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Discussion on 5 month old colt weaning question
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Member:
pfdusty
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 - 9:04 pm:
I did read the weaning article but still have a couple questions;
My mare is supposed to go to a friends house for the weaning time. When she gets back she will be turned out with another mare and not her colt.
We are going to board up the colt's stall (12x14 size) so he can't jump out when she leaves (he is the only baby here).
I was planning on taking the mare off the grain when she leaves (since she shares her stall with the colt who eats out of his bowl, since a creep feeder didn't work for them) is this too late(?) and give her some treats in her bowl so she gets something when every other horse is eating.
My questions are:
Since she isn't going back in with the colt, how long does she have to stay at the other place till she can come back home?
For how long should I lock up the colt in his stall until I let him out with an older gelding.
Should I even let him out with an older gelding since I really want to start working with the colt in regards to tying, bathing ... just basic ground stuff? Or turn him out alone, would he hurt himself trying to get to the other horses?
Should I just ignore it if he goes nuts in his stall (he is a feisty one) or go in and talk to him etc?
This is our first "baby", I'm used to dealing with weanlings that are already weaned.
FYI, the pasture he is in now is part electrobraid and part board fence.
Any other info is greatly appreciated.
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Member:
sdms
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 - 11:33 pm:
Hi Moni,
Congratulations on your first baby. They are definitely a lot of fun. I thought I might throw in my two cents worth here since I just weaned our five month old a couple of weeks ago.
We just had the one this year when in the past we've had two. I do think it's easier to wean more than one at a time but not necessary (obviously!). The first thing I'm going to suggest is probably going to have half the people on this board calling me nuts but I always make a point to wean and castrate by the sign. I had an old cowboy that raised cattle and horses tell me that I would cut my problems by 3/4 if I'd pay attention to the sign so I decided to give it a try. So far (knock on wood) I've had excellent luck with this scheduling for both weaning and castrating. Now, I can't tell you honestly if I'd have the same luck on a different schedule but I'm not willing to take the chance to find out! https://www.almanac.com/astrology/index.php
My filly didn't have a creep feeder, either, she just shared with the mare. This mare is pretty old and gets beet pulp, pellets, grass hay and alfalfa. About a week before I plan to wean I cut out the alfalfa and cut back on the pellets to decrease milk production. I wait about a week after weaning to start back with the alfalfa and I start increasing the pellets a few days after weaning.
I don't send the mares away since I really don't have anywhere to send them and I haven't ever really found it necessary. I have 5 corrals set up in a line next to each other that extend out into the pasture. My mare and foal this year were at the near end of the line. When I weaned, I left the foal where she was and I moved the mare down to the far end although they could still see and hear each other. My mare is an old pro so she knew the routine. The filly trotted around quite a bit the first half of the first day and she hollered quite a bit the first two days but calmed down pretty quickly. The mare only hollered a couple times the first day and I think that was to tell the filly to shut up! 
I find that weaning time is a great time to improve the bond you have with the foal. He might not pay much attention to you the first couple of days because he'll be worried about where his mom went but once he calms down he'll be looking for some comfort.
I only waited about a week before I turned the filly out in the pasture (which is really a dry lot). It's the same pasture she'd been in her whole life so she knew the boundaries and she could even reach her mom through the panels of the end corral if she wanted. She did go down and hang out next to her mom for a couple of hours but since mom's bag had completely gone down the mare had no interest in even trying to nurse and paid no attention to the filly. Finally the filly got tired of getting no attention and wandered out to eat weeds. The next day when I turned the filly out I also turned out the less dominant of my two geldings and had no trouble at all. The third day I turned out both geldings and still no problems. I've noticed over the last couple of weeks a couple of patches of hair missing from Sassy but she just has to learn the pecking order and to who she needs to keep her distance from!
Geeeze...I didn't realize how long winded this was going to be. Sorry about that. I'm sure other people will have other suggestions and you'll just have to choose what's right for you.
Best of luck!
