt block that best fits their needs.
Buying a horse is buyer beware. Not to make you frightened, but it is your responsibility to make sure the horse you choose is what you expected you were getting. Check all claims made about an animal out for yourself.
To start with, take someone you know who knows horses. If you don’t know anyone who will volunteer their time, consider paying a trainer or riding instructor for their time as it will be money well spent. There is so much to take in when viewing a prospective horse that many eyes alone will give a more accurate picture. Different people will ’see’ different things. A beginner may see an affectionate good looking animal. An experienced horse person may observe an arthritic joint and a tendency towards pushiness.