Oghill House Stud is a 300-acre farm nestled between Kildangan Stud and the Irish National Stud, run by Pat, Hugh and John Hyland. Oghill foal around 100 mares per season between their own private mares, those belonging to clients and visiting mares. John Hyland of Oghill House Stud speaks about how formative handling of foals is so important.
“Early and gentle handling of the foal is extremely important because, quite simply, it lays the foundations for the relationship between the horse and humans for the rest of its life.
“It makes handling them in the longer term, easier for the handler and the foal. Simple things such as handling and lifting each of its legs prepares the foal for its subsequent experience with the farrier, for example, whilst handling the foals ears can help prevent head shyness.
“Basically, if the foal is handled sufficiently and gently in its formative first weeks, this generally helps the foal from developing anxieties and can prevent potential future conflicts which can in turn lead to injury to the foal or its handler.”
FOAL HANDLING - TOP TIPS
1. Start by gently handling around the foal’s ears so as to get the foal accustomed to the sensation of a headcollar.2. Follow this by applying a headcollar over the first few days of its life. Ensure that the headcollar is checked regularly. It should not be too tight or it will cause sores so it needs to be let out on a weekly basis and replaced as the foal grows. However, It cannot be too loose either as the foal may get its front legs caught. As a general rule, you should be able to fit two fingers underneath the foals jaw.3. Gently feel the foals legs, mimicking the experience with the farrier and lift them up and gently feel the hoof. Your farrier will thank you for this as it makes their job easier.4. Taking the foals temperature is not only crucial in terms of monitoring your foals health/spotting illness earlier but it also means the foal becomes accustomed to this sensation/handling early.5. When leading the foal out into the paddock with its mother, lead the mare as normal but lead the foal by placing a hand around its neck and guiding it. Never attempt to lead a young foal using a lead rope as they will inevitably rare up and fall back/flip over which is not only a terrible experience for the foal but can cause serious injury.6. Handling the foals mouth is something that is often overlooked but we find this makes it easier to administer wormers when the time comes as again, its not a new sensation for the foal and they’ve experienced it all before.