Dragons Edge Riding Academy

An interesting idea, not that we have babies here, but something to think about for sure.

A couple reasons I no longer imprint foals.

For those who don't know:

Imprinting is the practice of having an animal bond to a human in the first two hours after birth.
The reason is that neuroplasticity, the brains ability to adapt, is highest during that period.

Over the years I practiced various forms of imprint training, slowly moving away from working during that first two hours. Those hours are critical for a foals bond with their mother.
Outside of those first two hours it is no longer imprint training. It is known as latency training. I still hung on to the idea of latency training as early as possible though. My motivation was the clue that I was doing it wrong.
I wanted to do it as early as possible so that the foals were easier to handle.
Or.. If we are being honest, so that I could overpower them.
I have just put up a video on my Pay 🌳On account ( you will have to decipher the hieroglyphics on that one) of a foal halter training at 5 months old. There was never a time to need to overpower the foal through that process.
So that's the ethical side of why I don't imprint, but I know some people still think this " gentle parenting" training is a load of nonsense, so let's give a practical, money-saving reason I don't do it.

It makes them more Injury prone.

Even people who think I am too soft, don't like vet bills, so let's look at how imprint training can increase your vet bills.

I noticed over the years that horses that came to me for training from certain breeders were more prone to injury. Different bloodlines, sometimes even different breeds, so there was no genetic aspect. The one common denominator was that the foals were imprinted at birth.
These were breeders who prided themselves in kind handling.
So how does imprinting affect how prone to injury a horse is?
Those first two hours are a period of super learning. Mom's don't just bond to their foals over that time, they teach them what to yield from, what is safe, and how to interact with the herd.
When humans imprint we do the opposite. The foals are touched all over and taught NOT to move from pressure. They have halters and rope introduced, or anything they might encounter in the human world. I have even heard of people introducing foals to hair clippers at imprinting to make it easier to clip later in life.
All this replaces what they SHOULD have learned from their mothers at birth.
When they grow up, they will be more likely to run into fences, poles or ditches.
They might even lack the basic horse language to know when to move from other horses. This will have them getting kicked and bitten more that other horses.
I would go as far as saying that the Thoroughbreds infamy for vet bills has more to do with imprinting, individual turn-out and other management practices than it does with any breed or genetic factors.

I know people might be wondering about what to do instead.
I will post the link to the (name that can't be said on FB) in the comments so you can see how.
It doesn't involved restraining them, hard tying or crush pens. It's about building communication, relaxation and connection.

🐴❤ Get out and ride today...

Autumnal hues and scenic vistas

Erin fall fair 2024
Mini show
Bubble07 and Butterscotch
Nikki Smith Gracey Black Jon Huot

Bubble 07
bathed and ready for her debut at the Erin Fall Fair tomorrow 🦄✨️💜

Great day today at Silver fox farm in mono!
Stella started the day winning both her classes in level 1 and receiving division champion.
Othello also won both his class in basic level and got champion and high score for the day!!

Thank you to Tracy Boyd-Corbeil and Laura Lapadula for letting my show their beautiful horses! And thank you to Fatima Husain for coming out to cheer us on!

It was a great season all around!

More pictures to come ❤️

Diego has to have one of the most beautiful coat colors I've ever seen. Changes every season, and looks spectacular ✨️ 🙌 😍

Oh deer 😜

Around the barn