Advice on handling my foal!!

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pinkypug1

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My filly is almost 4 months old. She was untouched until about 3/4 weeks as mummy was very protective. She is now friendly, likes to be groomed etc. I put a field safe head collar on her at about 8 weeks (this was a difficult operation took me 2 weeks to get it on) she never let me hold her by headcollar, the min pressure was put on she fled. she has since slipped the headcollar in the field & i have been trying ever since to get it back on her so i can start to work on leading standing etc as she needs vacinations from the vet & fprrier wanted to get her used to trimming too.

I dont have any access to a stable or small area to try work with her just the 5 acres which is making the task of catching very difficult. She loves attention picks feet up etc but min she sees headcollar or i try to slip rope over her neck she runs off (comes back again very quickly though) i can spend up to 2 hours at a time trying but she doesnt give in

any help much appreciated as i need this little monkey halter broke and leading before she is much older!
 
Forget a headcollar for the moment, just get her eating a little grain out of a bucket and start moving your hands over her neck and side of her face while she has her head in the bucket. When she's ok with this, you can try using something like a tea towel over her neck and a hand on her bum to eventually slightly restrain and maneuver her about. MUCH easier and safer to do in an enclosed area; can you build a little corral in a corner of the field if you can't bring her in? Foals don't like anything touching their muzzle at first, ut's usually this that frightens them when people try to put a foal slip on the first time.
 
I've learned this the hard way!

Firstly to halter break initially use a velcro fastening headcollar with no metal (iv horse make one). Then progress onto fieldsafe with metal.

To train to lead is actually common sense. It is a horse's natural instinct to pull against pressure. attach a thin lead rope over the underside noseband. ON NO ACCOUNT clip it as if you do lose her she will really panic. Apply gentle pressure (she will reverse) try to hold your ground and release the pressure (she will come back to you). Have pockets filled with feed and when she eventually (and she will) steps towards you reward immediately. carry on this untill she is leading quite happily a few steps and then change the reward for a stroke on her head. Do not attempt to get her to walk with you at her shoulder - it is only foals that do this and is not your position!
 
thanks, think i will get OH to fashion some sort of area for me... tried with electric fence tape but she walked through it.

Im not a fan of putting headcollars on foals at birth & always said i would leave her to be a free for the 1st couple of months but now im starting to regret it! she is so sweet, she will eat out of my hand and lets me stick fingers in her mouth around nose ears etc & lets me touch her all over but no matter how hard i try when i try to put my arms around her neck she doesnt like it and skoots off. Shes gettin big & strong so really want to have her under some control soon.
 
We used to get the foal headcollars on them from the day they were born, and then with the help of a friend, "make" an enclosed area, mum on one side, friend on the other, handler at the front, and we would get a bigger headcollar and put it on and off and on and off until they were bored to tears and got over it. We used to do it for a few mins a day with each. (We had one paticular foal who was an ARSE to catch! It eventually worked for her, she had a complex about people touching her nose)

Then for leading, get mum infront and lead the baby behind, we used to put our hand over their withers (seemed to reassure them) and if the reversed, went with them and just gently tapped their belly (Generally the other side when you have your hand over their back/wither) and get mum to come back for them and walk on again. Its just repetition. Doing it over and over until it is normal. This always worked for our babies anyway.
 
MrsD123 said:
One day it will all work out, my mare taught Baby to keep clear, and I sat in the stable for three months, but one day, baby decided it was all OK. and after that she was a real star.
Click to expand...

Yes, once they make the right decision things move really quickly - it took me months to halter my (now 2 year old) and she's absolutely fine now, although did challenge me the other day. Patience is a great thing. My rule is (and I don't believe in handling youngsters) that I must be able to catch and lead them by the winter in case (god forbid) they get out of their fields in the dark. However I have a very late foal and wont manage this year. Not too bothered though as will have to bring in with mum anyway and will move to field not by road. Depending on your circumstances don't feel that you have to do this - after weaning is actually a more psychologically sensible time as she will be looking for a leader :)
 
Can I recommend a lovely little book called 'No fear, no force' by Sarah Weston? This will make life much easier. (Get it on Amazon)
I know just where you are coming from as our second foal is proving much more difficult than his older brother did a couple of years ago. I think you will feel fully confident after reading this. Good luck!
 
Our last years foal was fine with walking and headcollar on/off in the field with mum until the day the vet came and micrchipped her.
The next time she required to be haltered was when we were going to move her to wean her when she was 6 months old The moment she saw the head collar she went into reverse! Of course it was a battle she was going to win because she was lots bigger/stronger than us. We ended up moving mum and left her in the field she knew with other youngstock.
Over the winter we tried several and many times to headcollar her and failed miserably each time. The day a farm worker left a gate open and she and two others were out on the road I was in panic mode. Fortunately the other two were my very quiet former stallion and her three year old sister. She followed them back into the field but I had to make myself a promise to resolve this situation The thing was you could touch her all over, pick up her feet but dont dare try and put a headcollar over her nose. I tried the ones that were buckled at the nose and buckled it far down her neck, she still reared up and threw herself on the floor
I was at the stage of saying if you can catch it you can have it!!!
I got a field safe headcollar and accidentally pinned her in a small space at the gate using her three year old sister to box her in on one side, a fence at the other and I stood behind her with my hand on her bum and she stood still for all of thirty seconds while my friend fastened it. The plan was then to let her go, but my Oh had the Dually and two lunge ropes at the gate so we went for it! It was on, fastened both to the dually and to the ring on the headcollar and thats when the fun started. I had hoped she would follow her sister in to the stables, but she went into real tantrum mode!! She reversed the full length of the field, threw herself on the deck, bronc'd and by this time I had emptied the field and got behind her. My poor OH said he couldnt hold her much longer and the other lass was the same. My OH was grey and I thought he was going to have a heart attack! I was behind her just making shushing noises and she started to walk forward and we got her to the gate where she stopped. She was about to move out of her comfort zone! By luck her sister whinnied to her and she walked into the alley and into the box where she was born. The rest was a doddle. Two weeks later she was walking properly, no probs with a headcollar, I had actually booked a session with an IH guy who I had used previously but he kept putting off the appointments so I bit the bullet and put her out. She will be caught now and loves coming in.
 
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