One of the most exciting events in owning horses is the birth of a foal. The next responsibility of the new ‘parent’ is introducing the foal to humans. Do the right thing and you have a valued companion, take the wrong advice and get a worthless hayburner or worse, a scared, dangerous animal.
Pat Parelli is an American horseman with a philosophy of natural horsemanship which has won admiration worldwide, and his unique methods have been featured on Burke’s Backyard many times in the past.
Mr Parelli says owners need first to show the foal they aren’t going to hurt it. Being a prey animal, the foal instinctively fears humans as predators, and the smell of meat-eating humans does nothing to contradict its instincts.
To avoid a face-to-face confrontation, Mr Parelli led the mare, followed by her foal, around him in circles. The foal could see Mr Parelli come into sight and disappear behind the mare’s rump. Without moving or stepping towards it, this familiarised the foal with a human in a way that was non-threatening.
Next, Mr Parelli used a long stick he calls a carrot stick to reach out and touch the foal while still keeping his distance. By using this as an extension of his arm he touched and stroked the foal while still keeping several feet away. During a period of 30 minutes Mr Parelli gradually moved closer and closer until he was able to replace the stick with his hand. He said that by this time the foal shouldn’t perceive humans as a bad thing.
Mr Parelli says a major mistake made by owners is that when they want to make friends with a foal, they come straight towards it with an “I’m going to catch you” look on their face. His methods aim to make friends by playing what he calls the friendly game with the foal.
On another note, foals may be seen eating their mothers faeces. While humans may consider it a disgusting habit, Mr Parelli explained this was a way that the foal could get bacteria needed in their gut to assist digestion. The same practise occurs with koalas.
Further information
Mr Parelli’s courses are now run in Australia under local accredited instructors.
More information can be obtained from:
Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship
PO Box 2232
Gosford, NSW, 2250
Phone: 1800 627 404
