Hi Shae, I don't know if Monty has videos of the very first moment with a foal.

But the very first thing you should is get the foal used to being touched by you. See if you can gradually touch him all over his body, and pick his hooves. Have his mother with him while you interact with him. Be calm and don't force anything.

Once that's done I suppose you can try to put a halter on him.

It's going to be a great journey, I'm jealous!

Hi Shae,
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I would like to recommend you to whatch the lessons about "FOAL EDUCATION WITH LEIGH WILLS" here in the Uni. They are really great and show wonderful, easy and soft ways to start working on a foal.
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Greetings from Germany,
Jasmin

Hi Shae
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Lovely privilege starting your foal. Do look to the Foal education lessons as Jasmin suggests.
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I'll add do nothing to spook of put pressure that will cause your foal to take flight. Work in small spaces with the mother present, you'll find the mother will help you along.
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We had a foal in 2015 and it's been a fantastic journey.
We didn't let anyone else touch her for the first 7 months, just myself and my daughter, so she had just Equus teachings and our gentling to new items, desensitizing on touching all over her body and legs and teaching her respect of the human space. Their feet look after themselves for a long time, but we still got her used to being touched and holding her feed for a few seconds at a time.
At 7 months we started to let visitors stroke her and she'd come up and stand outside of their space and make friends with them.
She's coming up for 1yr 6mths now and we can do practically anything with her.
She had her first gentle rasp on the hooves at 9 months, she was starting to stand more straight with her neck getting longer so just a little adjustment on how the hooves were growing from standing straddled when grazing.
This was her first introduction to children https://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniehetfield/27526084575/in/album-72157669434310861/
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Watch Monty's videos and the first aim is not to cause flight!
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Look forward to hearing how it goes.
:D
Mel
x

Hi Shae,
Great advice above! When you watch Leigh Wills lessons on this UNI, you'll hear her say and see her prevent the foal from making movements that would be part of the flight instinct. As soon as the foal relaxes, she lets go. The flight movements would cause the foal to cut off communication. Watch those lesson over and over, there's so much to learn! Later, when you'll have a halter on the foal, the principles are the same, by the halter and a leadrope you prevent flight, so the foal needs to think about the situation, instead of just run from your stimuli. Search for the lessons on the "Foal-Handler", which is not a person, but a piece of soft rope, as a figure of eight, still to guide your foal when mama is near.
Picking up feet and being touched are things you can do very well with mama as your best assistent. Later look for the lessons on the Dually Halter and foals. Still the foal is not weaned, but already learning to cooperate with the handler.
If you have the chance try to find a small foal herd, so your weanling doesn't have to grow up among older horses, but with companions of his own age. Still it would be great to come on a daily base and touch your little guy and continue the communication started earlier.
What a wonderful opportunity! Enjoy every minute of it!!!
Please keep us posted,
Miriam

Hello Shae
Yes indeed, GREAT ADVICE from all of the above. My first question to you is how old is the baby? What kind of interaction have you had with the mother and baby up to this point? Is the foal a colt or a filly?
You have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in a young horse`s life and you are asking questions. GOOD FOR YOU!
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I have raised about 30 babies through the years and can tell you that they all come with a little different approach to living life. Colts, for instance, tend to be more inquisitive and demonstrate less of an apparent need for mama at an earlier age than fillys, But, with that said, at the first sign of an unknown situation the colts are quicker to hot foot it back to mom for assurance. I use this as an example to show that you that you really you can`t count on any one behavior because they change like the clock.
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This is what I do; When a baby was foaled, I always am the first human that they see, because I found it important to message their joints [fetlocks and pasterns] before they would stand to nurse. My hope here was to stretch the ligaments for elasticity before the baby stands. So many foot and lower leg problems can be derailed during this short period of time with just a little help to smooth out the process. It was during this time that I would rub them all over their body while talking with them. They were all imprinted for about 30 minutes with all the LOVE that I could muster. We have a camera in the foaling stall that we could see from our house, so I was always present for the foaling. This will give you some idea of how we did things at the ranch.
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What I haven`t told you is how I treated the mother. I always felt that the dam carries about 60-70% of the genectic gift that the baby received from the two parents and then is placed in the role shaping its start in life. They are very definitely the captain of the ship that guides the foal into understanding how the herd works and where they fit into the group. So, with that said, I always consider the mother FIRST when approaching the two of them. She is ALWAYS held with respect and consideration. As a consequence, I always go to the mare first when coming into the area that baby and mother occupy and ask for permission to see and possibly touch her baby. I caress and scratch the mare while telling her that her baby is going to be a superstar and that she should be very proud to have such a wonder to guide in life over the next several months. I have always believed that this the very best way for a human to demonstrate that he is NOT a predator and they have nothing to worry about with my presence. This approach will ease the tension, if any, when entering the area where the foal and mother are located. I will do this approach many times a day as the attention for the foal is short Every approach I do is done with very small steps and NO LONGER than 5 minutes in duration. The babies get scratches and hugs to start with which morph into rubs and touches all over the body. Within a few days, I am asking the baby to move one way or the other and possibly picking up a foot or two. Remember, PRESSURE AND RELEASE. This is a very important time of learning for the baby. WE MUST GET IT RIGHT! This is the time that I use my hoops for directing the baby`s movements . I accomplish two things with these hoops, body closeness and teaching the art of pressure and release to get them passed the natural into pressure reaction. I do NOT put a halter on a foal to lead with until I feel that their neck has enough strength to compensate for the power that the legs generate in their movement.
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I hope this helps you Shae along with all the other good advice offered.
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.By the way, Monty was my inspiration for the hoop idea many years ago. Best of luck and please keep us all informed with your progress and any questions.
Bud

