Interesting the different methods used to get the same result - a foal that leads nicely. I was recently watching a video shot at Lane's End of Zenyatta being led out to her paddock with a very young "Z Princess", the War Front filly that was lost to a paddock accident as a weanling. The Lane's End staff had the filly ahead of the dam, held close to the handler with a solid grip on the halter. No dawdling and no foolishness, both went straight as an arrow to the paddock. It seemed to work.

This is how it should be done kzread.info/dash/bejne/hqdppsWxYJDMpNI.html

What I don’t understand is why the foals are being kept in separate and too small sized pens inside of allowing them to have their herd instincts-of being being together . All this foal handling is so unnecessary. At the start it was good to see people communicating and correcting the foals like mom would but all the rest is unnatural and unnecessary. They should be running in a field and not all this crap that doesn’t need to be done until of breaking age. The video started off so well I thought finally people that know what’s right for foals. But they soon just went down the wrong path of denying foals their need to be with others. Horses and foals belong in fields and not kept in pens. It’s bad enough they’ve had mom taken away from them most likely they were sent for slaughter. This is a great charity but please these foals have suffered enough just let them be together as a herd and learn how to be a horse and leave humanising them until they are older. All this man handling and so called teaching the foals will only actually cause them problems in later life when they do finally get to be turned out with other horses. They won’t know how to properly be a horse. And will think people to be their herd and safety and not other horses. The best teachers of horses are other horses. Moms teach best but when the moms are gone other mares and geldings do just a good job at teaching them. What a sad life these foals are having. No reason why they couldn’t be all free in that arena if no fields were available. Why put that mom and baby through the trauma of being kept in a pen just so that the foals can watch.