A Weanling's Journey

This is a chronicle of an eight month old quarter horse filly as she undergoes the most important changes of her life.  She's preparing to be someones "horse of a lifetime."  Her transformation is described as it happens.  The format of this blog puts new posts at the top, so to start at the beginning, you need to scroll to the bottom--"The Journey Begins."

It's All "Good"

When one of my horses is learning a task--even something as simple as tipping their nose in response to halter pressure I reward the smallest "try" at first and then ask for a little more each time.  And each time I reward with release of pressure I say the same word.  For me, the word is "good".  The word becomes associated with the reward and this can be very helpful.  Then when the horse is looking for the right answer, the word "good" lets them know they're on the right track.  Sort of like the childhood game of "you're getting hot" that meant "you're close."   If you're consistent with this, the horse will know when they're doing what you want even if you can't reward them another way--such as when they're at liberty.   I haven't really studied "clicker training", but I think the concept is the same.  A certain sound or word means "that's what I want!"   This works especially well with horses on the ground, but it works under saddle too.  The key is to assoicate the word with the release at first and later it can almost substitute for a reward or release in situations where you're asking for a better response, letting them know they're on the right track before actually rewarding or releasing.

Trailer Loading

Now, with the gate issue not so big and the bridge conquered, loading in the trailer is anti climactic!  The bridge is about 8 inches off the ground made of rough cut 2 by 8 lumber.  It's eight feet long and four feet wide and it is HEAVY!  This is a great transition to the bigger step up into my trailer which is a two horse slant load.   
After Abbey was comfortable stepping on and off the bridge, we moved on to the trailer.  I have it hooked up to the truck of course to be safe before putting even a small horse inside.  I gave Abbey plenty of time to sniff the inside, and look around.  My yearling was already in the trailer the first time and I did get in first, which I'll only do until she's loaded once or twice, then I'll want to send her in by herself as it's MUCH safer for the handler.   Now, with the yearling out and not much coaching, Abbey put her front foot in and thumped the floor a few times.  I don't care how much of this she needs to do, as long as she's standing right at the back of the trailer and looking inside, not trying to get away to one side or back away.  I'm also ok with her taking her feet back out, as that's going to help when I teach her to back out of the trailer.  When she puts both front feet in and stops, that's a good time to let her decide whether she wants to come on in or to back out.  I've found the young horses are more comfortable if they know they can get out without any pulling.  And really, if one is going to pull back and get out, we can't hold them anyway.  So I give myself plenty of time and let her back out if she needs to as long as she stays calm and stays at the trailer.  Pretty soon, she's trying to lift a hind leg in too, since it will be more comfortable.  It takes a couple of tries to figure out how high to lift that hind leg, but when she does I tell her how good she is and give her lots of rubbing.  I still don't try to keep her in the trailer if she gets worried.  When she's calm, I ask her to back out.  Of course, she's already learned to back on level ground with pressure on the halter.  Because she was able to load and unload one leg at a time, backing out isn't difficult. 
The next time Abbey loads in the trailer, she finds some hay.  It's not a bribe as she didn't know it was there.  It just makes the trailer a positive place to be.  I'll have hay in the trailer each time she loads at first, then it will be there randomly.  After she loads a few more times and goes calmly out both front feet first and backing out, she's ready to self  load.  I tie the devider securely back, open the doors, take her lead rope off and let her loose.  The area is enclosed and I've made sure there isn't anything she can get in trouble with.  After exploring for a few minutes, she climbs back in the trailer and finds more hay.
The next step will be to close the doors and build up the time she's inside, always unloading when she's quiet. 
I won't tie her in there.  It could creat a sense of panic to feel so trapped.  There aren't many times with horses when you can use the words "never" and "always", but NEVER tie a horse in a trailer until the door or devider or butt chain is first secured.  Then tie from the outside.  And ALWAYS untie the horse before the door, devider or butt chain is undone.  You may get away with doing the wrong thing lots of times, but it is a very dangerous and risky mistake when things go wrong!  Tying in the trailer is a matter of personal preference and depends on the situation--other horses, devider type, etc.  Personally,  I don't tie mine in most circumstances.  They are all schooled to wait in the trailer until I take them out.  Schooling in this area is time well spent. 
I'm pretty sure I can put trailer loading on Abbey's resume now!

