An orphan foal raised by humans begins to think of itself as equal to humans and therefore tries to dominate. If it were with its mother and it had this attitude, the mare would bite or threaten the foal to teach it manners. As its human parent now, you may be tempted to baby it because most people tend to baby the orphans and let them get away with too many things. You must establish the leadership role in this relationship. This attitude should not be tolerated. Act like the horse parent by not allowing this attitude when feeding. Push the foal off, or carry a whip in with you to tap the foal and drive it away. Only allow it to come to the feed when its ears are up. Be careful when working with the foal; it will probably turn and kick at you, at which time you need to use the whip across the hind legs, making sure you are out of range. Always rub on the foal when it comes up to you with a good attitude. If you continue to feed it after it displays this bad attitude, then it will get worse. Take the time now to work with the foal and teach it what is allowed and what is not.

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