by: Daryle Schmidt
I’ve been starting colts for over 20 years. The more I train horses and teach others, the more I realize that starting the training process at a young age is one of the keys to making it easier and safer.
Take every opportunity you have to touch and handle your foal before halter breaking. If you are fortunate enough to be around when your foal is born, take this opportunity to rub him all over. This will go a long way in quieting him down when he is at this very impressionable stage.
I like the foal to have confidence in being around me before I start the process of halter breaking. Once the foal is used to me coming up to it and scratching him here or there I’ll then go to the next step.
Slow and easy is the key in halter breaking a foal. Never pull on the lead shank from straight in front of the foal. Always try to lead the colt from a position slightly to the side. This will encourage the foal to come ahead and not lock up on you.
Tug lightly, wait, and be patient. Don’t pull too hard. If the foal starts to back up pulling hard against you, release quickly before he flips over and injures himself. Don’t try to rush the process and force things on the foal.
Remember that when teaching a foal to lead, you should tug on the lead shank from the side at about the 1 or 2 o’clock position. Lead your foal one or two steps to the side and stop. Rub him and give him a few seconds. Then start again.
Teach your foal to lead in circles in both directions before teaching him to lead on a straight line. Once I’m at the point of working on leading in a straight line, I use a short stock whip to tap his hindquarters. Each time the colt stops, I’ll tap his hip lightly until he comes ahead. Eventually, he learns to walk beside me to avoid getting tapped.
You may have to rub the foal all over with the whip if he is scared of it. At this time I sack the colt out with a flag to get him over his fears.
I tape a heavier plastic bag (the kind you get from a Western store) to the end of a whip to use as a flag. Sacking the colt out will help to change his attitude toward you. Again – I repeat – go slow.
Remember, you are working with a young horse whose flight instinct will cut in quickly with very little warning. You want to be careful not to scare the foal into pulling against you.
Once the foal is leading, I take this opportunity to lead him around while I feed the other horses or do little jobs around the place.
The foal is then able to gain confidence as he is led around seeing new things and exposed to people moving around him. And, at the same time, I get some work done and am able to spend some time with the young horse.
Once the foal is leading well, I start to tie him up. I tie him up where he is close to other horses so he doesn’t get upset. A lot of the time a foal will throw a fit and try to get away because he wants to get back to the other horses.
When working with foals, taking one step at a time and avoiding some things will help you to not overwhelm the youngster. Don’t try to overpower the foal. It is too easy to hurt him at this age and you’ll only instill fear, which will make it harder for you to gain his trust.
Once the foal leads and trusts me, I progress to teaching him good ground manners. I’ll teach the colt to give to pressure (ie., to move away from me). I don’t allow my foals to be pushy or rude.
This is the time to instill into your foal respect for you and your space. At this time, I’ll start to bring the youngster into the barn to be tied and give him oats and supplements.
Soon they become very familiar with this routine, which will be of great benefit later on in their life. And, the sooner we teach our foals these simple basics, the easier it will be on them when you start into a training program.
Daryle Schmidt has 20 years of experience at starting colts and training ranch horses and is a proven instructor in teaching colt starting, horsemanship, and reining clinics throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan. Daryle has developed an extensive ground training program that is the foundation for his training. He and his wife Debbie own and operate a facility out of Rocky Rapids, AB. For more information on training with Daryle Schmidt, you can contact him at ph/fax: (780) 542-6568 or email ddschmid@telus. net.