Back to Work

Well, the weather outside is frightful, but I want to start  Abbey trailer loading , so I've just had to cowgirl up and git 'er done.  I believe trailer loading is one of the most dangerous things we do with these enormous, claustrophobic animals.  I want to have it be as safe for me and the horse as I can possibly make it.  Even if I get a weanling that already has followed mom into a trailer (the best and easiest way to start), I spend a LOT of time schooling loading, standing calmly until asked to unload and then unloading slowly.
I don't want to lead the foal or any horse into the trailer--I want to "send" them in.  So first I have to teach the "send."  With the horse haltered and on a lead rope, I face the horse at the shoulder, extend the hand closer to the nose, and "cluck".  Of course nothing happens, so then I ad some driving pressure by twirling the end of the lead rope.  If that results in some forward movement, I stop twirling and praise.  If not, I'll let the tail of the lead rope hit the butt.  That usually gets a jump, but the release is instant when I stop twirling.  I do this from both sides until the horse reliably moves forward when I point and cluck.  Next, I send the horse between me and an obstacle, like a corral panel.  Then through gates, between barrels, etc., and try to make the space narrower as the horse gets confident. 
The great advantage of starting these youngsters as I do is that they've never had a bad experience, so when I ask them to do something they are unsure of, they trust it will not hurt or scare them.  That trust will remain only as long as they don't get hurt or scared by a bad situation I put them in.  And it will transfer to any one who handles them in a confident and fair manner respecting their inborn "horseness".
Since Abbey has learned to trust me,  she's willing to try things that are frightening to her.  My fences and gates have an electric wire attached, so the horses are all respectful of them.  Abbey is fearful of going through the gates even when they're open as a result of having been shocked.  So that's the next obstacle to overcome.  I just ask her to give me small steps at a time, rewarding her for any forward movement with release of lead pressure and letting her take her time.  I don't have to keep tugging on her, just keep her facing where I want her to go.  She knows what she's supposed to do, she's just afraid, but I like that she doesn't fight or get worked up.  She's just unsure and afraid to go through that space.  With enough time she builds up her courage and goes through the gate and gets lots of praise.  After walking around outside a while, we go back through the gate and it's only slightly less scary, so we have to do it several more times. 
Tomorrow, she'll be ready to go outside to my training bridge to learn to step up and down on it in preparation for loading in the trailer--a step in.  I'll want to be able to send her onto the bridge, stop her there and then either send her off the other end or back her off.  She'll need to learn both. 

Merry Christmas

Here's a link to a video that will probably make you laugh out loud: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4_EdJ-XkUA&feature=related 
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Udder Crud

My yearling has a small umbilical hernia that I want to have checked by the vet in January.  She has been desensitized to me feeling of it in the past, but I thought I'd review in light of the upcoming appointment.  It's been a while since I had done that and in the interim, she changed her mind about having it done!  So I had to start at square one rubbing where she was comfortable and working slowly toward the areas where she wasn't.  The hernia area wasn't the main issue, she was just touchy about the whole area of the belly near the flank.  And that's understandable.  Horses are hardwired to be protective of that area.  It's the strike zone for a predator.  Anyway, I worked with her a bit and to be safe I had her haltered.  She knows to give her head to pressure, so I held the rope by her withers keeping her nose around.  She's soft on this already otherwise I'd have to hold it there and move with her until she stopped moving and softened into my hands calmly.  So standing close to her with her head around keeps me relatively safe.  If you're not comfortable with the horse and the positioning, best not to try this because the handler is vulnerable to being kicked.  My yearling isn't the type to fight or kick, but she was very touchy this time with the process.  Strange because it hadn't been an issue before. 
Mares develop "udder crud" that needs to be periodically cleaned out.  It's a buildup of sweat, dirt, etc. between their teats and they're usually very touchy about this at first.  When I had her standing quietly for the rubbing in the area, I cleaned out some of this crud and of course that felt good once she relaxed.  Then the light bulb went on and she remembered this was not only not a big deal, but had the potential to feel good!  It was a good thing to reinforce and I'll continue to work with her on it so she'll be a model patient for the vet. 
Since I was in the "zone" I decided to start desensitizing Abbey to this touchy area.  Horses!  They just always keep you guessing.  Abbey, who a few weeks ago was terrified of being touched anywhere, didn't even twitch.  In fact she had her upper lip out telling me how good that all felt.  Since she was being so good, I worked with putting her front legs between my knees and her hinds on my bent knees.  She was just in a willing frame of mind as everything went perfectly with her totally relaxed.  Light bulbs all on for her today!

