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The Pros and Cons of Raising A Foal
By Deborah Davis
 For
those of you that want to immediately ride a trained horse; not expend
funds before this time; have limited time to devote to your horse; and
particularly afraid of physical, mental, and spiritual challenges, DON’T
contemplate RAISING A FOAL…
HOWEVER, If you want to enter the WORLD of the HORSE, RISE TO HIS LEVEL
and ENDEAVOR TO BECOME ONE WITH HIM, AND EXPERIENCE THE MOST AMAZING
PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS, RAISE A FOAL…
LET THE STORY OF OUR BOO BEGIN…
One would definitely say that my husband, Pat, and I are very new to the
horse world. Pat never owned a horse, and I, although previously owned a
well-trained 10 year old Appaloosa, my interaction with him consisted of
grooming and riding. Although I immensely enjoyed these times, something
was definitely MISSING….
Pat and I bought our Boo, in February 2004, from Stephanie Clatterbuck
(now Pennell),
owner of Westwood Farms, and breeder of gentle and beautiful Tennessee
Walking Horses. When we saw Boo we immediately knew that this gentle,
handsome little Tennessee Walker Colt was meant to be ours.
A month later we brought Boo to the Lake of the Woods Stables. We had to
separate him from his six-month old quarter-horse buddy, Ozzie. We felt
like we were in the Black Beauty Novel. Boo was whinnying to Ozzie, and
Ozzie ran back and forth up the fence line whinnying back. It was our very
first introduction to finding out that horses have very true emotions of
fear and separation anxiety.
BOO had to be quarantined for a week. I spent every day with him – long
hours in the paddock, touching, comforting and reassuring him that he was
safe, and would soon be in a pasture with other friends. However, on the
6th night, Boo decided to solve that problem himself. Although still
small, he was very strong. In the wee hours of the morning, he crashed the
paddock’s fence to try to join a 17 hand Irish Draft in the lower gelding
pasture. Boo just wanted a new friend and to this day, hates being in a
pasture alone.
On the 7th night, afraid Boo might attempt to break out again, we took
turns staying with him. Deep into the night, to our amazement, each of us
were able to rub, touch and love on Boo, as he curled up gently going in
and out of sleep. It was amazing…the trust had begun…BOO allowed us to lay
with him while curled up in that very vulnerable position, as he has to
this day.
On the 8th Day, Boo was introduced to each gelding, one at a time. Boo
appropriately clacked his teeth in submission, as each gelding approached
to inspect him. For the first week, Star, a particularly handsome Quarter
Horse, decided to be “GRANDPAPPY” to Boo. Star quickly maneuvered to keep
Boo safely behind him, chasing the other geldings away. The second week,
Romeo, the lead gelding, decided to take pity on Boo’s lack of kicking
ability. He kept rubbing his big head up and down Boo’s flank until Boo
finally let out a little kick. Romeo then turned, with a look of great
satisfaction, and walked away.
Boo became more confident as the months went by. He learned how to
interact, who and when to challenge, and knew when he had overstepped his
bounds, by quickly receiving a reprimand in the form of a kick or bite.
This was especially true at feeding times. Boo would start out with a
flake of hay, as each of the horses did, only to be chased away by an
amazing domino effect of movement. The lead horse would chase the next
lower horse in the hierarchy off his pile and so down the line. Boo, of
course, the lowest, would end up without a pile. However, being a clever
little horse, he would circle back around and start eating the flake
vacated by the lead horse, only to have the domino effect begin again.
Pat and I spent long hours just watching and learning the herd
interaction, how a small flick and angle of ears, lowering and turn of the
head, paw of the hoof, swift turn of the hindquarters, signaled and moved
the herd. A constant flow of energy kept the herd structure in tact to
protect its members from predators.
As part of Boo’s training, we began going into the pasture, imitating this
incredible language of constant awareness and movement, in an effort to
become the alphas in Boo’s life. We would block Boo, making our bodies
large, our eyes hard as we stared down the bullies, forcing them to move
away. Boo seemed to greatly enjoy this interaction with us and would
follow us into the pasture without a lead line carefully staying on
whatever side of us was furthest away from the bullies. If we left the
pasture too soon, he would immediately turn around and follow us back to
the gate, letting us know he wanted us to stay longer. As time went on, an
amazing thing happened. Boo started confronting the bullies as we walked
together, turning and getting in front of us. He laid back his ears,
lowered his head, moving them away. We suddenly and to our delight and
amazement had become partners! The beginnings of mutual trust! We began
trusting Boo to protect us, and Boo began trusting us to protect him! We
treasure this ritual and perform it every day.
Fascinated by this new world, we wanted to learn more in order to train
Boo safely, effectively, for him and for us. We began to expand our
knowledge by researching trainers and their techniques. We acquired a
rather extensive library of books and videos, ranging from Monty Roberts,
Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli, John Lyons, Kenny Harlow and Richard Maxwell,
to mention only a few. We bought books by Animal Communicators, to try to
learn to speak the LANGUAGE of the HORSE and RISE to HIS LEVEL. So many
owners attempt to lower the Horse to the human level. They believe that
these beautiful creatures are here to do their bidding, and that only
through methods of intimidation and punishment, can they get the horse
under control. I’m sure that they succeed, but what expense to the horse.
Their spirit, will and desire to please is lost. They comply only out of
fear. These methods will not be used with our Boo.
