Where would you start with a weanling?

Hey all! I purchased a QH foal who will be coming to live with me at the end of the month. She is range - bred, so knows nothing - and I mean nothing. Wanted to do some exercises with her to build our bond, give her ground work and manners etc. I've worked on lots of yearlings, but never a weanling. Any advice on what we can do together? Any books that you would recomend? I've heard a little about the John Lyons "Bringing up Baby". Has anyone read this book?

Get Dr. Robert Miller's book! He's amazing.

As far as ground work, you don't want to do anything too strenuous at this point seeing as she is so young, but you can definitely work on getting her to yield to and from steady and rhythmic pressure, turn on the haunches and forehand, the head-down cue, backing out of your space, take a few steps sideways, clippers, rub her lips, ears, legs in a friendly way, you could even play with a trailer and a tarp....there are so many small things you can do! :) Personally I like the Parelli 7 Games.

Ya, that's the kind of stuff I'm after. She's not even halter broke, so does not know how to lead either. I need to be able to lead her, halter her, have her OK with the farrier. The other stuff (like yielding, tarps and trailers) is more for us and our relationship - but the other stuff is a need - to - know!
Are the DVD's of Parelli and the 7 games good?

I think the DVDs are excellent. I'm an advanced student of the program, but I watched the 7 Games DVD and I thought it gave a great nuts-and-bolts explaination of how to do the 7 Games and the theory behind it. The Level 1 pack is where you get the "extra" information as it's more in depth.

Sounds like you have an excellent opportunity on your hands! How exciting.

Ya, I thought it was something new to try and have fun with. I've always had horses that were cast-offs - unwanted and somewhat messed up. They taught me so much from their re-training, but this time I wanted to see what it was like to have one that was a blank slate. It should be an adventure!

I just wanted to add that I had that book, and I loved it. I think there are excellent exercises in there that you can do with youngsters :)

Ooohhh! Good to know! I heard some good things. I kinda like John Lyons - his approach is practical and realistic. I might take a little of this and a little of that and see what happens.

Congrats on your filly. I might be in the same boat shortly. A friend of ours had a mare that was accidently caught by the neighbor's stallion...so I might be the mom to a GORGEOUS paint filly (think she's a filly!)

If this is a filly that came off the range don't worry about working her too hard she probably would outlast you without breaking a sweat. All I would do is teach her to lead then find a big pasture someplace(preferably a little rocky) and forget about her for a couple of years. If that isn't possible then remember that anything you try to teach her will take about 5 times longer to sink in because she is so immature mentally.

Why would you work hard, teach this horse to lead, and be good then cast it out to a paddock for a couple of years?
As she stated above, she wants to build a relationship with her weanling, not just let it be some horse that runs wild in her back paddock. Horses are very intelligent, I believe, and so what if it takes the horse a little longer to learn? Provided that it learns it correctly, understands personal space and has a good bond with her owner than everything should be fine.
Remember, this was posted in Natural Horsemanship. A topic about understanding your horse and working with it. A topic about strengthening that bond between you and your horse.