Weaning Foals

[angelsdream]

Sorry to hear that Kim. Let us know when the blookwork comes back what they say - I'l hope for the best and hope its not tumors. Maybe it will be something that will be easily treatable.

[mustangdara]

How long do you keep mom and baby apart? mine have been separated for little more than a week and moms milk is really drying up well...do i just try and see what happens and if needed separate again?
I was also wondering that since i have done the weaning this way i am still going to have to deal with the separation anxiety situation when i want to tke them places sepratly. I will have two crazed mom and baby on my hands?

Kim how is your ill mare?

[Michelle Clarke]

Dara, wait until the mare if fully dried up...if the filly suckles, the milk may come back in. It usually takes our mares a good two weeks or more to dry up completely.

[gotkiger]

I know this thread is old but I have a question on the matter. My 12 year old mare is prego and come time for foaling and weaning i wont have another foal to wean with. I do however have a two year old (at present though she might sell). What is the best way to go about weaning a foal solo. I have areas where they can be separatred but eventually they will have to end up back together (unless it is a colt).

Also The foal is half andalusian and sire is a very well bred Andi. If it is a colt and well minded should i geld it or keep it intact. I have no use for a colt (intact or gelded) and would be apt to sell it asap. So i guess that is my question ... do i just geld it or leave it intact for a while and seperated from any other horses until sold?

[fantasykiger]

Weaning can be just simple panels seperating the dam from the foal when doing it solo. So the foal can still see the dam but not nurse for awhile and then removing the dam from sight for periods of time and returning her. Lengthning those periods of time the dam is away before she returns.

Should you have a colt do the colt a favor and geld it before you sell it. Geldings more often then not live much happier lives with other horses and as riding horses then stallions. That is just my opinion mind you. Gelding can be done as early as 4mths and there is less stress involed if you geld while the colt can still be with his dam. Do not geld and wean at the same time. Should you start to advertise your colt as soon as it is born and get a buyer before your gelding date that desires to purchase your colt intact, then you can make your choice accordingly.

[gotkiger]

Thanks That really helps. This is my first breeding and foaling to be done on my own without the help of a more knowledgeable person.

[Michelle Clarke]

Honestly, there is no market for selling an intact Kiger/Andy cross colt. Geld him when you can so he stays socialized and develops well mentally.

There is a good thread on this board regarding castration that you might want to check out...

[angelsdream]

Good thread, as my cruz will be getting weaned before long. I usually take the mare out, leaving the foal in the place where he is already familiar. Not sure how I will do it now. I am planning on taking Lakota out a hour or two at a time to see how cruz is. He seems to be very comfortable with Bella and already when I take Lakota out for grooming, Bella hollers more than cruz does! Lakota is still in sight but this way he'll start getting used to her not being there and then coming back. I like the idea of them being side by side with a fence in between them but will the foal or mare not try to go thru the fence to get back to each other?

[DianneC]

I have been lucky enough to have a road between my pastures. But it depends on your fence, how high and if it has a hot wire on it.
Personally, I like to leave the foal with the dam over the first winter. Its true that some of the nursing is more comfort nursing, but I do think it give a taller horse with the extra nutrition and protein. Works in the wild anyway.

[gotkiger]

Now that Frodo is here and getting bigger I am starting to really think about the weening process. Oh Frodo, lol. He is definately a boy. He is three and a half months old and is mounting Dollie and trying to get it on. He also is biting her all the time. The thing that has me baffled is that she does nothing about it. She wont kick out at him or bite him back. When I am there he doesnt do it as he knows I will get after him for it. He has no problem rumming off to the other side of the pasture and staying away from Dollie... However Dollie has a problem with him being any distance from her. I learned a while ago that Dollie is very herd bound and will do just about anything to get back to the herd. She is behaving much the same way as she did last year when I was having so many problems with her. I dont think Frodo will do anything stupid enough to hurt himself however i dont have that same faith in Dollie. Here are my questions:

Should I worry about her teaching him to be herd bound?
Is there any thing I can do to stop or curb Frodo's current behavior?
What should I try as far as weening goes and when should I start?
Will Frodo's current behavior stem into other behavior problems later?
Since i dont trust Dollie not to try to jump my 5 foot fences to get back to Frodo, Should I try to send her to a friends house where she can be stalled and kept safe?

