Friday, March 7, 2014

The 80/20 Rule- Handling Foals

At nearly 11 months of age Mozzie is one of the nicest mannered horses I know.

He isn't pushy, nippy, or obnoxious.  He is easy to handle and down right respectful, and I have the 80/20 rule to thank for it.

You see I am indifferent, correcting his behavior, or making him do something about 80% of the time and am affectionate and for lack of a better term nice to him (butt scratches, grooming etc) about 20% of the time give or take a few percent.

If you observe young horses in a herd setting you will notice that their dams and mature herd mates naturally follow this same pattern.

The herd does not tolerate pushy, nippy, and obnoxious behavior.  Youngsters are told what to do and where to do it all day long.  

The creation and enforcement of boundaries and rules by the herd is paramount to raising a solid citizen.

And the creation and enforcement of these same boundaries and rules are equally important in your own daily interactions with any horse.

Remember you do not have a foal, you have a grown horse in a pint size body and they should be treated accordingly.

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