More Than One Kind of Try

Today Abbey decided to try not being cooperative with the hoof handling.  She had been eating her hay and I wanted to have a quick session and go in the house, so I disrupted her meal.  She wanted to go back to it and walked off.  I gave her another chance, same result, so it was time for me to back up and put a halter on her.  I did some simple yielding--following the feel of the rope away from me and in a circle back to me--both sides.  Then back to hoof handling.  She was compliant and I added some extra movement, holding her feet a bit longer, and putting the hind feet on my knees as if I were going to rasp.  So we ended up making quite a bit of progress. 
I find this scenario often with the weanlings.  As they learn new things they get pretty good at them and then will try to resist a bit.  Once you work through that resistance (and it's usually pretty half hearted) they seem to really get solid on whatever the lesson is.  I've found this more often with the youngsters that are "bold" and "confident" types.  I think they just like to know exactly what they are expected to do.  And after the "refresher", they are usually better at the lesson than before the attempt to resist.  Maybe it's just the going back and refreshing the components of the lesson, but it's a good way for a horse to keep us humble and that's gotta be one reason God put them on this earth!

No Fear Sacking Out

Abbey now stands quietly while I pick up all her feet.  Even though she's not haltered. she's learned not to move off.  I've started desensitizing her to a flapping towel, but not in the traditional "sacking out" sense.  First I rub her all over with the towel folded to just slightly larger than my hand.  Then I unfold it and repeat until finally the towel is flapping on her and on her legs as I rub.  By starting with it small and non-threatening, she never gets worried and and I can actually flap it on her a bit.  I'll be repeating this process with lots of different things always starting where she's not worried and building on that. 
If it doesn't stop raining here, Abbey will be learning to swim!

Some General Thoughts About Training Weanlings and Yearlings

While I'm certainly no expert, some things have worked well for me and I think are logical.  I have to use a method that doesn't require strength or any special skills.  I'm a little old lady after all!  The method used needs to make sense to a horse.  That sounds simple, but many people think a horse has cognitive abilities like ours.  Nope.  Things that confuse the horse or cause pain, like shock collars, actually make learning harder by confusing the horse.  If the animal has to deal with pain or fear, they aren't in a learning frame of mind. A horse has no way of connecting misbehavior to a correction that doesn't happen at the exact instance of the behavior.  Withholding water for example has no relevance to the undesired behavior.  A fearful horse isn't listening because he's doing what he thinks he needs to do to survive. 
I like to picture in my mind the behavior I'm hoping for as well as the cues I'm going to use.  Then I break the whole into as many small parts as I can.  I think this helps me be clear and consistent when I'm teaching something and that helps the horse.  The value of timing can't be overstated!  The better your timing the quicker your horse will learn.  Good timing depends on the trainer's knowing what to look for, so it really begins with studying horses behavior in general.  Use consistent cues and reward consistently (much of the time by release).  Along with good timing comes the admonishment to "reward the try."  At first with teaching a new behavior, you may have to reward something as small as a cocked ear.  Then you can build on that by asking for incrementally bigger tries.  The reward has to be immediate.
Timing is just as important if you use negative reinforcement.  The negative has to stop the moment the horse obeys.  Keeping up the pressure after the horse has complied will only confuse the horse.
Depending on the horse, an activity may have to broken down into absurdly small components.  For example, a horse that is "needle shy"--The first component may have to be as small as seeing  the needle several feet away with the reward being removing the sight of the needle when the horse relaxes.  After the horse has learned all the small components, they can be put together.  The reward comes later and later in the series until all the steps can be completed.
Building trust may be time consuming at first, but it pays off with every consecutive thing you want to teach or achieve because you have a horse that works with you instead of against you.  It should never be a test of wills.    Submission and relaxation are essential for training and I don't see why these concepts wouldn't apply under saddle as well. 

