The Training Begins...

For baby horses, training is a crucial part of their upbringing. It is easier to train a horse when they're young, rather than older, so they can grow up learning and remembering as they age. When India was first bought, she couldn't be touched anywhere on her body except her face. She was terrified of any contact touching her body, especially her belly, and especially on her left side (we assume from possible trailering accidents when traveling cross country to Ontario).

"It's been a hard 15 minutes of training!

Just like human babies, distraction is a big part of India's life. Because she is so young, even the little things excite her and distract her from what she is being asked to do or learn. I immediately started gradually touching her more and more everyday, and after about a month, I could touch her anywhere without her feeling scared. Now, India can be touched anywhere, and won't buck or kick at all; she had become very tolerant to human interaction, which is key in training.
To get her used to the world, India had to go through some intense tests! The goal is to have your horse be 'bomb proof' which basically means they have little to no fear of anything. This included walking on the road, crossing traffic, walking through forests with deer, birds and loud noises, walking through water, spraying her with hoses, shooting cap guns, popping balloons, covering her with a tarp, walking on rocks, and much more. After lots of persistent work, India is now fearless to almost anything..... except geese, they're pretty scary.
In the long run, all of this little training helps India in the future, when she becomes old enough to be ridden (around 2 years old) she will be less inclined to spooking and being jittery with a person on her back. At only a year and 4 months old, India is showing remarkable promise into being the perfect little horse one day!