What age to start leading a foal?

[Tezzy]

My foal is 2 weeks old next Tuesday. He is very friendly & wants to be next to you as soon as he sets eyes on you.
I can touch him all over but he doesn't like his back legs been picked up to much. He as slowed down on the buckarooing, but when you touch his back end, he is off. He really goes for it.
I can get the headcollar on him, but I have been told all different things on what I should do.
I take his headcollar off when I leave, so he is used to having it put on & taken off a couple of times a day. I have been told not to lead him at all untill he is a few months old.
Just wondered if anyone here as lead a foal & what age you did. He is taken from the stable every morning to the field & as a good walk to get to the field & he is starting to wonder when on the way to the field. I don't want to harm him in any way at all by pulling on him, but don't want to leave it to late. I even brushed him all over today & he loved it.

 

[JanetGeorge]

I lead my foals from day 1 -but not from a head collar! I use a tea-towel around their neck and a lead-rope 'noose' (bum rope) around the back. That way I have good control! (Mine are BIG foals!)

I'll put a foal slip on at a week - and just hook a finger through it (same hand as holding the tea towel) so they get the feel of a little pressure on the foal slip butI can release it easily. Even once I put a lead rope on the foal slip,I use part of the lead rope around the neck so that is my main 'control' if needed (but usually by this time they lead well.)

I certainly wouldn't leave it until several months before you start leading (OR picking up back legs, whether he likes it or not!)

 

[Enfys]

Straight away, like Janet, my colts are haltered within the first 24 hours and (when I have help) walked beside the mare with a handler.

By the time they are two months old they are walking on a lead rope, and know how to give to the tiniest bit of pressure. By three months they stand and tie, well, they think they are tied, the rope is merely looped through the stall bars and the foal stands still.

Feet, picking up starts the same time as haltering, before they are too big and strong to get away with a fight. One of my pet hates is a colt that hasn't been taught to 'give' his feet.

Enjoy your foal.

 

[scribble]

we have put foal slips on from day 1 and led them next to mum and also on their own with mum watching from about a week foal slip and towel or similar round their bum if only one person. take foal slip off when in stable in case get cuaght on someting. i worked at sandiringham stud and this is also what they do. you need to be able to lead them and handle them and it doesnt hurt them or anything else. they also leearn a few "manners" while growing up and start right from the begininning.

 

[[69117]]

I agree with the above - start early but slowly! One of my real pet hates though is people who put on a foal slip, and then don't take it off until it's too small. This creates nasty yearlings like the one I've just had dumped on me because nobody else could do anything with him. His foal slip was left on 24/7 for the first year, and so now, he is IMPOSSIBLE to get a headcollar on. He's a strong, big colt, heading for stallion duty when he's old enough, but he's got no chance if he carries on rearing and cow kicking when he has his headcollar on and off.
So... all of our foals have foal slips put on in the morning, and taken off in the evening which gets them used to having it on and off, and also means they won't get any little leggies caught in their headcollars at night. I also start from day one with a pillow case, gradually moving up to a towel and then light rugs - teaching them as much as you can as early as you can is fantastic and makes for lovely youngsters.

 

[the watcher]

Mine had a foal slip put on her for a few minutes when she was 2 hours old, then I put it on to take her out to the field (I did have a helper steering the back end) for the first couple of days.

10 days old now, I lead mum and foal out alone and foal has learned to walk alongside me (mostly). She is just in a foal slip and rope. Our yard is too open and full of farm machinery for anything to be allowed to go free range

 

[china]

ours have foal slips on from day one but leading wise we put a rope or something around the front of there neck and an arm around there bum but after about a week of this they are prety much leading straight off the foalslip next to there mum but i just stay behind there should to keep them going forwards.