Abbey In My Pocket

I had to dig more trenches in the dry lot today to drain some of the melting snow/ice.  Abbey has crossed creeks since she was born, so a tiny "ditch" wasn't very worrisome--she mostly collapsed them as I dug them.  But since she was hanging around, I took the opportunity to check my progress.  When my weanlings are asking for attention, I like to test how well they've learned their lessons by doing things at liberty.  Since they're free to  walk off , I can tell if I've progressed to fast and need to back up in the process and make smaller steps.  I rubbed Abbey's belly and legs and asked her to lift each foot a few inches off the ground.  I did each one a couple of times and she was fine with it.  I have to tell myself not to push my luck since she's not haltered, so I'll build on that when I have her haltered.  I don't want her to leave until I turn away from her.  I wormed her yesterday, so today I used the syringe to give her some Karo syrup and show her that's still ok. 
Finally today I saw her and the yearling filly playing.  They have very different personalities, but they're both young so I was hoping they would entertain each other.  I do think though that Abbey has responded so quickly to her lessons because she was sort of  alone in the herd situation and her interaction with me at least alleviated the boredom factor.  As I've said, I don't like to have only one weanling, but that may be more for my emotional comfort!  It just seems they should have a "playmate," so I'm happy to see the interaction with the yearling. 

Building a Foundation

Abbey got the day off yesterday from a lesson while I had my grand daughter (four years old).  It was the first time I haven't worked with her but of course was around cleaning and feeding.  Today she got a quick review of everything and then on to some new things.
I'm asking her to drop her head to pressure on her poll as I take the halter on and off.  I started taking the lead rope around her butt, above her hocks and while I'm on the opposite side, asking her to follow the feel of the rope away from me and in a circle and back to me.  Sometimes this confuses a weanling because they're used to following to the handler, but the pressure is from the opposite side.  Abbey the A student gets it right away!
Since she's comfortable with me rubbing her legs, I asked her to unweight each one and at least rest it on the toe tip or pick it up an inch or two.  I don't want to hold it, I want to release my hand when she softens and gives.  I need to do this before she gets worried and tries to take it away  I also want to put her foot down, not just let go and allow her to put it down.  That way, she won't be so apt to try to take her foot away.  She gave each foot easily and I'll build on that until I can lift them, move them around, take them forward as well as up and then hold them between my legs in the "farrier position."  I know many people expect the farrier to teach this the first time the weanling is trimmed, but that's not his job.  I have too much respect for my farrier and his time to expect him to do that unless we agree in advance and he charges me for the training.  And if your farrier has to do it, he won't have the luxury to take the time to do it as quietly and incrementally.  It's just too time sonsuming.  Sometimes that means the experience isn't all positive for the weanling.   If I have that all done, he can concentrate on his trim and she'll be totally fine and relaxed about it.  I know of horses with MONTHS of under saddle training that have to be sedated to trim or shoe  because no one took the time to teach them having their feet handled was ok. 
Now that Abbey is so much more relaxed about me, I need to be very conscious that she still respects me.  I can't allow nibbling, pushing or "dirty looks."  Since she often approaches me now, I'll have to start establishing how close I allow her to come.  If she comes too close, I'll back her up a step or two before I rub her.  I'll start to ask her to turn away from me when I'm leading her by stepping toward her shoulder so she understands to move out of my space, just as a dominant horse would expect her to move out of their way.  It's easy to encourage the comfort and confidence and not keep in mind the respect. Horses really read body language well, so we need to be conscious of what we're "saying" with ours.  They pick up on the most subtle of clues. 

Yikes!

Three friends came to see Abbey today, and she was clearly surprised I'm not the only human in existence!  She was ready to flee!  She did show some pretty impressive cow horse moves!  After her initial fear, she remembered to turn and face and then she really would have liked to approach and see the new beings, but it was too cold for all of them to stand while she got her courage.  When it's warmer, I'll recruit people to come see her.  She was at liberty today, so she had the opportunity to leave and did but she then came back.  In another week, she'll be more curious than scared.
I put a halter on her  later in the day, which was a non-issue after rubbing the rope all over her face, eyes, ears, etc.  The feel is different than the rope--more poll pressure and new pressure on the nose, so she had to figure that out, but it only took a minute.  She's giving her front feet nicely to rope pressure and I'll work on the rears as well.    Every day she is getting more relaxed about the over all handling and for now that's what I'll consider progress.  She's well on her way to knowing the minimum stuff she needs to know as a  weanling.  She's learned small skills, but for her it's been a huge change and very gratifying for me!

