Give your future champion the best start by investing in its foal education.
Through a specialised foal education programme, your foal is introduced to learning by what comes naturally to them, so there is less physical and mental stress. Once the behaviours are learnt, they are then stressed to strengthen them. By learning this way, your foal is prepared to handle a greater amount of stress on their road to becoming a champion.
As a graduate of our foal education programme, your foal will be comfortable:
- Being approached and touched all over
- Being haltered
- Coming forward off pressure
- Leading in circles around the mare
- Reining back
- Having its feet picked up and balancing while doing so.
HOW IT WORKS
Our foal education programme uses gentle, scientifically-proven training methods to prepare the foal for a life of human interaction.
We ask you to agree to our terms and conditions.
We begin once the foal is three weeks of age. This allows time for the mare and foal to bond before education begins. Three weeks is an optimal age – the foals’ senses are further developed and they enter a socialisation phase where they seek to learn from outside influences. Educational sessions are conducted with the mare and foal together, as the most effective way to educate the foal is alongside its mother. Some foals take twice as long to learn as others, but on average, your foal will spend 8 sessions learning with us over the space of two to three weeks.
Our training sessions run for approximately 20 minutes to allow for the shorter concentration span of foals and are conducted on no more than three consecutive days to allow for latent learning in the foals.
Your foal’s education programme will take place at either the stud or at your place.
We understand the responsibility of creating the foundation behaviours that will shape your foal’s life. We give your future champion a thorough, positive experience, and a solid foundation on which to build its career.
Since 2003, Foal NZ founders Leigh Wills and Sally King have completed over 18,000 training sessions without injury and created the right start for 135 Black Type horses.
As a direct result of this training process, we also train staff and implement systems for studs to optimise staff and young horse potential.
