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DON’T “BABY” YOUR Horse BABY By Nathan Coffman
Be Aware that your Foal Behavior Could Become Your Adult Horse Behavior!
Most all of us have had the opportunity to visit with those cute little things we call foals, and some of us have even had the
opportunity to raise one or more. At this age it is hard to imagine that these innocent little saints could possibly do anything wrong.
Especially when everything they do is just so “cute”. Unfortunately, it is easy to fall victim to their antics. We need to be sure that
we see this behavior as no different than an older horse. Just as we know that a little child is developing his or her tendencies at such
a young age, so too is our foal. As with that child, our foal is going to grow and get bigger and become tougher to handle due to it’s
size. Habits formed at this age can be tough to break. So, what can we do?
First, and most importantly, we need to look at our foal as though it were a full-grown horse. By seeing him in this way we will begin
to put his behavior in a different perspective. When a full-grown horse attempts to nibble on us, it certainly isn’t as cute and we
certainly don’t tolerate like we do with a young one. If we don’t want an adult horse doing this, then why would we let our baby do
this and expect him to simply stop at some point because he is now an adult.
Secondly, when correcting them for these mistakes they might make, we need to use the same correction we would on that adult
horse. There, simply, can be no excuse for those behaviors we affectionately call playful as a youngster, but misbehavior as an adult.
So next time you’re enjoying spending time with your foal and he does something other than what you want, ask yourself, “is this
something I would allow or even want my horse, as an adult, to be doing?” It is perfectly acceptable to expect the same good
behavior from our foal as we do from our grown horse. They all grow up, and quite quickly at that, so don’t waste anytime in
instilling this good foundation and enjoy them while they’re still “CUTE”.
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