That's lovely Bud, can I come and work at your ranch, all those babies ;)

Mel
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Hello Shae
Sounds like we're in a similar situation; I have an 8 month old "purchased rescue" unweaned foal with her mum. I've been very gentle and slow with both of them and they are both kind and generous, but I didn't really know what to do moving forward. I've had so much advice such as leave her alone and don't touch her for the next three years! Or separate her from the mother NOW!
Thank you for your question as the answers will help me no end too and I'm sure, like me, you're so looking forward to this incredible, privileged journey together.
The advice from Everyone is great, especially about the mare; I suppose we get so wrapped up in the baby it's easy to forget about mum being the special one too.
I'll definitely find the foal education video too.

Hi Bud and all,
What a joy to have been part of these precious lives, raising foals.
Did you work according to Dr.Robert Miller's method of imprinting or did you use Monty's slightly shortened version? Now that you don't breed anymore, it's great that you share all this wonderful knowledge with those who seek information. And with us on the forum, to get a better understanding of the first contact between human and horse.
And then Arabian foals, they are so beautiful!
Keep sharing your vast knowledge,
Miriam

Hi All, I know that my above post might seem over-the-top in some respects regarding how we raised the foals at our ranch, but I can tell you all that each of these steps I described were developed over the years until we it became a dance. My main thought that I was trying to convey was about the mare and her importance when we visit the area where they are quartered. The mare holds the key for us to be accepted in the RIGHT LIGHT, and the baby quickly learns from the mother if she isn`t frightened with humans being close to them, then why should"I' the baby. Another suggestion, to up the ante, is to give the mare a treat every time when entering the area and the baby will soon pick up on that and want a treat also. That sets up a perfect teachable moment for us and the baby to get acquainted with a hands on approach. Later-on, if done repeatedly as a ritual, We always found that our babies would be the first to greet us when entering their area. THE LEARNING HAS TAKEN PLACE; we can be trusted.
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.The hoops that I talk about are like small hoola hoops. One for the butt and one around the base of the neck. I find that they are extremely easy to use and very effective for early training without the risk of injury to the foal. An 8 month old foal probably will not have issues with a normal halter because their neck muscling should be more developed. The very first thing that should be done with that older foal is trimming the hooves. That could be a process. Build up the trust first as in JOIN-UP.
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I hope this can help you all with your babies. They have been one of the biggest blessings in my life.
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Please keep us posted on your discoveries.