Sometimes Pat and I wonder what a challenge we have taken on. With very
little knowledge of horses it surely is an immense endeavor! But our love
for this beautiful FOAL has joyously made us take it on. It is a journey
that includes, not only physical challenges as our colt grows, but also
immense mental and spiritual challenges. One needs to learn to listen,
keenly observe, and intently focus, on every aspect of the horse at all
times. It means - attempting to awaken to a new spirituality – entering
quiet moments in time into a world of constant being and awareness. Boo
has magically opened up our hearts. We knew that we had become hardened by
years of interaction with negative people and events in our lives. We now
know that we have entered a very spiritual world of trust and beauty.
We want to build on this spiritual kinship with Boo, by applying gentle
teaching solutions that foster mutual trust, partnership, and ultimately
of one mind with Boo. We found the teachings of Frank Bell, an
internationally known gentle solutions clinician. His web site is:
www.horsewhisper.com.
We went to one of his clinics, and were very impressed with his techniques
and his unpretentious manner and willingness to share his knowledge. After
having been injured while training a horse, he decided to develop a 7 Step
Safety Program, which focuses on safety for you and your horse. It
includes desensitizing techniques to acquaint your horse with as many
obstacles and scary challenges as possible. His gentle yet firm techniques
develops an incredible “nurturing and trusting bond between you and your
horse” from the ground up into the saddle. Frank stresses what he calls:
“V Thinking”. A method, that by starting at the Bottom of the V, uses the
slightest pressure and perfect timing of release needed to have your horse
comply. Frank’s ultimate goal is that you and your horse become of “One
Mind”. We have been using Frank’s techniques on Boo and have been having
wonderful results.
As Boo grows older so do the physical challenges with Boo, particularly it
seemed during his 15 to 18 months of age. As Boo became more confident in
the herd, he not only challenged his peers, but also us as alpha leaders.
What one day –seemed a gentle soul – turned into a frolicking headstrong
900 lb. mass of uncontrollable energy that would come recklessly close to
crashing into both of us. What happened to our personal space? Obviously
we had not established it well enough. In addition, we had to reassess
Boo’s newest behavior. Was it plain out and out challenges? Or was it
spooking behavior caused by changes in the weather, scary objects, sudden
loud noises, quick moving critters, or ghosts that humans are not quite
privy to.
In order to get a handle on this behavior, we concentrated on a number of
new creative methods. We realized that we needed to remain calm even when
Boo is incredibly nervous. In order to calm him down, we began training
ourselves to calm down. We take deep breaths and relax our muscles, in
order to transmit this relaxation to him. We stand next to Boo and let out
great “sighs” – causing both of us to relax, and to our amazement, also
Boo. He relaxes his neck, lowers his head and “sighs” in unison with us.
We make certain that our feet are solidly on the ground, moving in a slow
rhythm with confidence and reassurance. As we lead Boo, we make him stop,
turn towards us, and lower his head, focusing only on us for at least 30
seconds to a minute.
We began reinforcing our personal space by telling him to step back and
away from us, making him stand quietly before requesting any thing else
from him. After each request, we give time for Boo to digest what we ask
of him, before going onto the next request. This so far, has made Boo
calmer and gives him the time to think about what we are asking of him.
Hopefully, creating within him a higher confidence level for more
challenges to come.
We have used Frank’s methods of “desensitizing”, by slowly exposing Boo to
as many different objects, situations, and scary sounds as possible. These
have included: Asking Boo to walk across blowing tarp; rattling chain
fences close to him; banging on tin garbage cans as he walks by; rubbing
plastic bags up and down his back, head, neck, and legs; putting a large
stuffed Easter Bunny on his back, as well as blankets, towels, and rain
coats; letting him play with an open umbrella blowing around in the round
pen; and shooting silly string across his face and muzzle.
We introduce the objects to Boo, only after we have demonstrated walking
on them or applying them to ourselves, first. This to me is very
important, since Boo, is quite amazing, and will learn through imitation.
As long as he sees us safely doing something – he follows right behind,
showing very little fear, if any. Again it develops trust and mutual
partnership. We are in it together!
Another demonstration of this is when I clean Boo’s stall. I do it while
he is in the stall, sometimes leaving hay in there, giving him a sense of
comfort. I actually ask him to help. I bring in the “poop bucket”, shovel
and pitch fork. Boo plays with the bucket, and immediately pokes his head
down to examine and smell the shovel. Sometimes he actually tries to lift
the shovel up or scrape it along the floor of the stall. Of course I
praise him for attempting to help me out, making it a joint cleanup
effort. At then bring in the paper bag of wood shavings, allowing Boo to
sniff it. He attempts to open it up with either his teeth or hoofs. Once
it is open, I take the paper scraps, put them on my head, and then on his
head. He really enjoys this interaction and of course, I love this part as
well.
I wanted to close our first chapter on “Raising Boo”, with a very special
experience that Boo and I shared. After bringing Boo into the stall,
brushing and loving on him, I started just standing head to head with Boo.
We stared out of the stall through the open barn door to the pasture and
beyond. We didn’t talk, but instead I listened to Boo’s breathing, and
began inhaling as he inhaled. I put my head against his muzzle, and he
remained still and kept his muzzle against my cheek. As he took a deeper
breath, I did the same. Soon he started yawning, which in turn made me
yawn. His head remained close to my cheek, and suddenly dropped onto my
shoulder. He had fallen asleep…and how I wished that this moment could
last forever!!!
Westwood
Farms
Locust Dale, Virginia 22948
westwood_farms@yahoo.com
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