how to break a 1/2 mustang foal?

Question

i need some tips on how to get my foal to mind.
we took her off of her mom about 3 weeks ago. and thats not the problem. they were ready to be apart. but Ember (a little over 6 months now) the foal has no manners. we got a halter on her. and we can get a halter on her fine but when you try to touch her while its on she flips (like if you try to hold the halter. we have no problem getting it off).
now if we go into the pin she is in she pins her ears back. she doesnt nip kick or anything like that she just lays her ears back. and i dont want her going wild on us. she is 1/2 mustang. and her mom Flicka is full blood and is so sweet.
i just need tips on how to get her some manners, halter breaking, and leading. well if you have any ideas on web sites or any tips at all i would love to hear them. thanks for the help.
B

ok people i do NOT think MUSTANGS ARE SCAREY!! im just saying she does have wild blood in her. Ember and Flicka are both very sweet. i just said her breed so you would know more about the filly.

Answer 1

You're in over your head. Call a trainer.

Answer 2

We put head-collars on straight away at birth. That way they don't know any different, It is something that has always been there. When we take mare and foal anywhere I hold the foal around the neck and take hold of the tail. The mare is behind on a lead rope in the hand holding onto the tail. On the first few days it isn't very dignified, but once the foal knows were we are going they are a lot easier to move. Over time which is dependent on the foal my arm moves up until i have hold of a strap attached under the head collar. Never attach a rope if they panic and you have to let go it freaks them out dangling and makes matters worse. Normally the foal will be happy to be lead in front of the mare without any problems at 3-4 weeks old. Been in front of the mare makes them a lot bolder and the mare can see her baby and she is less stressed. Everyone has different technics but over the yrs I have found it easier this way.

Answer 3

I've been breeding and training horses for a long time- I should be dead by now. When I go to training my weanling's I approach each one different. Some of them you have to be rough with and push around with your body(this mimics what their dam would do), others I approach with the your grounded attitude.
What I've found works with all my weanling's though is start by lunging and tying first.
I've found it easier to teach them this when they are little and not as strong as lets say a yearling or two year old- and also they need to do both these things when they age.
You want to build her confidence in you as her alpha so I great way to get that is teaching her to do things she wouldn't be doing in the wild- getting her feet trimmed and trailer loading are both great ways to gain confidence and keep respect

Try not to think of your weanling as the same little baby she was 6 months ago- she's plenty strong enough to do you damage and be doing both these things.
Tying and lunging is a great way to gain your horses respect and learn how her body works. If you know exactly how she works and thinks, her body language will be easier to read when it comes time to get her hooves trimmed, bathe, clip, and trailer load.

I have a little paint cutting horse(my pride and joy) who I've had since he was 8 months- he's now 17 months. He wasn't halter broke when I got him and he's quite the stud. But now anyone can walk up to him pull his tail, crawl under him, and I've even had my grandbabies sit on his back. Training them at a young age makes them easier to handle the rest of their life.

Keep up the good work and happy trails

Answer 4

traet her like a normal horse. Don't think of her as a scary mustang. She has no manners because of the way you act around her- foals know when they can be boss and when they need to listen.
As for leading- what you need to do is put on the halter and tie her to a pole if you are not strong enough to hold the lead rope. Let her work out her tizzies, and as soon as she is calm, let her off the rope and reward her.

Answer 5

You have avery young baby their it's going to take time and alto of patience. Have you ever heard of RFDtv? It's dedicated to horse problems with people lol. any way it's on in the evening and they help people they even have programs you can send in for to help train your animal. Now to answer your question. try to work with your foal in a round pen not a huge on go into the pen with your foal let her know your there try not to run away if she pens her ears at you she's just afraid . walk up to her as many times as it takes and get her to look at you when she dose walk away . just turn and walk away from her .after a while she should start to look at you and want to follow you this is called hooking up some say hooking on its all the same . Web sites are Parelli Natural Horsemanship.com Or try RFDtv web site see if they have them listed there .You have a big job on your hands kiddo . Wish you all the luck . I remember those days well.Have fun too.

Answer 6

gentle her, not break her.
check out and join: [e-mail]

There are links there, including Monty Roberts, the 'Horse Whisperer', on how to gentle a 6month old baby horse.

please keep in mind, she is a BABY. and you must earn her TRUST. She won't even be ready to ride until she is 3, and then only lightly.
she won't be grown until age 5. you can start training her to drive at about age 2, but no riding until age 3.

at 6 months old, you should just be gaining her trust and getting her to follow you around in the the round pen and handle her. work on the halter and leading stuff. do you know what 'join up' is?

get her to follow you around with no lead rope first. worry about the man-made devices (halter and lead) when you have gained her trust as her new foster-mama.

write me privately at:
[e-mail]

for more info and articles on working with young green horses.

good luck and safe riding!

Julie St.John
Dekalb, IL. USA

HERE'S an excerpt from Monty Roberts:
The process of establishing a relationship with your foal through Join-Up should begin once your foal has been successfully weaned and no longer calls out for his mother. Done properly, Join-Up will create a lifelong understanding between weanling and human. One or two Join-Up sessions should be enough to develop a trust-based relationship.

Keep in mind that too many sessions will be counterproductive – your foal will have the concentration span typical of babies of all species, so any work done needs to reflect this. After completing Join-Up, you can develop your foals’ skills at leading, being handled all over and having his feet picked up. I recommend that at this age, your foal has a natural life, spending lots of time at pasture with other horses. Following these guidelines should result in a happy, well-adjusted individual ready to begin his life with humans.

Chapter 10 of my training manual From My Hands To Yours details the process of bringing up your baby from birth to backing in greater detail.

- Monty

Answer 7

You should call a local trainer in your area and have he/or she come and see the bahavoir of the horse, and ask for advice.the foal has been with her mother since birth so it might be hard. and think about the age of the horse and remember, while trying to do all this shes away from her mom.

Answer 8

The process is like breaking any other foal.

Answer 9

you have to treat her just like a normal horse, just like a paint or a quarter horse.. just like you would treat a pitbull just like a chihuahua to make it nice... if you would like i could train her for you, i have just recently this summer trained my arabian filly, and we won 1st places all year long.. you can email me more at [e-mail]