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Discussion on When to wean!
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New Member:
cgiaco
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 3, 2011 - 9:39 pm:
Ok, so this is the situation. I have a mare and foal. The mare belongs to my friend and the foal belongs to me. I have been reading and I see ALL kinds of information about when and how to wean. I want to get everyones ideas on weaning, how and when. The mare goes back to my friends after I wean them. The foal is very healthy, she is big, very independent. The mom and foal don't really pay attention to each other. The foal is eating hay really well and drinks water. She is three months old right now, but she is not eating grain very well. The mom is a pig and eats her hay and then takes the babies. I have a creep feeder but mom steals babies grain. We have tried blocking off the stall so that baby can get in and to low for mom but she is crazy and will push under stuff, break stuff and I am afraid she is going to get hurt.
Thanks, Cindy
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 3, 2011 - 9:59 pm:
Imo foal should be getting some foal pellets by now. Is there a way you can separate her for a little while each day? I didn't usually wean until foals were at least 4 mos old unless the mare was having a problem, was thin, etc, and sometimes I let them go longer. It depended a lot on the individual. Or, if I had several foals, I'd try and wean them all at the same time. Do you have another older mare or gelding who could be company for the foal? Or, a goat or mini donkey work well also. It will be lonesome all alone even tho' it acts independent now. also, mom usually teaches it a lot of valuable behavioral lessons - assuming she is well behaved.
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New Member:
cgiaco
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 3, 2011 - 10:09 pm:
Hi Sarah,
She is very well behaved. She is a very good girl. She leads, ties, she had had her feet done a couple of times, she has been wormed and handled a lot. I have a friend with another baby and old gelding that she can go with when she is weaned and I have a couple of other horses I just have to figure out which one would be nice to her! She is on omolean 300 but is just nibbling at it. I just started taking baby out of the pen with mom and into another stall with her own feed. I am going to try to do this at night while I am at the barn so that she can get the hang of eating grain with out mom pushing her away. right now she is just nibbling at the omolean 300. How much should I start her out with, and how much should I build her up too? Until Mom is gone she will only be able to have grain at night because I will not have time to do the separation thing in the morning.
Thanks
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 3, 2011 - 10:40 pm:
Hi Cindy  I'd start her out on just a little at a time. I'd also give her some foal-lac mixed in with it for awhile. I always started the foals out on that then gradually added the 300 or something similar. I think the Foal-lac is easier for their digestive systems when they are young. You have to build up to feeding the correct amount for weight. I think there are guides on the back of the sacks; also maybe on HA site. I have a great book out in the barn office put out by U of KY (I think) If you aren't "up" on foals, best book ever is "Blessed are the Foals." I highly reccommend it.
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New Member:
cgiaco
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Posted on Monday, Dec 5, 2011 - 1:27 am:
Thank you Sara. I am going to see if I can get that book. I had foals before but its been along time. I just want to do everything right for her... she ate the grain much better tonight. Thanks!
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Monday, Dec 5, 2011 - 7:07 am:
Hi Cindy,
I had a similar situation with my mare and one of her foals. The foal belonged to my best friend, the mare was mine. My mare was a food hog and I once caught her using her upper lip as a scoop to eat the foals food from a foal creep feeder. We weaned that foal at 3 1/2 months old. That foal is now 24 years old and is 17 hands and has been healthy his whole life.
If you have another foal that you can turn yours out with then I don't think you'll have a problem and I think mom and foal will do just fine.
We used to buddy up the babies 2 in a stall for a while after they were weaned.
Good luck and have fun with your youngster.
Rachelle
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Member:
pattyb
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Posted on Monday, Dec 5, 2011 - 10:21 am:
Since you ladies are discussing this topic, I would like to ask a question if you don't mind...
The question is the same, best time to wean....but I would like to ask it this way: When would be the best time to wean if there are no training or financial pressures to get the young one up and moving, so to say? My Arab/Paint baby was brought here at the tender age of 3 months. I tried to get the breeder to keep him a month or so longer...but she wanted him out, I suspect to rebreed as soon as possible.... Maybe perhaps I should ask this way--->from the mental health point of view for the foal, when is the best time to wean? If left with mom, at what age would she do it? As you can see... I don't know much about this subject...but I love the question and have often wondered the very same thing.
My Ziggy is just a pet, started riding him gently when he was two years old. He never has been ridden hard, mostly just playing around in the arena when I have time...but I have often wondered if he wouldn't have been better off left with his mom for maybe another month or two....
Thanks, and very interested in your topic Cindy.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Monday, Dec 5, 2011 - 10:56 am:
As long as both are doing good, I'm not sure it matters. Mom will eventually wean the foal herself. Though, SOME mothers are pretty slow to do so and let the foal call the shots.In the wild I think they wean when they are pg again. If you aren't breeding the mare again, the foal could still be slipping a sip now and then until it's two or so! Aslo, be aware that if the foal is a stud colt, he can and will breed his own mother and some colts are viable at under a year of age.
I had a yearling stud colt turned out in a pen adjacent to his mothers once; it was pretty funny as he would act like he wanted to breed her one minute, then stick his head through the rails and try to nurse the next! Neeless to say, I had to move them further apart. LOL
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