Seven Hacks For Picking A Great Dressage Foal - Hack #1: The Right Amount Of Energy

I often hear about international dressage riders buying foals in hopes of someday owning a dream horse they couldn’t otherwise afford. It’s a proven strategy, especially if you buy more than one foal.

But selecting a foal can be tricky, and certainly different from looking at a dressage prospect under saddle. Buying a foal comes with a lot of risks. Will the foal stay sound? Will it have a great feel under saddle? Will it have the talent you need to compete at the highest levels of dressage some day?  Because of those inherent risks, you need every advantage as you evaluate foals for sale and ultimately choose which to purchase. Here are a few tips that may improve your chances of success: 

Evaluate the foal when it has just the right amount of energy. Sometimes when foal shopping, we’ve arrived at the breeders only to discover the mare and foal outside, where they’ve been for hours or even days (with a shelter). This is a problem because foals typically don’t present themselves well when they are tired. When you ask them to move, they’ll just jog along. When stimulated a bit more, they gallop. Tired foals often have trouble showing you their potential. They may even look a bit clumsy when in fact, they’re not.

Ideally, when you arrive at the foal’s location, the breeder has kept the mare and foal inside from the day before and overnight. When you see the foal turned out after a nice rest, it will be fresh and ready to show you its best. That’s when you’re most likely to see the foal's potential. 

But be careful. Foal adrenaline can make even any foal look better than it really is. When the foal is very excited, you may see a lot more activity in the hind leg, freedom in the shoulder, and impulsion than will be expressed in the foal’s actual working trot. When the foal is holding its tail straight up, you will have more difficulty getting a look at the actual technique in its gaits. 

Look carefully for that narrow window of time beginning after the foal lets out its initial burst of energy, and before it quickly grows tired. If you’re videoing, that’s the time to be sure to capture the foal’s movement. 

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This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them with Steve. Together we make one another better.

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