Imprinting VS Not Imprinting

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Pros and cons of each? Which do you do and why?

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I don't know of any cons, but the procedure has not held up when researched.

Due respect to Dr Miller, but Imprinting does not seem to change a foal for the better.

Dr Taylor

 

[barnbum]

We had six foals born here. I believe more in making sure all is well--then getting the heck out of the stall so the mare and baby can bond. It usually took about three hours to be there for the birth, get the foal cleaned up a bit, get mama cleaned up, administer stuff, and make sure the baby is drinking and excreting okay. But I didn't stay in the stall the whole time.

I wonder if more trouble is created from people not leaving the mare and foal in peace. I've seen some frantic mares and I feel so frustrated for them when there are many people in the stall. Grrrr.

In the first weeks of life, I touch the foal all over a lot and let it know humans are wonderful in every way. I introduce the halter after a few months. I did not clip foals. Now my horses come running if they see me with clippers or the shop vac--they love to be vacuumed. I have very well adjusted equine.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I dislike the idea.

I think most of us on here put the mare and foals welfare and happiness far beyond what we want to get out of it, and an imprinted foal in the wrong hands can be an absolute nightmare, whereas a "normally" handled foal in the wrong hands just takes a bit of an advantage and eventually misbehaves!

So, having tried just about every way of doing everything I have shied well away form imprinting.

If you have a thousand acres with eight hundred ponies running, I can see how a quick fix like this would be useful, as obviously you cannot put the amount of handling into each foal that those of us with less would do, but short answer is no, I would not do it.

 

[Wings]

Having read some of the things on imprinting I find it to invasive during a time when the priority should be the mare and foal bonding, not me.

I'll do a quick hands on check of the foal and then step back to observe.

 

[Sue_C.]

I stand back, let nature take it`s course...only assist if necessary. After the foal is born, I slide in, check the sex, dip the navel, clean the stall up, and leave to watch from outside to make sure "everything" works...see the first bowel movement, and heave a sigh of relief. (Only once did I have to administer an enema, but always have it on hand just in case.)

Personally I cannot imagine anything more invasive than taking a foal from its dam at the moment of birth, to fondle/clip/annoy/traumatize so as to "save me time later". Sorry, but I find that ridiculous, and cannot imagine the stress such "imprinting" puts on the mare...not to mention the foal.

 

[Leeana]

I actually had to sit here and think for a moment - but oddly enough, all (and I actually mean ALL) of my current horses and horses that I have owned in the past that were born natural out in the pasture and not really touched / handled much (or at all) until they were brought in to wean are actually the easiest when it comes to clipping/handing ears, legs ext today.

I got two horses last year, one a 2010 colt and one a 3 year old stallion straight off pasture that really had not be handled or touched at all and the colt was of course wild at first, but I could go out into the barn right now and clip him or trim his feet or do anything with him with ease and he had no imprinting at all. The three year old is so smart that its hard to believe and easy to do anything wtih as well.

Then, the ponies I own that were foaled in a stall and imprinted and handled from birth....those tend to be the ones that offer a challenge......sort of odd...but really that is how the horses in my herd seem to be.

I kind of perfer them to be aloud to develop their own personality and "brains" out in pasture in a herd. I have found that to be proven true time after time. If I had the acres and setup for that to happen, I would.

Next year all my mares will foal out up in a stall, as I really don't have the setup for pasture foaling and since I do not have 30 mares foaling, stalls are just easier. I will most likely do mild imprinting if any.

 

[Minimor]

I've never seen any point in "imprinting" and have never done it. When the foal is newborn I make sure all is well with it, dip the navel, watch to make sure it gets up and starts nursing, and that's it. In the days that follow I am around the foal--I talk to him & catch & scratch him in all the places that foals usually have itchies. It doesn't take long for the foal to be coming over to me looking for attention--and when the time comes when I want to do a bit of clipping or whatever, I generally just take the clippers out and clip--babies don't usually mind. I still have most of my homebred foals, all grown up, and with most of them I can take the clippers out to the pasture & clip without bothering with a halter. Ears get handled in the general course of petting and scratching the foals...when general every day handling results in quiet, agreeable foals, why would I have to bother with imprinting?

 

[Genie]

We handle things much like the majority of the responses here.

We have cameras and are there for the birth.

If all goes well we only observe mare and foal, and assist with finding the milk bar if required. We leave them pretty much alone for the first while for their bonding.

We look after the navel dipping for three days and when ready for the outdoors we always put a halter on baby to take to the field.

We remove halter while baby is out and put halter back on to return to the barn.

Like Minimor, we take every opportunity to scratch, rub ears, play with legs and feet.

Many people remark on the friendliness of our horses and their manners.

 

[kaykay]

I think very few do the "real" imprinting as authored by Dr. Miller. Most do a simpler version of it. I have watched cams where they do the real version and I hate it. Some of it seems almost cruel to me.

We do like most and make sure everything is good and then leave the mare and foal alone to bond. No clippers, no withholding nursing etc etc.

