I still remember vividly that couple at the ranch I used to keep my horse. They bought a mare and raised their first foal out of her… and it seemed like they wanted to cuddle it to death. Well, not exactly, but their behavior towards the little colt was discussed heavily among the other horse owners. Shortly after his birth they kept touching it, petting, leading around. Rumors said they had been at the birth to welcome the horse – physically. To make it get used to them. “But that destroys the bond between mother and foal” said one person, another: “It’s not a dog”. These are just two of many comments. Were they only unqualified opinions of jealous observers?
Somehow it is even understandable. At least everyone who once owned a messed up horse would try to do it better when they get the chance to raise one by themselves. And it sounds logical: The sooner the horse gets used to people, the smaller the resistance and fear towards them later on. A group of researchers try to bring licht ins dunkel. The behavior scientists from France and the Netherlands reviewed the history of the human-horse relationship drew some conclusions.

A major part of this review is the treatment of foals and how different strategies affect their later lives. In nature mares leave the herd 24 hours before they give birth. And five days after the foal is born they prevent any contact of other horses to their foal. Probably anything that could disrupt the bond that is being formed between her and her baby. However, the majority of horses does not live in the wild but is kept and used by humans. Many behaviors that were necessary in nature are now partly useless. They are fed and protected from dangers. Not only are they protected from predators, now they are also supposed to trust one – the human. A big change. The veterinarian Dr. Miller developed in 1991 a method, that is supposed to help horses to trust people without fear. The so-called “Imprinting”. Imprinting involves training sessions during which the foal is sensitized and de-sensitized to different cues and things, respectively. The first training session already happens during the first 30 minutes after birth, before the first suckling. Different studies however do not show continuous positive results. A study by the French scientist Hausberger observed 170 at different farms in Brittany, France. The results showed that most horses which were only handled at weaning and in the following year were calm and relaxed towards people. Contrary to the horses that were handled intensively (also imprinting) or not handled at all after weaning, which often reacted nervous and frightened when being approached by humans. For the researches this already gives a clue as to which one is a suitable strategy.

A turning point therefore seems to be the time of weaning. In fact, ethology (science of behavior) often connects behavioral abnormalities, also called stereotypies, with bad weaning strategies. Because again, the common weaning practice differs from horses in the wild. In nature foals are weaned when the new foal is born, which means after about a year. The most breeders however wean their youngstock between four and six months after birth. Not all, but some foals develop stereotypies and/or stomach ulcers as a result of weaning, caused by stress and the change in feed. Neither have ever been observed in feral (semi-wild) horses. To make parting from their dam easier for foals practices like gradual weaning (a few hours per day), weaning in pairs and a suitable environment should be provided – meaning: a paddock or pasture is better than stalls, herds are better than individual housing. Experiences that horses make during weaning can influence learning abilities, aptitude to train and emotionality.

But back to direct handling of foals. Research of the past agrees that methods like imprinting is in no way natural. It causes stress for dam and foal and brings only limited results. In most cases where horses have been compared no significant differences have been found between horses that were handled intensively and those that only experience routine contact for feeding or veterinary check-ups. Sometimes the former even reacted more hesitant towards people.

An obvious positive experience is every one involving food. Usually those are the routine experiences during feeding time every day. Direct contact with the foal is not even necessary. Much more effective seems a good relationship towards the dam. Feeding and stroking a relaxed dam is exemplary for the foal and results in calmer and more relaxed horses. Another experiment studied the effects of passive persons on foals. When a motionless person was standing in a distance to the foal, it usually soo approached the person without fear. This however was not the case with foals that had been handled intensively before.

There is no one-suits-all recipe for dealing with horses. Humans as well as horses act differently and have different experiences that influence their behavior. The researcher however come to the conclusion that people, much more than horses, still need a lot of training and education about horse behavior. Scientific research cannot rid us of having to spend time with horses, be attentive and learn to understand their language. But research can help us to understand horses’ behavior. Only with that knowledge we can reach a satisfying partnership between man and horse.

*Edit: Of course we are trying to be as objective as possible and show every possible side of a discussion. Therefore we would like to say a few words about Dr. Miller’s reaction towards this and similar academic studies:

He say that 1st Imprinting has not been done the way he recommended. 2nd You cannot expect horse training – at any age – to bring positive results if it is not done right. 3rd He has been gaining experience with newborn foals for 49 years now and has never experienced a failure. And 4th he says that thousands of people have been successful, how powerful are then a reports of someone who wasn’t?

The problems Dr. Miller sees are problems that are always mentioned by scientists within their reports. In fact, they are the problems they daily deal with. Because if not even their set up of research is right, what kind of a chance do they stand to be acknowledged and published (only possible after peer-review)? And if even researchers have problems to follow the instructions, what chance does the average horse owner stand to succeed? The majority of horse owner are no professionals. Mistakes are made everywhere. To give them a method that requires much precision, training and understand is quite risky. That’s why we would like to agree with Dr. Miller on one of his comments: If someone has not studied and fully understood my method it would be better if he/she would not do it at all!*

Reference:
Hausberger, M; Roche, H; Severine, H; Visser, K (2008), “A review of the human-horse relationship“, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 109: pp.1-24, Elsevier Publishing