Imprinting

Imprinting your newborn foal is one of the best ways to get horse training off to a good and healthy start. But what is foal imprinting and how is it done? Imprinting is centred on the concept that when a foal is born, it very quickly formulates opinions about the world. In the first few hours and days after birth, foals learn about 80% of what they need to survive as a horse in this world. What we do as the human imprinting the foal, is to convince them early on that all the things we will be subjecting them to for the rest of their lives is just "a regular part of life, not things to fear”.

Certain North American Indians spoke to horses before birth and handled foals daily the first few days after birth. That’s how they tamed the wild Mustangs. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours after birth is a period when some species, including horses, can be imprinted. As soon as the foal is born, the mare starts nuzzling it to imprint the fact that it is a horse.

We have learned to use this time when foals can be imprinted to benefit interaction with the horse later in life. I believe imprinting can be beneficial if done right, but dangerous if done wrong.

Imprinting can prepare the foal to live in the human being's world and tolerate a lot of the things we do, such as inserting a naso-gastric tube, placing a rectal thermometer, clipping the body, working with the head, leading or trimming the feet. If people stop there, imprinting is not a bad thing.

Again, don't hesitate to give me a call should you want some help!

I truly hope that our 20+ plus years of Experience at Foaling & Imprinting will be of help in acquiring and training your new Foal and enjoying the wonders of birth!

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