Bud
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Hi Miriam, Dr. Robert Miller was my guiding light during the breeding years..I was coming from square one and had so much to learn. One of the very firsts foalings that we had came with over the top difficulties for both my wife and I. To shorten the story, the foals front foot ruptured the membrane between the vaginal-rectal canals and emerged out the rectum. There we were, two people trying to cope with a very difficult situation, on top of a mountain, with the vet one hour away if all went well. I managed to push the foal`s foot back through the anal canal and pulled the leg back into the birthing canal, finally pulling the baby out. The entire process took about 45 minutes on intense work and needless to say everyone was exhausted. The mare was motionless; the baby was motionless, but we did not give up. I stuck my hand in the baby`s mouth and messaged his gums. He came alive and whinnyed. Upon hearing the sound from the baby the mare raised her head and nickered back to the baby, and it was at that moment that I felt the HAND OF GOD had blessed our farm. The baby got up; the mare got up and my wife and I cried as the vet arrived and made his way into the corral to help. That, my friends, was many years ago and just one of the most satisfying times of my life. We must never forget just how very precious each life is.
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.That baby became a superstar with a group of young girls in the hunter-pleasure show ring. His name was Thee Northern Light, and for a very good reason. Upon the night of his foaling, we were treated to a magical display of the aurora borealis .
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Thank you my friends for your nice comments.
Bud

Awe Bud, could feel all the emotion of the night as I read through. What an experience!!!
Mel x

Thank you Bud,
for sharing this wonderful, touching story!
I'm sure you have many more, please feel free to share them with us!
They are a treasure..
Miriam

Fantastic Bud; I have very little experience with foals but have has the privilege of working with three foals from the same parents. The first one was not imprinted - I was asked to help when it was 7 months old and VERY difficult to handle - I was then given the honour of being able to do my first ever imprint on the second foal and oh my what a difference in behaviour with this one; she is adorable and a very interesting change in the mare's response to me too. The thir one, I missed the birth by a few hours but did a 'lesser version' of an imprint. Very interesting results and a rare chance to have the experience with the same mare and stallion as parents. I feel very lucky but soooooo inexperienced compared to you all here in terms of youngsters. I feel like a clumsy youngster myself in this area and love learning from you all.

Hi Vicci and all. I had to learn about foaling through many times and experiences. The one thing that was always a constant for me was that I felt so very honored to be a part of a one of the very special occurrences that happens in our lives. It was , for me simply, over the top awesome; and I got to do it many times.
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.The one thing that I did want say to you all was about all the information available regarding foaling. There is good information, and information that misses the mark. Because the numbers that we had, I became more confident as each foal was born. I am sure that this led me to the place of where I am at today. It is a good place and the icing on the cake would be in the results of watching a healthy foal frolic and play in its corral early in the morning. THAT`S COOL an warms my heart every time that I think about this.
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I am sure that many breeders would roll their eyes when they hear about some of things that I do after the foaling but before the foal stands to nurse. However, through the years I have watched our babies prance around on their tip toes because tendons had not released their grip of contraction. That, of course, led me to messaging the pasterns before they stood. The difference was amazing. My point in writing this to you is that I probably would not have done this with just a few babies. The more babies we had, the more confident I became to try new approaches. What is behind this whole thing is that my wife and I were trying to produce a short, backed horse. In order to do this we searched for short, backed mares. What that means for a brood mare is less room to carry the baby; hence a more cramped pregnancy for 11 months. So consequently, I saw the need to improvise and it worked.
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.One other item that I have come to realize is when a foal is born, everything that happens from then on , in his world, would fall under the category of desensitization. He or she would be adapting and learning. This is why imprinting is so over-the-top good for the babies. He is a domesticated horse, so, I feel, healthy, human intervention is a GIVEN.
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By the way, the mare in the story above had to wait 6 months to have her membrane repaired [scare tissue had to form] . She was then stitched up and had many more foals with NO problems. All the breeders in this area just couldn`t believe that we saved both mate and foal All I can say is we were blessed.
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All my best
Bud

Hi Bud,
so interesting what you write about the tendons of new born foals! I only once saw a foal starting to get up and try stand on one of his front pastern joints.
I guess your treatment would have helped, but since it took a day to transport mare and foal to where the vet would come and see it, he had to make a cast.
The cast was formed on the front side of the cannon including the pastern, but this half-pipe then was placed on the backside of the leg, so that with every step the leg had room to bend into the right direction. The vet told us, that he used this procedure mostly on Thoroughbreds, for the same reasons you describe, a lack of room in utero.
It worked quite well and after a week the cast was taken off and the foal walked normally.
We massaged the tendon for a couple of days after that and he grew up being a strong, healthy horse.
The difference of course is, that you were always present at birth, my Italian breeder lets his mares run free in the Appennine hills and finds the foals next day...
Miriam

Thanks Everyone. The Little Guy is going great Now. Thanks For your ideas and Support

Thanks
Shae