Every foal I ever had was left alone with its mother until it was steady on its feet. I never handled one until then, and then only if mom would allow. Worked out fine that way, mom was relaxed, foal was doing fine, and got used to me fast enough. I dont think it should be rushed. So I agree with you, Ronda, let them be newborns for awhile. With their MOM. The only exception was with a wild mare who had her baby under the fence, and my son kept the little one from getting stepped on by the other horse in the adjoining corral, when it was born, he pushed it to its mom and left. It wasnt touched again until the next day, when it got curious. Just give them time. After all, its not the PERSON who is the mom, its the mare, and she should be allowed to imprint her own baby and get that bond. Its just as important for horses as it is for people. And horse mom will lick her baby, which stimulates circulation as well as cleaning, and this is important. Mama Horse knows whats best for her little one. People just think they do.

Hi all
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I am for imprinting if done correctly. It's like all training techniques, it can definitely cause harm if not done right.
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I have read Dr Miller's book and have also read Monty Roberts book 'From My Hands To Yours' and I prefer Monty Roberts' imprinting process to Dr Miller's.
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Our second foal was born on New Year's Day. And we imprinted this baby the Monry Roberts way. He is doing so well. He is very relaxed around us. Our first foal that was born in August last year was not imprinted, and we have had to work very hard with this little fellow to earn his trust and friendship.
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The imprinting process we followed did not encroach on the mare getting to know the foal because the foal's rear legs were still inside the mare when the process was started. The process was complete by the time the mare had her rest and started to lick our precious little boy. It was fortunate that we waited for Babe to have Leo because we had to break the embryonic sack when his head was delivered because it was too thick and showed no sign of breaking on its own.
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There are some definate rules associated with imprinting. You must make sure you are safe. Someone to handle the mare while the other imprints. In our case Babe was happy for us to be there with her. Our other mare would definitely not have been happy so we would have to deal with her differently. You must never touch the foal's sides where your leg aids wil one day be applied. I know that a lot of Reining Trainers are against imprinting because the horses are less responsive after being desensitized in those areas during imprinting.
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But at the end of the day, each to their own. I love my horses and want to create an environment where it's easy for them to want to be with me. Also before I try anything new, I do lots of research so that I am less likely to get it wrong. So far I have found that my imprinted foal is much more confident and curious than my non-imprinted baby. But only time will tell as to how both mature.
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I think that if you are a good trainer you will get the best out of your horses regardless of if they are imprinted or not. But it's definitely something I will keep up with.
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Kind regards,
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Gen

Thanks Gen,
This is what I wanted both side to the story. I'm glad everything is going well with all of your horses.
And thank you for your opinion.
Have a great day,
Ronda

I have never done the imprinting, but I read also Dr Miller's book and I am convinced that it works. Last year were born 5 foals in our barn. One of them has not been well accepted by the mother and somebody had to bring him several times to the mother. This was the foal that was the easiest to handle in the first months of life, but also the first to keep a certain distance.
Rudi

I guess I didn't know anything about foal imprinting when Tricka was born. However I couldn't resist helping Tricka out of Pie when I saw her little hooves and head poking out and Pie seemed to be in trouble. I had pulled many young calves from heifers so this encouraged me to help. When Tricka came out she was still in her full birth bag and it was only when I broke the bag that I realises she was alive. She got up on her wobbly feet almost immediately and before Pie got up. I immediately backed off at this stage as I knew how important it was too leave a heifer and her new calf alone once successfully birthed. Tricka didn't seem to be able to find Pie's udder for a suck and as it was a hot day I did interfere to hold her near the udder, again as I had for calves, so I guess I imprinted her then. Having no success for two hours re feeding I did call the vet and of course as soon as the vet arrived Tricka decided to suck. No wonder I called her Trickatreat! Whether or not I imprinted Tricka I am not sure but because I was there Pie and Tricka just accepted my presence from then on. So many horsey friends had told me not to breed Pie as she would be too protective of the foal and try to kill me. It was totally the opposite. Having Tricka made Pie the most docile and beautiful mother you could possibly wish for and she happily accepted my involvement with Tricka which made everything so easy for me. So I can share Ronda's concerns and Gens great experience. It seems that you would have to be very careful how you imprinted a foal so that you didn't interfere with the mother/foal bonding process and the suckling of the cholesterol. I guess my view for horses and cattle is similar - help out when needed but back off as soon as possible so that the natural mother/baby bonding relationship is not interfered with. Interfering just for imprinting sake does worry me as this is a very fragile and precious time for mother and foal particularly so if it is the first foal for the mare. There seems to be so many things to consider and it certainly would appear unwise if the mare was at all concerned about the human presence during the birth.