Good Mama!

In the weeks and days before Rio was born many people asked me if I was going to "imprint" train the foal. I decided that I would accustom the foal to humankind on the day she was born but not so much that her mama would object. I was actually a little concerned that if there were too many people around during the foals' birth Tia may reject it and I definitely did not want to go there. When I look back at that day, there were a lot of people present for Rio's arrival into this world and thankfully Tia did not mind. My husband and I arrived at the barn shortly after Tia went down, the barn owner, her daughter, the next door neighbor and two other boarders were also present either during or right after her arrival. We were all careful to be very quiet but I think Tia really deserves all the credit. She's been a super mom and extremely tolerant of me working with Rio every day. From the moment she was born I was in the stall with her and her mother accustoming Rio to a halter, brushes, clippers, and hoof pick. During those first few days I would groom Rio and teach her to be led with a butt rope around the stall and Tia usually stood off to the side or quietly munched on her hay. I wish I had the resources to breed Tia again but I guess I'll need to wait until Rio grows up and start the third generation of a wonderful line of Quarter Horses!