Watch any mare as she interacts with her foal, and you’ll see her nip and push and generally physically dominate the foal to put it in line.

There’s a short window of opportunity when people have a physical advantage over young foals, and can teach lessons the same way their dams do. After the first few weeks, “who’s in charge” becomes a matter of outsmarting and outlasting the horse–and, often, cheating. I believe that these lessons need to start right from the beginning.

Jo comes running when she sees one of "her people

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

SIGN UP

Already have an account?
Login and continue reading.