Training Horses - Individual Differences

The best way to recognize whether or not a person or animal has really mastered a lesson is to see if they can apply what they know to different circumstances. Horses frequently demonstrate that they haven't really learned a lesson when they do things like spooking at an object that has been moved to a new location or because they are moving in a different direction. Yes, the object may look slightly different from a new perspective, but that is exactly the point, they are not applying what they know about the object by recognizing that it is only a different view point. They were conditioned not to spook at the object as it appeared previously, but they did not really learn that the object is not going to hurt them. For horses it usually takes repeated conditioning using as many possible variations of the lesson as possible for them to really master the problem.

Even the cues under saddle must be taught in both directions, at all the gaits, under different circumstances, but yet consistently the same, for the horse to be confirmed as mastering that cue. Otherwise, another rider will not get the correct response from the same cue because it is not possible that they will perform it exactly as the horse was taught. The horse must be able to recognize that the cue is like one their first trainer taught and choose the correct answer. Sometimes they might pick the wrong one due to the fact that many cues are similar and riders have as many differences in the way they use their hands, leg, and seat as horses have in the way they respond to them. A sensitive, experienced rider will calmly repeat the cue and reward the horse with a pat or "good!" when he responds with the correct answer. If the horse has been trained correctly it is very likely that it will be able to figure out what the new rider is asking.

Just as in humans, some horses learn faster than others, some have shorter attention spans, conformation issues that make the lesson harder or easier for them, differing sensitivities to stimulus, and different physical strength or weakness in different areas of their body. So it is very important that the rider/trainer consider these differences and apply their knowledge to each horse individually. Too often a trainer falls into a "system" that they apply to every horse without recognizing the individual differences in each horse and then declared that a horse is "difficult", "inferior", or "untrainable". A young horse might also be labeled "superior", "talented", or a "star" because they have the mental and emotional make up to excel early in their lessons, but no consideration is made to whether or not they have the conformational or physical development to sustain the level of training and they break down. In many horse sports these talented youngsters appear to be expendable - there are always more coming along - so the long term quality of life is not considered.

Many sports, both human and equine, are striving for the perfect athlete. Perfection is rarely possible, but the ability to recognize individual differences and develop a training program that will address them without force or unrealistic expectations should be the goal of every trainer. I have seen horses and humans who were able to perform at levels that conformationally they appeared not to have the ability for, but someone had brought them along with patience and proper conditioning of the mind, body and spirit, and they easily and happily won the gold!

Gelding Your Colt

I already wrote about whether or not you should geld your colt on
Should You Geld Your Colt? If you decide to take my advice and do it you might want to know a little bit about when and what to expect. If you want to know how it is done - talk to your vet.

Here are some things to consider:
- Gelding a colt early will usually add another inch of growth as testosterone seems to inhibit growth.
- The longer you wait to geld your colt the more masculine he will be - testosterone builds those thick necks, big jowls, and masculine muscles.
- The longer a colt remains intact the more stallion like behavior he will retain after he is gelded.
- The soonest you can geld your colt is after he is weaned and preferably after he has had his shots - which would usually be around 5 months.
- Colts are usually gelded standing - gravity helps insure that everything that needs to be cut is down and easily accessible.
- Older stallions require a surgical setting and are more likely to have complications.
- It will take several weeks for the hormone levels to go down so don't expect any major behavior changes right away.
- Most of the time stitches are not required, in fact most vets prefer not to put in any stitches so that the area can drain and there is less chance for infection.

When you plan on having the colt gelded you will need to bed a stall with straw as shavings or other bedding can get in the incision area. He will require cold hosing on the area for a few days and should be kept quiet so as not to pull anything. They usually don't act like they are even aware that anything has changed and do not seem to have any discomfort.

Your vet will give you instructions on after surgery care - most of the time it is minor and the gelding continues on like nothing happened. If he was less than a year old any studdly behavior that he was exhibiting will soon fade away, if he was older the behavior won't completely disappear, but he will become more manageable. I have observed that the later they are gelded the more sensitive they seem to be about their environment, training, other horses, and just the world in general. It is not bad behavior, just not the "whatever" attitude of most geldings that were cut earlier.

The Mare-Foal Bond

One of my favorite parts of attending a mare when she foals is when the mare and foal first recognize each other. They sniff each other and frequently one or both of them nickers and the bonding begins! Maiden mares can be humorous because they frequently don't know what that thing in their stall is and they are frightened at the struggling movements and noises of the new foal. They will look away or even move away from it at first. Their curiosity soon gets the best of them (and I suspect their maternal instincts) and they will turn back to the foal and sniff - ding! - a light bulb goes on - and they nicker and sniff and nicker and sniff some more until you can see that she knows somehow that this is her baby. The struggles of the foal attempting to stand seem to strengthen the bonding process as she begins to lick and nuzzle her baby. A more experienceD mare knows her baby almost as soon as it is born. Some mares are more attentive to their foals than others and some quickly become very protective.

Once the foal is standing it will begin to search for the food. They don't see very well for the first few days, so they try to suck anything that they can get into their mouth. Experienced mares typically guide the foal back to her udder by gently nudging them with her nose, but the first time mom sometimes moves away from the foal's attempts to nurse because she doesn't know what it is doing back there. Putting her against a wall and holding her still until the foal finds the udder and starts nursing usually works, although some will kick out at first at this intrusion.

Mares are usually the most protective in the first few weeks after the foal is born and then become less so as the foal becomes more independent. You will see two mares grooming each other out in the field with their foals on the outside of each one. They will not allow the other mare or foal to come near their foal, but they are great friends otherwise. As the weeks go by the foals start peeking around at each other and sometimes the braver of the two will tentatively try to sniff the other, but the mares quickly separate them. Some of the more curious foals can get in trouble with a protective mare, but their mom will stop at nothing to run interference. Usually there is no damage done and the foal gets a lesson in staying out of the space of other horses. Over time the mares start letting the foals interact and soon they are romping and playing.

Around the time the foals are four months old, the mares are paying less and less attention to their babies and even walking away when they try to nurse. The foals are eating grass, hay and grain and drinking water - it is time to wean. I prefer to separate them at once and not drag it out. The foals go into a stall that has been bomb proofed for a few days and the mares go out to the furthest pasture. The mares don't usually put up much of a fuss - they are ready to be free! The foals are more upset and usually yell themselves hoarse, knock water buckets off the wall, spread their hay all over the stall, and attempt to run you down when you open the stall door. This, also, is over soon. When they are settled enough - usually 2 -3 days - it is safe to go in the stall, halter, and lead them to a safe paddock with other weanlings.

If in the future, if the young horse is put back in the same pasture with it's dam, there is usually no problems providing enough time has passed (at least a month or more). I don't usually do this as I prefer to keep the broodmares separated from the rest of the herd and if possible to keep horses close to the same age and the same sex together. Nature seems to have installed a safety valve against inbreeding in horses. Not only would a young colt be run off by the older stallion, but I have noticed that the mares are frequently very unfriendly to their own colts or geldings, but not with their own fillies.

The mare-foal bond is a precious thing to witness, it is also a powerful force of nature to be respected. A sweet, gentle mare can quickly turn into a biting, kicking monster. The foal might be able to stand and run within two hours of birth, but it is the mare that will have to be reckoned with if her foal is in danger - or even perceived to be by it's dam. Don't mess with MOTHER EQUIUS!