~Sara
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 7:57 am:
Hello Moni,
You can see by Sara's post that there are no hard and fast answers to these questions and much depends on the facilities you have, particularly the safety of your fences. Also of note is that what works for one may not work for another do to the differences in horses. So you must look at the situation, use your best judgement, then assess the results ready to make changes if necessary. The article discusses the separation time. If you feel an excited colt may hurt himself on your fence then I would wait to turn him out when he has settled down and in general you should ignore the undesirable behavior.
DrO
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 12:56 pm:
Hi Moni,
I do fenceline weaning here, and build up to it. I first make sure that the foal has had social exposure to other horses, in particular the weaning buddy (or buddies). I also make sure the foal is already halter broke and comfortable with me (I start at 3 weeks, so it isn't really a checklist item). As a helper leads the mare in one gate, I lead the foal in another, with the weaning buddy. The mare and foal can still see and touch one another, but nursing isn't possible. Fence design matters for this, of course.
In my experience, this method is much lower stress for mare and especially for foal. I have not yet had an injury, or even a prolonged scream fest.
Cattle are not horses, but research on meat cattle is strongly supportive of fenceline weaning over full separation in reducing stress and injury.
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Member:
pfdusty
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 12:56 pm:
Thank you Dr. O
I guess I can worry my self to death sometimes.
Sara, thank you as well for the detailed info. I just may wait till the 23rd to start weaning. It can't hurt. My vet here said I need to keep the mom off the property for at least 3 months even though they don't get turned out together once she gets back. It just seems like a very long time.
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Member:
pfdusty
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 2:04 pm:
Elizabeth,
I had the older gelding in with the mare and the colt, the only problem was the mare. She started chasing the gelding all over the place and I had to pull him out. The colt was fine after the initial testing.
I guess my biggest paranoia is the colt getting hurt. He is a Paso Fino and quite spirited.
He has a halter on when he goes out and we take it off in the stall. He is used to us petting him etc, but the leading is still an issue. Some days he will lead and some days he just doesn't want to move and I have to use a butt rope.
I was hoping this will improve once mom is out of the picture.
It's never easy, is it? 
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 2:23 pm:
Hi Moni,
No, it isn't easy. I have used various older horses as weaning buddies, and I trust them to be appropriate with the little guys. My concern is mostly to prevent the weanling from hurting himself/herself. On my ranch, the fenceline contact has always seemed to do the trick, but of course that's no guarantee.
A vet recommended the same practice you are considering. That vet is also a breeder, but had had injuries weaning, which is why I chose to try another approach.
Nothing is foolproof and nothing is horseproof! Hopefully this will go well for everyone. Let us know how you get along.
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 - 3:05 pm:
Moni, I'm not a breeder and only have 1 experience with weaning: 3 years ago, a boarder at the barn purchased a Friesien colt. The breeder brought Mom and baby to the barn, put baby in a stall, packed Mom back up on the trailer and left, leaving baby alone in the stall (all other horses were outside in the pastures). This colt went crazy, climbing the walls, screaming and in an absolute panic. The colt's owner said to leave him there as that is what the breeder told her to do.
The barn owner (who has bred a few horses and had some experience) and I were terrified that the colt would break a leg, so after a day of this, she opted to put him in an arena, where he could, see, hear and smell the other horses...as she had done with her babies in the past. The colt settled down within an hour or two and everything was easy after that....can't quite remember how long it was before she turned him out with some other young horses (they were 2 or 3 yo), but it was probably less than a week.
...For whatever it's worth...
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 - 6:06 am:
I honestly would leave the youngster in the field with their friends if possible, but sometimes you need to put them in a stable while you get Mum loaded up to take her away... Shut the top door.
Screaming will last around half an hour as it does with most separated horses. After that if the animal is halter broken you can usually put it back with its pals straight away and this avoids change of diet stress.
If I can, I try to make sure Mum is on poor pasture for the week or two before weaning (not hard in autumn here...)
Imogen
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 - 9:51 am:
I hate the thought of putting the foal in "solitary" for weaning.
I too, put my filly in a different pasture with an old gentle, gelding. she could still see mom across the driveway, and they were soon both fine.
But even after three months apart, when rejoined, the filly tried to nurse. No big deal though, she was soon too tall to get under there so it didn't go on long!
I think your foal will adjust quite well if he is with company.
Good luck, and hope he stays safe.
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