Flag is up!

Abbey tried her best to get a rodeo started with the other horses this afternoon after the rain stopped.  The best she could do was a couple of threats from the pony and a half hearted buck or two from the yearling.  Abbey had her tail in the air as she raced around the dry lot looking for a playmate.  I'm sorry I don't have another weanling for her.  On the other hand, she sure gets a lot of attention from me!
She happily took the wormer syringe today and enjoyed the tiny tastes of syrup.  After reviewing all her previous lessons, I started putting a cotton rope around her front legs and rubbing it a bit.  With every weanling, this is one of the first things I do. If they ever get tangled up  in a rope or fence, hopefully this lesson will keep them from fighting and making things worse.   When I put pressure on the ends of the rope, the idea is they give to the pressure and don't resist.  This has saved a couple of my horses later in their lives when they got in tangles with fences.  It also paves the way for hobble breaking.  If a horse learns not to panic when their leg or feet are "trapped" it's also easier to get ready for farrier work.  If I can do this before I buy a weanling, it gives me a good idea what kind of mind  they have if react with panic and fight or pull back.  What I like is if they give easily to the pressure.  I was really happy with Abbey's reaction which was to quietly give her foot.  I want to be able to lead her with a foot rope after a couple more lessons of this.  It's all about building her confidence and willingness to find the right answer. 
It was a short session for Abbey today as I spend most of the afternoon digging trenches to drain the runoff!   I can't stand seeing the horses stand in mud!  They don't mind I guess, but I do.

Sunshine, at Last

The sun came out for a few hours today and Abbey took full advantage.  She stretched out on top of the sand pile I had cleared of snow yesterday and napped so long I got worried!  Of course she was fine, but I always  jump right to worst case scenario! 
Since the first two days, Abbey hasn't been confined to her pen except at night and four or five times during the day to eat.  Initially, I let her in the dry lot with one other horse at a time until they all had a chance to get over their silliness.  Now she's fully integrated into the herd, although she doesn't have a full time buddy yet.  Really would like to find another nice weanling, but it's getting late in the year.
The dry lot is about a third of an acre, so if she didn't want to be caught, it would be hard.  That's where the first exercise of asking her to always face me when I approach comes in handy.  At first I would have to slap my leg and "ask" her to look at me, but now she knows to face me and has learned to  hook on when I'm in the dry lot.  So she really doesn't have to be caught--she catches me by approaching me.  I either wait for her to come up, or I walk away so she doesn't assume she'll be played with every time I'm in the dry lot.  Just in the last three days, she's started to come up showing me she wants attention so when she comes to me, she gets a rub.  I try to make sure that I walk away before she does.
I reviewed previous lessons with her this afternoon adding a curry comb.  It seems strange to have to introduce a rubber curry comb doesn't it?  But for Abbey, everything is a first.  She relaxed about it enough to try to do some "mutual grooming" which I was glad to see but can't allow.  The "HEY" startled her enough that she jumped away, but she responded to the feel of the rope and didn't escape, and that's important.  Worked the wormer tip into her mouth and around her lips and tongue  with a tiny taste of syrup several times until she actually was willing to take it on her own.  I won't spring the nasty wormer on her for a few more days.
With young horses up until about 18 months, I always watch closely for signs of contractual issues in their fetlocks and pasterns.  If I see it, I change the diet to all grass hay and nothing else and have actually had it reverse in 24 hours, but I've always caught it very quickly.  So far Abbey is fine, so I have her on  alfalfa hay as well as grass hay.  She gets a pelleted vitamin and mineral supplement made for foals (which she's learning to like) and free choice loose minerals along with a salt block.  She loves that salt block!  She also relishes the free choice minerals and I expect that will slow down once she's satisfied whatever craving she has.  I don't want to push for fast growth and instead insure she has the right stuff for healthy bones, joints and soft tissue.  No worries about her getting enough to eat--she's kinda porky!

