Foals Neck?

Question

I've heard not to lead a foal without a butt rope because it can injure they're neck. My question is how long do I need to wait for my foals neck to be strong enough to lead without a butt rope?

Answer 1

Once he has learned to lead with out pulling at all

Answer 2

ANY horse can pull the muscle in the neck - even just pulling back can cause damage to it - at any age - just not as likely as that muscle gets more developed.  

As soon as your foal isn't refusing to move forward when you lead it - you can take the butt rope off.  The foal doesn't understand what you are asking at first - so it fights - and we dont realize that we are causing damage to the neck - so most inexperienced horse people PULL the small foal to get him to "Stop pulling" - (aren't we smart) - which then leads to the damaged neck -  

Glad to hear that you knew not to do it without a butt rope! STARS and A++++ to you!

Answer 3

All the breeders I've worked with say 5-6 weeks then you can lead from the halter directly, it gives them time to strengthen their neck muscles and ligaments.  

One of my good friends found out the hard way, he was halter breaking a 3 week old TB baby and it flipped and broke it's own neck, he was devastated.  Good breeder on a large farm, not an amateur, now he won't touch one before 6 weeks.

Answer 4

Once the foal know how to lead without a butt rope then it doesnt matter.

im pretty sure if the foal is just following behind you and there is no strain on the neck, then it will be just fine.

Answer 5

Okayy i got this from a website and i hope it helps!!!! good luck with the younge one!!

Teaching to lead.

First thing- DO NOT attempt to tie your foal anywhere! It can not be tied in the trailer or stall, etc. until it has been taught to lead. To do this you attach a lead to the halter, as usual, and wrap the lead around the foals back end. You now try to get them to lead by pulling on the lead at halter and pulling from behind. This is a simple process and they should be leading within a few days. Remember to keep control; do not allow the foal to flip over. Injuries occur very easily this way which, again, is why they can not be tied. You do not want a battle on your hands. If you are controlling the foal's head and butt at the same time you can avoid a great deal of trauma while learning that all important skill of leading.

Your foal will also need a lot of exercise! This is an absolute necessity for strengthening tendons, muscles and overall health. Exercising is best done in the company of other equine, but use a safe partner that will not injure your foal. The older horse will teach your foal how to be a proper horse. Socialization is very important and should happen like exercise on a daily basis.  The foals do better when adopted with a partner.  They need the constant contact and love, since they can't have their mothers with them another foal is a warm substitute.

You should try to do as many things now as you will be doing with the foal when it gets older. Of course like a child a foal has a limited attention span, but at around 1 month I start to take mine on walks, small trail rides, if you will, including walking in and around water, stepping over obstacles, entering and exiting trailers. I also teach them to stand in crossties, only under very safe circumstances – generally in a stall. I pick up their feet, use hair clippers on them, and leg wraps. This way by the time your foal is a two year old everything will be old hat. Remember slow and steady wins the race…use small amounts of this kind of training but do it consistently.

Follow your instincts, these basic rules and you will have a friend for life!

- Victoria

Answer 6

1.  You shouldn't be teaching a foal to lead by pulling on it's neck.  The Butt rope is geared to tead him to follow your shoulder by reinforcing forward movement.  The halter and lead should only be used for direction, not force.

2.  Once the youngster has learned to lead without your having to pull on a halter or butt rope, he's following you because he wants to, no need for he butt rope anymore.

3.  Tying - I would say tying is too much for a foal much more than about 3 mos. old.  And there's a specific way to do this - if the horse has properly learned to respect the halter and lead and understands use of pressure, tying won't be a problem - definitely never put a halter on, tie the animal up and let him fight until he learns to give in, this is where they'll get hurt and doesn't build their confidence at all.

I suggest purchasing some books or videos about foal starting - Western Horseman has a good book called "bringing up baby" by John Lyons.  This will give you a good idea of the proper way to halter and tie break a foal - your $20 can't be better spent.

Answer 7

The damage comes from trying to drag the foal or tugging and pulling on the head while s/he's learning to lead...not from walking on a lead itself.

So I might add that it isn't just physical damage to the foal, but also starting a pattern of resistant behavior, if you try to rule by force.  (There's a WIDE span between brute force and discipline.  I found with horses, it's a lot like my kids...teach discipline and force is unnecessary)

I would advise you to keep the butt rope handy until the foal leads without resistance.