Tips on Training Baby Horses

Horses have many different temperaments. Each horse learns differently and advice for one breed of horse won't always apply to another. Just like teaching a young human, a young horse will learn best by starting slow and learning commands along the way through repetition and structure. Don't expect him to get it right the first time.

  1. Touch

    • When you begin to train a young horse, you should start by teaching him commands you will give him through touch and what his expected response is. He won't understand everything at first, just like a toddler doesn't understand all your words until you teach him. Start simply with a few signals that mean certain things. Always use the exact same signal in the same way. Don't mix it up with something else that means the same thing, or the horse will be confused and won't understand what is expected. These touch commands should be added one by one to the vocabulary, so that the horse can start to understand each one.

    Speech

    • Learn to speak to your horse in a specific way so that he can start to comprehend what you want from him. Use short phrases and words, and more body language and actions. Horses learn by imitating leaders. You will be that patient leader to your horse. Always use the same commands in the same calm voice, "stand," "good boy," "steady." Don't raise your voice, and praise your horse after he has done the action appropriately. If he is being stubborn, continue to repeat the action until he complies. When the young horse understands your voice and obeys more consistently, your bond will improve.

    Don't Get Physical

    • People don't work well under stress or duress in the workplace. When a boss yells at his employee, that employee is less likely to step up and increase productivity. In the same way, animals don't appreciate hits or screaming. They won't even understand what all the fuss is about, so there's no point to this. They can't even talk back so they'll probably resort to physical responses, such as rears and kicks. Be patient and continue to drill into them the required responses without using physical violence.

    Review

    • When you start to teach something new, always review past lessons first, to be sure that your foal has retained the information and is trained in those areas. Sometimes horses will resist new information so again, repetition is key, just like learning a new language.