Abbey's an "A" Student

Abbey now follows the feel of the neck rope with the slightest pressure.  I can't even call it a pull.  She's doing it very quietly.  With the rope on her, she seems much more inclined to have me on her off side, so that has become a non-issue.  She's showing signs of enjoying having her face rubbed.  When I'm doing that, I rub over her muzzle too, on the corners of her mouth.  Then I did that with a wormer syringe in my hands.  She didn't much like the feel of that plastic, but after some approach/retreat rubbing, she relaxed about it.  I'll gradually put the tip in the corner of her mouth in preparation for worming.  Of course, I could "just do it!", but then I would have made an unpleasant memory for her.  And no matter how tiny the memory, a horse doesn't forget.  I want to build nothing but pleasant memories for her.  She's a clean slate and I want her to go to her new owner, whoever that may be, with nothing but good habits and memories.  I want Abbey to be programmed to look for the correct response first, before resorting to resistance of any kind.  She's learned that there's an answer to each puzzle she's encountered so far.  She hasn't had the opportunity or a reason to get scared or resistant.
There will always be times when we need to back up in our training, or take smaller steps or add more steps, but for now, Abbey is an "A" student!

Ahh, that feels good....

This morning while I was feeding and cleaning, Abbey was hanging around since she had hay in front of her all night and wasn't hungry.  She's had a little bit of discharge from her eyes occasionally.  Nothing worriesome, but I've been just "itching" to rub them.  Even for a flexible foal, the corner of their eye is a pretty tough spot to scratch.  I've noticed most horses appreciate a rub at that spot.  Since Abbey is much more comfortable with my hands on her, I was finally able to do that this morning and she closed her eyes and pushed her head into my hands for a face hug.  Big step for Abbey.  The good thing about a weanling like this is that I get so much gratification from such a small thing.  Later today (if the snow stops) I'll work on the wormer syringe and build on what she's already learned.

Finally learning to exhale......

After a couple of days with the rope around her neck while I rub on Abbey, she's beginning to close her eyes, work her mouth and give a sigh or two.  I've started rubbing her mouth and muzzle a little in preparation for worming.  She needs to get started on a worming regimen as soon as possible.  Babies are "worm magnets" in the words of my vet.  Tomorrow, I'll use an empty wormer syringe and rub her muzzle with that and maybe get her to mouth it.  After that, I'll put a little Karo syrup in one and put a little dab in her mouth.  If she's like my previous weanlings, she'll never even need a halter on to be wormed after she starts to like that syrup.  My pony insists on being first when I come into the dry lot with a pocket full of wormers!
I'll  begin to give a lot of attention to rubbing her legs working down to her feet.  She isn't in need of a trim now, thanks to lots of movement and plenty of room with her mom,. but the earlier I start, the easier it will be--another reason I like to have the weanlings prior to six months.  Even though she's almost eight months, her feet won't need much attention other than learning to stand for having her foot held, moved, rasped and held between my knees.  The feet don't grow very much until the daylight hours get longer. 
So for now, I'll build on the leading.  She's getting much better and is following the feel of the rope around her neck pretty much directly straight ahead.  I'll soon start rubbing a rope halter all over her, over her nose, ears, eyes, etc.  I'm in no hurry to get one on her, because she's doing so well with the neck rope, but it's always safest to be able to halter a baby in case they get sick or hurt and need to be doctored.  I also like to start trailer loading early for that reason, but we have almost a foot of snow on the ground and ice under that.  Just not ideal conditions so I'll wait for better weather.
If anyone is curious as to Abbey's lineage, you can see her pedigree at    http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/shining+abbey+roan  (Anyone else old enough  to recognize that reference?)