I really was not expecting this type of behavior from Dollie, but was from the colt, just not this soon.

[lindad]

My Kiger mare, Chica has no trouble clearing a 5 ft fence when upset. Did it a few weeks ago because the neighbor was walking his fair pig and she was scared of it. Didn't even need a running start. So do take that into consideration when weaning. I am assuming the fence doesn't have T posts at that height, as that can be lethal.

[Michelle Clarke]

First thing is that yes, Dollies' herd bound behavior will affect Frodo and he will most likely be the same mainly because he has been raised by himself with no other horses to learn normal herd behavior with. Her putting up with the mounting is normal for a mare to be tolerant of their foals bratty behavior - another thing that other horses take care of early on. That most likely won't be a long lasting thing though - he is just getting testosterone and mounting is normal play, even with fillies. I would not worry about it.

Unless you have a buyer and need to wean him soon, you should consider leaving him with her longer anyway. Don't be afraid to go 6-8 months (I know folks who go longer). She is not pregnant again, so you don't have to worry about her having to work so hard to keep condition (plus she is relatively young). She may or may not be tired of him and begin the weaning herself.

When you decide to wean, it would be best for her to be off your farm and safe if you are worried about her. The weaning goes much better anyway when they can't see or hear eachother (again, each horse is different but in general it works better).

Best case senerio (and your husband will love this!), you buy another colt that has been raised in a herd with other colts already and has the social behavior you want for Frodo. I have had people do this and be successful as long as the other colt is playful and used to playing with other babies - don't get another foal that has been raised by himself.

Next best is to have a gelding that won't hurt him, is tolerant without being too much of a pushover. If you were keeping him a stallion, it would be good to put him with a mare to teach him to leave her the heck alone, but you have to be ready for kicks and injuries while he learns. Since you are eventually going to geld him anyway, I would stay away from putting him with another mare - find a colt or the perfect gelding.

One thing you can do is ask around or advertise on CL that you are willing to take another colt in for boarding - you should be able to find someone else with one colt that needs to be weaned and have a buddy. This will eliminate you having to buy another one too.

The biggest concern here is not his mounting having a long lasting effect but the not socializing properly. If you do decide to add another colt in - let me know and I can help you with how to go about it even before you wean.

[gotkiger]

There was aa filly born about 3 weeks after him and she has been raised with other horses i believe but no other babies. i have tried tp get them together from day one with no luck. When the weaning starts would she be a good companion for a while if i can get to her? Or if i can get her and mama now will that help any? Thanks

[Michelle Clarke]

Usually in order for that to work, you have to get the mares together before they foal - mostly when they are fat and too miserable to give each other grief.

Colts due better with other colts - they play very differently than fillies. They are rough and tumble and need to bite and wrestle. Fillies like to run and kick - then eat the rest of the time. Long term, fillies learn to be pissy having to defend themselves all the time and usually grow up being defensive with other horses. Kicking and squealing is how they learn to handle confrontation.

Long term colts learn to be bullies and push other horses around. They become dominant geldings that you have to be careful with turning out with mares. They can even become possessive over mares and I've seen some geldings (even gelded before a year old) still mount and breed mares.

There is nothing easy about socialization! Each horse is different and each dynamics are different with each herd, even if it is only a herd of two. I'm not saying it can't work but experience tells me it probably won't.

[fantasykiger]

I have had one filly and colt pair grow up together that was Princess and Zinga born a month apart. As Michelle mentioned the mares were familiar with each other before birth and knew where they stood. The colt was born first and the filly a month later. Circumstances being what they were at the time they were both put out to pasture at the same time with their dams and then the colt was gelded at 4 mths and at 6 mths he was weaned and the filly along with him at 5 mths. But you want to know what saved my filly from a rambunctious gelding, that liked to play ruff ? the addition of a 5 yr old minature horse gelding for him to play with. I was sold on the minature gelding for all my colts to wean with after that. He was even Super's buddy for awhile. I sold him when I would no longer be breeding and Super no longer needed a weaning friend.
Princess and Zinga'

Zinga playing with Cooper the mini'