Training needed for my 6month old Filly....Where to start?

by Jacklyn
(Lucerne Valley, Ca)

We just purchased a 6moth old filly w/ very little Ground work or even attention...She seems very calm and I lunged her for the first time she did very well! I need your advice as to where and how to start the process of Training her as she is still young and we would love any advice as what we should be doing for her to train her and what to do and how to start. And what she needs, she has a halter on her and will lead so far w/ us. I'm not sure where to start w/ her and what she/we need to do for training her. We give her lots of hands on attention EX: petting her, walking her,touching her all over, I was even able to pick up her front leg w/ no problem. She has been in a stable since she was taken from her mother. And not worked with very much, but, we went to see her everyday before she came home and we have bonded with her so far, she perks up her head when she see's us she seems very happy to see us and sad looking when we leave her. If you can provide any info for us it would be much appreciated. It's been over 30yrs since I have had a Horse and my Daughter knows very little and things have really changed on training over the years.

Also, I want to feed her the best food and any advice on that would be great as I want to start out w/ a good diet and the best diet possible for years to come to keep her healthy. I want to buy videos to learn from but, this has become a confusing subject as there are lots of ways to train a Filly her age and also, what about her hooves I live in the desert where there is a lot of sand...should I just keep her feet clean and trimmed? I love your site and have learned a lot so far from all the reading I have done, But, I want to learn all I can to have the best horse and lots of trust between us. Do you have training books, Etc or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You So Very Much

Jacklyn


Hi Jacklyn,

It would be nice to know what breed of horse she is and how she is dealing with being taken away from her mother. Do you have other horses she can be with? This is very important for her emotional and social development to life. Only another horse can supply these ingredients (especially at her age). Personally I would rather have horses stay with their mothers for at least the first year before being weaned.

Next, let’s leave the lunging out until she is at least 3 years old, this constant circling can be really hard on their joints and even then only a maximum of 4 circles each direction at a time. Lunging becomes a senseless task when overdone. A little known understanding is that horses are not finished growing until the age of 5 to 8 yrs, depending upon breed. So more consideration on what we ask them to do physically needs to be done. Instead let’s do tons of Ground Training Exercises. As well do not leave the halter on her when not training. Little ones can get caught up too easily and really injure themselves. Plus then it gives you many opportunities to put it on and take it off for a training exercise.:0)

Here are some examples of what I do with a young horse in training, this will offer you some ideas to get started.

I work on having the horse pick up all feet really well since keeping up with trimming is important because we do this every 5 weeks (along with strong leading skills). The first 2 years my goal is to build trust. In your area keeping them clean and trimmed is all that’s necessary, plus we do not advocate shoeing horses anyway. The time frame in between trims may very though because of your terrain.

We have two ebooks that you can download straight to your computer to help you with your journey. The Secret Lives of Horses and our Clicker Training Guide.

When it comes to nutrition for this age it would be best to consult with your local veterinarian and/or your local equine nutritionist. I would be unfamiliar as to the kind and quality of hay your area has and the feeds available.

Keep us posted!

Elaine Polny
Horses by Nature