Hands On

I need to be able to rub and scratch Abbey in order to start halter training.  Since she's not at all used to even seeing people, she's not comfortable with me being that close.  I'll use a "stick"--the type popularized by Pat Parelli and Clinton Anderson.  At first, I'll just take it with me into her pen and rhythmically wave it slightly up and down and back and forth.  When she's not scared of that, I'll do it closer to her, always stopping when she stands still and later when she stands still and looks relaxed.  As I get closer I'll use the end with the leather loop to reach out and scratch her withers--just for a second or two and try to stop before she moves away.  Then, it's rinse, repeat until I can rub her lots of places without her getting worried.
Next she has to be desensitized to a rope, so I'll repeat the same procedure with it.  When she's comfortable with the movement of the rope being gently waved I'll put it around the stick and touch her with it.  Abbey at this point is still not wanting me to be closer than arms length, so the stick helps me get around that.  I'll lay the end of the rope across her withers and hold the other the other end so if she walks away, I can follow and she can see and feel the dangling rope.  Again, most of this would go very quickly or even be unnecessary with a foal more accustomed to people.
Now I start moving my hand up the stick so that it's closer to her body as I rub with the end of it.  When she's comfortable with that, I'll work my way close enough to rub her with my hand.  If it were summer she would enjoy being scratched, but it's winter and she's wet, so that's not as enjoyable.  What I have to do now, is try to stop rubbing before she gets worried and moves away.  If she does, I need to move her around until she faces me and start again.  When she's comfortable with me rubbing a few areas--likely her whithers and butt--I'll rub a bit with the rope and try to drop one end over her neck to the other side.  Of course everything needs to be done on each side.  At first, Abbey is very uncomfortable with me being on her off side, so that will need more work.
Eventually, I can work the ends of the rope so that it dangles down on both sides of her neck.  When I hold the ends and move them a bit and she doesn't get scared, it's time to see if she'll give a bit to pressure.  I'll take both ends in my hands and step away from her to the side.  Since she knows by now she's supposed to face me, she'll likely turn her head toward me.  When she does, I'll take a step back and apply just the slightest bit of pressure on the rope.  Too much pressure and she will panic and fight.  Abbey weighs over 500 pounds, so we know who wins a tug of war!  But Abbey gives a slight inclination to move her neck away from the rope pressure, so I immediately release and tell her how smart she is. She gets a few seconds to think about that and I try again with a feather light pressure.  I don't want to pull her, I want her to follow the feel of the rope.  If I'm very good about giving her the reward (release of pressure) at the very first moment she "gives" she will stay light and soft.
So soon, Abbey is following the feel of the rope and even moving tiny steps to the side.  It will be after several lessons on this before I ask her to move straight ahead.  I don't start with a halter because I find weanlings fight the constriction of their head more than the neck rope.  I don't ever want to have her fight.  I want her to learn from the very beginning that co-operation earns her a reward and is never threatening or scary.  I want her to learn to look for that release as her first reaction.  If "fight" becomes part of her learning, I've failed her and set her up for more fights. 
After a few lessons of this, I can get close enough to tie a bowline in the neck rope and continue with the giving to pressure to the side, but I'll start making the angle larger, so the pull comes more from the side and front, not directly to the side.  At about this time, I'm starting to rub the tail of the rope on her face, around her nose, ears, over her eyes, etc.  This will prepare her for putting on a halter when we get to that point.  Now she has the neck rope on and has learned to follow the feel of it as I move her more and more steps.  I can now rub and stroke her while she stands relaxed and I'll start moving my hand around more--down her legs, etc.  If an area seems to worry her, I'll just stroke over it and then away and then back and away again.  Sort of approach and retreat until she stops worrying.  If she does move away when I'm doing this, I'll ask her gently with the rope to stop.  After a minute, I'll go back to where I was, but try to reward her for standing still by quitting what I'm doing before she gets worried and moves off.  When she will listen to the pressure of the rope and stop moving away,  we can make progress  really fast.

