Windsor Park Stud is one of the premier nurseries who employ the educational services of Leigh Wills’ Foal NZ to give their young thoroughbreds the best possible educational start in life.
“Leigh and her team do a fantastic job and they give the foals so much more confidence that it makes our jobs so much easier,” Rodney Schick said.
“They start with the foals when they’re about 21 days old and we get a school report on all of the individuals. We find it an extremely good management tool.
Rodney Schick (left)
“Just getting them used to having their feet picked up to coming through the crush is so beneficial. The foals don’t stress as much so it’s just so good for them.
“They do an unbelievable job and I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
“Leigh and her team do a fantastic job and they give the foals so much more confidence that it makes our job so much easier.” - Rodney Schick.
Wills has been the first to see inside the minds of a glittering array of New Zealand’s leading Group 1 performers over the last 15 years with her early hands-on approach building sound foundations for their decorated racing careers.
Education is the key to success in all walks of life and Wills and her Foal NZ team have worked diligently and researched extensively to develop the best processes to allow racehorses to realise their potential both on and off the track.
"We are dedicated to improving the welfare and performance of race horses through foal education, behavioural research and farm consultancy worldwide,” the equine behavioural specialist said.
“It only makes sense to train them with the mare. It is not until you sit back that you really realise it all starts there.” – Leigh Wills.
“The team at Foal NZ provides foals with the best start to their racing careers by using gentle, scientifically-proven training methods to establish their foundation behaviour.
Leigh Wells
“Simply put, every racehorse started as a foal so education has to begin early on. The foals are with the mare 24 hours a day and learn from her.
“It only makes sense to train them with the mare. It is not until you sit back that you really realise it all starts there. The foal programme is the introduction for being approached and handled, being haltered, coming forward off pressure, leading around the mare, reining back and foals having their feet picked up.
“We are training them to be high performance athletes and part of this is that they all need to work with people.
“We are training them to be high performance athletes and part of this is that they all need to work with people.” – Leigh Wills.
“It is so simple and initially we never understood the importance of this. Foals need to understand and be confident in their interactions with us as this is the foundation which their career is built upon.
The Foal NZ Team believe it makes sense to train the foal with the mare
The science behind foal behaviour
Over the last 15 years Foal NZ have continually honed their skills by studying equitation science. It is a constantly evolving process, but a proven one, and their roll of honour makes impressive reading.
Graduates of the Foal NZ system include such Group 1 notables as So You Think (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins), Preferment (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), Jimmy Choux {NZ} (Thorn Park), King’s Rose (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice), Descarado (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Norzita (NZ} (Thorn Park).
“It is a team effort to create a racehorse and we are an integral part in this.” – Leigh Wills.
“It is a team effort to create a racehorse and we are an integral part in this. We started in 2003 on the directive of Sir Patrick Hogan at Cambridge Stud,” Wills said.
So You Think is a graduate of the Foal NZ system
“It’s so important horses have a good initial experience in everything they do. We get one shot at this each time as we know they may forgive, but they will not forget. For example, we know they will have their feet trimmed for the rest of their lives so we need the first experience to be a good one. It is a privilege for us to be an integral part of these foals’ lives.
“Each session with the young foals of three to six weeks of age lasts about 12 to 15 minutes. They can have a short attention span at that age and with the older foals we do about 20 minutes.
“Each session with the young foals of three to six weeks of age lasts about 12 to 15 minutes.” – Leigh Wills.
“With the foals between three and six weeks we do between six and nine sessions over a three-week period, but we don’t do any more than three days in a row.”
Wills has found over the years that there are similarities between thoroughbred and human behaviour.
“Just like us they are all born differently. The mares will parent them differently and they all go through developmental stages,” she said.
Watch: The Foal NZ process
“It’s like kids going to school for the first time. Teachers will see children walk into the class room and their behaviours will all be different.
“It’s like kids going to school for the first time. Teachers will see children walk into the class room and their behaviours will all be different.” – Leigh Wills.
“Some will be attached to their Mum’s leg, some will hold hands and some will run around independently and we see the same in the foals. Some foals are really dependant on the mare and some are more detached. The key to all the foals initial learning is with the mare, so to produce the best athlete all this is taken into consideration with their training.”
Behavioural studies
“Almost all of our business is with thoroughbreds and one of our studies found that behaviourally, there’s no distinction between the learning ability of colts and fillies,” Wills said.
“We know some foals will take twice as many repetitions to learn as others so all of these things need to be accounted for in our training with them.
“We have completed over 18,000 training sessions without injury to any mare or foal and created the right start for more than 135 black type horses.” - Leigh Wills.
“We know if we do two days training with the foals and give them a day off the scared ones will come back as or more scared. If we do four days in a row it is mentally and physically hard for them so our foals do three consecutive days and then have days off.”
Foals NZ have found that three consecutive day of training followed by a day of rest is the best process
Foal NZ, whose client list includes Sir Patrick Hogan, Cambridge Stud, Windsor Park Stud and Little Avondale Stud, prides itself on a remarkable success rate.
“We have completed over 18,000 training sessions without injury to any mare or foal and created the right start for more than 135 black type horses,” Wills said. “Everything we do is to enhance the welfare and performance of thoroughbred foals, improving their chances of becoming a champion.”
Wills was the first student to become a Monty Roberts instructor world-wide and received her certification at a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
“Monty, the world-renowned horse whisperer, has always been involved in racing,” she said.
“From pin-hooking, owning, helping many high profile barrier horse and being the Queen’s chosen trainer and we see his design in the barrier blanket every race day here in New Zealand.
Monty Roberts has recently been active at the Melbourne Premier Sale
“His focus got us really looking at behaviour and all of our ladies are Monty Roberts instructors and we all think in a similar way.”
Foal NZ Director Sally King is also integral to the business and spent a prolonged stint with Roberts at his Flag Is Up Farms in the United States, also helping the horse whisperer write and edit several books.
“Sally started with us in 2007 and with our skills sets we complement each other very well,” Wills said.
“It is a team effort to create a racehorse and we are an integral part in this.
“We have found when the foals are under three weeks of age they are looking solely to the mare and purely reacting.” – Leigh Wills.
“To be racehorses they need to gallop as a group so they need very good social skills that they initially learn from the mare, so we need to nurture this natural behavior,” Wills said. “We have found when the foals are under three weeks of age they are looking solely to the mare and purely reacting.
“It is not until they go through a socialisation phase from four weeks when they go from spending all of their time with the mare to time with their friends. They are then open to learning from outside influences and mentally more mature so this is a great time for us to train.
“All racehorses need to interact with people and we are the interface.” – Leigh Wills.
“We are always driven to create champion race horses and for farms we are an integral part in this. All racehorses need to interact with people and we are the interface.
“They also need strong social skills as they run as a herd, so we are the interface for this as well.”
Foal NZ Director, Sally King (right)
Wills has presented her educational research internationally including to the International Society for Equitation Science in France and Australia, Equidays and the development of NZQA papers in New Zealand, Equitana in Australia, and the Monty Roberts International Instructor Forum and online university in America.
Wills and her team are committed to continue sharing their knowledge with farms worldwide.
“We find their early work really helpful, particularly so for the smaller breeders,” Schick said. “When the foals go home and they are so much more confident and easier to handle.
“It’s a great tool and does so much for the safety of the foals and for the people who work with them.”
