Horse Learning From Horses

by Allen Pogue

Only those who attempt the absurd will ever achieve the impossible”. Albert Einstein By

© 2005 Allen Pogue all rights reserved

One of the most important training strategies that we use with our young stock is to give them the advantage of observing up close the learned behaviors of the older horses. Each successive foal crop brings new discoveries to rapid and reliable learning with our Enhanced Foal Training methods.

In preparation for the arrival of our newest spring foal, I placed Sombra, an 18-month-old filly, in the mare pen along with Inquieta, the mom to be. This mare is a great producer and has been with us only two years as a brood mare. She is pleasant to handle but for reasons unknown to us has remained totally untrained her whole life and is a very nervous individual. She is of rare and fine Andalusian, Cartujano breeding so we expected a very nice foal but wanted to prevent it from automatically learning mother’s skittish behavior. Sombra on the other hand was raised from day #1 using Enhanced Foal Training and so we desired her to be a positive influence on the new foal’s behavior.

We wanted the brood mare to become comfortable with Sombra in close proximity so the new foal would have an additional model of behavior and I would have a training assistant. This strategy has worked beyond our expectations as the new filly, now a month old has bonded strongly with Sombra and follows her around in lieu of her mother who as an aged maredoes not frolic and explore. Mom keeps a watchful eye on baby and Sombra, but is content to graze as the two youngsters cavort in the playful way of young horses. This close relationship with has had no ill effects on the maternal bond between mare and foal but does give the decided advantage of having a trained stable mate for the young filly mimic.

Schooling Young Horses Together

One of the hallmarks of Imagine A Horse training is schooling several young exhibition horses together. The youngsters all are taught to perform with others in close proximity, yet with independence and attention on the handler.

With other foal crops we had to go thru an introductory process that spanned several weeks before a new foal accepted the presence of a slightly older trained young horse in close proximity while training. Not so with this year’s baby. Immediately after the foal was born we removed Sombra from the mare pen for three days to allow the young foal plenty of time to grow attached to her mother and to gain strength and agility completely on her own terms, then we reintroduced her. Of course mom acted at first with the normal protective instincts that all good horse mothers display. In the second week the unbounded energy of the new foal far out stripped the aged mare’s ability to keep up with her forays around the pen. With playfulness in common, the two younger horses began to obviously enjoy each other’s company. The old mare feeling no threat was tolerant of Sombra’s close proximity.

Now as the foal and Sombra are engaged in training sessions together in the double-sized schooling stall or in the aisle way of the barn, mom is completely at ease. At this age (4 weeks) the filly’s sessions are short and simple and include just two very important lessons. The first lesson is to pay attention and accept guidance and the second is to remain patiently anyplace she is asked to stand or to sit. We first place the foal either on a pedestal or seat her on a beanbag close to the mother’s stall gate and where she can also observe Sombra’s more advanced Trick Training lessons. Sombra demonstrates how to calmly accept direction as she marches around the training area or pushes the big ball around. She also practices her marching steps, which is a prelude to the Spanish walk and other high school movements. There is a pedestal set up right in front of the foal and she watches as Sombra steps up and salutes with alternate legs. By 18 months of age she has an entire routine of pedestal work that will transfer directly to under saddle and exhibition style performances work when she is older. She revolves her hind end around her front end, front end around the back end, climbs any number of multiple tiers and and performs at least a dozen other tricks either separately or in a Behavior Chain. The pedestal serves as her mark or place and helps her feet remain stationary and her mind to stay focused. Schooling multiple horses creates a sort of economies of scale in horse training!

As the schooling session continues, the foal and Sombra change places and Sombra remains on her pedestal to watch as the foal practices her lessons. The foal is moved around the schooling stall using two foal wands to guide her. The progression includes both fillies in unison stepping up on a low pedestal and then to sit down next to each other side-by-side. The young horses soon learn how to think independently and also to perform reliably in concert.

Visit any large training facility and you will most likely see horses in training tied where they can easily watch the training of other horses. It is a proven fact that horses learn from watching other horses. The allelomimetric approach works and we are absolutely convinced that it works with foals and produces long-term and possibly life long results. Enhanced Foal Training methods certainly seem to diverge from the traditional foal training methods used after Imprinting but how else is the revolution to continue? (The Revolution in Horsemanship by Robert M Miller D.V.M. and Rick Lamb)

At Red Horse Ranch we have been experiencing a level of willing compliance and early mental maturity in our young horses that far surpasses anything we have seen before.