Facing Your Fears

Abbey's progress can't start until she's no longer terrified.  With a foal that's seen people on a fairly regular basis, their curiosity usually overcomes the fear.  But Abbey hasn't been exposed to people or confinement.  Her reaction is to try to escape.  She quickly learns she can't get over the top of the pen or under it, so turning and running will be her default unless she's re-programmed.  Of course if she were roped or run to exhaustion in a round pen, this would be over quickly.  But she would be mentally and physically stressed and she would carry that initial fear with her all her life and possibly revert to it in high pressure situations.  And I'm blessed with the luxury of time.
Many times a day for the first three or four days, I'll enter her pen with the goal of her facing me instead of bolting away.  Eventually, this will be a skill that will help her anytime something scares her.  At first I'll move her quietly around the pen by just stepping toward her shoulder.  But I'll keep turning her back and forth and at some point she will tilt her head, or cock an ear toward me and I will instantly take a step back.  I'll build on this until she turns her head to me.  I'll slap my leg or make a noise to cause her to look.  When she does, I'll  step back.  When she moves away, I'll move her around, quietly and not in one direction until she looks at me.  Eventually, she will step toward me when I step back, and then I will step back a few steps.  As she gets more willing to face me and step toward me, I'll actually step back and turn away.  I'll give her a minute to think about this before starting again.  The sessions will be short, or as long as they need to be to get her calm, looking at me, and taking a step toward me.  When she does really well, I'll turn and leave the pen.  Abbey has generations of good breeding to be a working partner and I've "met" both her sire and dam, so I know she has good genetics.  She's a quick learner and she doesn't want to be scared of me.  In a day or two of this, I'll be able to get close enough to put my hand on her forehead--very briefly and I'll remove it before she moves off.  I may have to start with just getting her to stand still while I raise and lower my hand.  The only time I will make a quick move is if she pins her ears or offers to kick.  Abbey didn't do any of this, but if she did I'd raise my hand, say "HEY" and sort of shoo her off continuing to make her move and turn until she faced me.  For the first few days, the goal will be for her to hook onto me when I'm in the pen with her.  I want her to be facing me or at least looking at me as I clean her pen, etc.  And even when something startles her, I want her to quickly turn back to me.
All the while, I'm going to be super careful not to stress her.  I'll watch to make sure she's drinking, eating, pooping and peeing normally.  I agree with the new thinking about low stress handling of livestock.  It just makes so much sense they will be healthier.  Another big plus is that they  learn better if they aren't scared, stressed or out of breath from running around a round pen.  Fear may be a great motivator, but it's not the motivator I choose to use.

The Journey Begins......

So many people have asked my how I train weanling foals  that I've decided to blog about this year's project filly. She's a good one for that purpose because she has been raised like a wild horse. She has always been on huge pastures with a herd of mares and foals. She's had no handling, so the whole process will be included.
This filly is a bay roan quarter horse, almost 8 months old. I shop diligently for my weanling projects. I look for good breeding, conformation and an exceptional mind. I've found several ways to get a feel for the mind of a weanling, even if I can't get my hands on the horse. I don't breed, for several reasons and that's another blog, but the advantage is I can get exactly what I want--no risk! To get this filly to my place, she followed her mother into a trailer and when they arrived, she followed her out and into a 12 by 36 pen, with a 12 by 12 three sided shed on the end. And then her whole life changed. After twenty minutes or so, Mom was loaded back in the trailer and gone. The filly, Abbey, had never been in a pen, never eaten hay, only seen people at a distance, and had always had Mom or a sister and a band of mares and foals. I put my yearling filly in a pen next to her, so she wouldn't feel quite so abandoned and to help ease the stress she was sure to experience. I would like to have had her a couple of months earlier, as things would have been a bit easier with better weather (record cold and snow) and a smaller youngster.  And I'd like to have had another weanling because they seem to comfort each other, but I couldn't find another that met all  my criteria.
I won't use a round pen with her, as  I really don't like running youngsters in small circles and, in my experience, they can get running and scare themselves into more running with no corners to slow them down. But the use of a pen with corners requires other considerations and the most important is the "feel" and sensitivity of the trainer. If the foal is feeling too scared or pressured, they will try to go over the pen. Knowing the signs and recognizing when the foal is being pushed too hard are key.
Abbey gets the first few hours to just get used to the feel or the panels, the shed, the hay and her new herd. My gelding is an excellent baby sitter and stands outside her pen trying to convince her she won't die. She takes more comfort from him than the yearling and for the next several days, one of the two will be penned next to her all the time. The pony is too defensive to be comforting!   Normally, my current "herd" of one gelding, a yearling filly and a pony mare are only separated at feeding time. They are either together in a dry lot or in the pasture.  Every day will bring new changes and challenges for Abbey.  She has much to learn, and she will have much to teach me!