 

[Matt73]

No to imprinting here, too. I just do the common sense things, as others have said (lots of playing with ears as babies, picking up feet, etc.). After I get the sack off the foal's muzzle/face, I stand back and let the mare do what she needs to do (unless she, obviously, needs help). After the foal has up and nursed, passed the meconium, urinated, and the dam has passed the placenta, the stall is nice and clean etc., I leave both alone completely in our quiet barn. After a day or two I'll introduce a halter (just on and off) and after a couple of weeks I'll start to gently lead. I'll pick up hooves (and start picking hooves out) starting very early on, too. All this has worked for me

 

[wcr]

I saw an interesting program on RFD tv a few years ago about imprinting. It was when the PMU program was going strong and they did a blind study with the staff doing the program. They had large groups of foals and specific things for the people to grade the foals on and they had to pick which group of foals were imprinted and which weren't. Surprisingly the group of foals they picked were the ones NOT imprinted.

I vote with everyone else here, no imprinting. Let mare and foal bond then just play with the babies after the foaling day.

 

[Jetiki]

The mares here usually foal in the stall while mom is passing the placenta they are usually up and down a good bit so I will hold the foal in my lap out of the way and dry it off some with a towel and make sure all is good with baby. I do touch ears and feet but nothing more than just rubbing on them. Then when mom is ready I leave them alone. I started doing this particular system when I had a mare almost injure a foal by stepping on them. She didn't seem to care about the baby until she was done then she was a very good mom. I've never had a mare upset with me doing it this way as all the mares here are handled daily.

karen

 

[disneyhorse]

Imprinting is not always done "correctly" ... and thus I think opinions will vary wildly. I have had the pleasure of working with a few older horses that had genuinely been imprinted "correctly" and they were actually great to deal with. However, I've worked with plenty of foals that were "messed with" early on and I find them to be disrespectful brats for the most part. They are not afraid of humans and such, and do not respect them.

I much prefer foals who are not handled much at birth... but then I take a lot of time to "train" them and I have found they turn out just fine. Therefore, I just try to treat foals exactly like I'd treat a mature horse. Works for me.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I prefer to avoid "imprinting". I just do standard handling, haltering, etc. I start immediately for handling and such, but don't force things too fast. There is no need to clip them 5 min after birth

But I do like to have them haltered and leading within a few days.

 

[Tab]

Imprinting is great, and it can start by talking to mama horse belly. I prefer foals handled from birth and the desensitizing mixed in with mare/foal bonding can be a boon. I think it's all in how your view and do the desensitization. Of course if you come in dominant and abrasive, disrupting the mare/foal bond, and handling the foal harshly (I don't know if you can call that true imprinting) that could do more harm than good.

I would never say proper imprinting technique is abusive. I think if the horse is born without the company of people, never handled, and then "broke" at a year, that could do much more harm. It's actually the custom that could be harming this breed. Minis should have the reputation of a gentle, noble, and intelligent character, WITH manners. Most of the time this comes from handling at foal-hood and throughout. Teaching them to be halter trained, have their hooves handled, and stand for clipping is all a part of that. Even if the horse is a born stinker, he should still be taught to stand tied and have his hooves handled at the least.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I don't disagree with imprinting but I don't do it. I do however start working with them as soon as I can once they are well and strong.

 

[eagles ring farm]

We are most concerned that mom and baby bond and baby is nursing good -

we are sure everything is moving good with the foal take care of the cord,

give mom banamine and ivermectin.which is usually a couple hours. And leave them alone and go watch on camera for awhile.

The first few days we start with halter training following mom out and picking up feet. But no real imprinting here just handling everyday

 

[ohmt]

I saw a few different farms on marestare this year that would not only move the mare and foal to different stalls immediately after foaling, but would also lay the foal in their lap, do ALL of the drying of the foal, take pictures, play with the foal, etc....all before the mare barely had a chance to even look at it. I know they thought they were doing right, but to me that is harmful and asking for trouble by interfering so much.

I help with delivery, make sure the mare and foal are doing well, deworm and give pain meds to the mare, do a quick rub down of the foal and then I leave as quickly as possible and let the mare take over and bond. I monitor both for a while and then I mess with the foal the next day when the mare is less stressed and has established a relationship with the new little one. All 6 of my foals this year are lap babies and their great dispositions come from building trust through every day interaction. Me having limited contact the first few hours has never created an unruly horse here.

 

[minifreishorsefarm]

We have never done the traditional imprinting with either big or small foals. When the baby is born, we help get the sack off, check for sex, clean navel and dry it off a lot. And we do take a few birth pics. The mama usually is busy feeling exhausted and passing the placenta. As soon as she's up, we make sure the foal drinks once then leave them alone. Usually after giving the mare a good mushy grain snack. We dry off the foal a lot because its early April here and they can get chilled quite easily. We give the baby attention every day but never hold them and force them to be worked with right away. Usually we wait to do any hoof picking up and halter training until they are about a month old or so. Depends on the baby. Our babies all have good temperaments with people, some more friendly than others. We will clip the baby after a couple of months or so if they are hot from all the fuzz.

Our most standoffish foal was from our standoffish mare that had the foal on her own in the pen. He had a hard time latching on and we had to help for around 3 hours before he finally got it. If we hadnt intervened, he would have been in trouble. It took him many months to come around and be friendly, but I think it was from his mom being standoffish more than us having to help him nurse at birth. It took him about a year and now he is very friendly and you can walk up to him with a halter and lead him away, something you still cant do with his mom.

Marsha