Weaning!
- Thread starter RedTango
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JMS Miniatures
Well-Known Member
Its important that she has plenty of exercise. You know kind of like you would for a gelding after his procedure. Just watch her. You can also milk her maybe once a day just to see if it will help.
barnbum
Well-Known Member
You'll get different answers, but I'll add a reply.
I'm a major wimp if my horses are not content, and I do all I can do to help them. So--weaning happens ever so gradually here.
In your case--to keep things simple, what I'd do is milk the mare out a bit to relieve her soreness. Just enough to soften her bag a little--then keep checking and do it as needed. I know she'll keep making more--but milking her out just a little is not the same as a foal nursing her dry. It helps the mare.
I let the foals sip every 12 hours at the end of weaning, but it's hard to keep them from draining the bag.
I've had much better luck pasturing mare and foal side by side too--mine cried and cried when in an end to end pasture, but when I moved them to side by side--all was quiet.
Good luck!
I'm a major wimp if my horses are not content, and I do all I can do to help them. So--weaning happens ever so gradually here.
In your case--to keep things simple, what I'd do is milk the mare out a bit to relieve her soreness. Just enough to soften her bag a little--then keep checking and do it as needed. I know she'll keep making more--but milking her out just a little is not the same as a foal nursing her dry. It helps the mare.
I let the foals sip every 12 hours at the end of weaning, but it's hard to keep them from draining the bag.
I've had much better luck pasturing mare and foal side by side too--mine cried and cried when in an end to end pasture, but when I moved them to side by side--all was quiet.
Good luck!
chandab
Well-Known Member
Don't forget to reduce the mare's grain ration to help her dry up. Unless she is skinny because the foal pulled her down, she doesn't need a lactation level of grain/feed.
barnbum
Well-Known Member
In my humble opinion, there's no need to not have them side by side. Weaning happens just fine with that arrangement.
I'm going to get flamed for this......but this is what we do.
If you are doing cold turkey....do cold turkey........
Separate them. If mom can see her foal, the milk will continue and make things harder on mom. (By 6 months it's often harder on the mom than the foal.)
If mom's bag is tight squeeze some milk from her teat twice a day to relieve the pressure. You probably won't have to do it after a couple of days. Sometimes a cool gentle hose also helps. Just do NOT "milk" her!
Do NOT give the mare grain OR fresh pasture for several days while weaning. Both will encourage milk production.
Finally, we recommend the weanling foal has a BUDDY.....either another weanling or a young horse he/she can hang with. Even a goat is better than nothing.
If you are doing cold turkey....do cold turkey........
Separate them. If mom can see her foal, the milk will continue and make things harder on mom. (By 6 months it's often harder on the mom than the foal.)
If mom's bag is tight squeeze some milk from her teat twice a day to relieve the pressure. You probably won't have to do it after a couple of days. Sometimes a cool gentle hose also helps. Just do NOT "milk" her!
Do NOT give the mare grain OR fresh pasture for several days while weaning. Both will encourage milk production.
Finally, we recommend the weanling foal has a BUDDY.....either another weanling or a young horse he/she can hang with. Even a goat is better than nothing.
DianeT
Well-Known Member
I agree with miniv
However if the mares bag is really tight and swollen a dose of banamine and compresses will help her also. Our Vet. recommended this with one of our mares that became very swollen and it worked overnight.
Good Luck....
However if the mares bag is really tight and swollen a dose of banamine and compresses will help her also. Our Vet. recommended this with one of our mares that became very swollen and it worked overnight.
Good Luck....
This back and forth stuff in my humble opinion only drags the weaning procedure out longer. I never milk out the mare and I also use the hose or cold compresses for the mare and they dry up very quickly.
Grain makes milk so I withold grain for about a week to ten days.
Grain makes milk so I withold grain for about a week to ten days.
Here's my opinion!
By the time they are 6 months, foals on pasture are taking very little milk from their dams. We wean at 6 months too and always go 'cold turkey'. Foals stay in their familiar field and the mares get moved right away - out of sight and hopefully out of hearing (although I know this is often not possible!) Never had trouble with either mares or foals, the mares seem only too pleased to be rid of their pesky, lively, often annoying babies! Most of the mares will get a full bag (never tight) for a couple of days, but dry up quickly thereafter. A mare 'in sight/near' her foal will continue to make milk/try to provide for it.
We always make sure we have at least two mares and foals as a minimum each year - foals need a young playmate to share their early life with, to race, chase and play with. If we do get landed with only one mare and foal in a season, then we borrow or take in another from a friend to avoid a single foal growing up without a companion - often offering a covering to one of our boys in return. At weaning our foal then has a buddy and our mare can go back with our herd/her friends and the borrowed mare can either go home or join our herd for the winter.
IMO you need to move your mare away from your foal, do not milk her, keep her away from lush pasture, suppliment with hay if necessary but no food/grain, until she dries up. Do you have a friend who would take her for a couple of weeks? Your mare needs company as much as your weaned foal does.
Good luck!
Anna
By the time they are 6 months, foals on pasture are taking very little milk from their dams. We wean at 6 months too and always go 'cold turkey'. Foals stay in their familiar field and the mares get moved right away - out of sight and hopefully out of hearing (although I know this is often not possible!) Never had trouble with either mares or foals, the mares seem only too pleased to be rid of their pesky, lively, often annoying babies! Most of the mares will get a full bag (never tight) for a couple of days, but dry up quickly thereafter. A mare 'in sight/near' her foal will continue to make milk/try to provide for it.
We always make sure we have at least two mares and foals as a minimum each year - foals need a young playmate to share their early life with, to race, chase and play with. If we do get landed with only one mare and foal in a season, then we borrow or take in another from a friend to avoid a single foal growing up without a companion - often offering a covering to one of our boys in return. At weaning our foal then has a buddy and our mare can go back with our herd/her friends and the borrowed mare can either go home or join our herd for the winter.
IMO you need to move your mare away from your foal, do not milk her, keep her away from lush pasture, suppliment with hay if necessary but no food/grain, until she dries up. Do you have a friend who would take her for a couple of weeks? Your mare needs company as much as your weaned foal does.
Good luck!
Anna
So here is my deal with my mare.
She has a bag of milk, nursing a 6 month old baby, they can still see each other, I let the baby nurse once yesterday..the mother is kinda thin cause of the nursing AND I think she could possibly be bred!!!It wasnt my doing, when I bought her he told me she could be bred..
So yeah I have been feeding her feed..I just dont wanna fool with mastitis!!eeek!
She has a bag of milk, nursing a 6 month old baby, they can still see each other, I let the baby nurse once yesterday..the mother is kinda thin cause of the nursing AND I think she could possibly be bred!!!It wasnt my doing, when I bought her he told me she could be bred..
So yeah I have been feeding her feed..I just dont wanna fool with mastitis!!eeek!
txminipinto
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We wean cold turkey. Foals get buddies and get moved to the barn. Mares stay out in the pasture. They can hear each other but not see each other. The mares' bags do get full but by the end of the week they are dried.
We do not milk the mares. The act of nursing/milking is what causes continued milk production, not hearing or seeing their foals. Allowing the foals to nurse even once a day drags the process out longer than necessary and I personally think its torture to both mare and foal. The constant anxiety is not good for either. Seperating them and keeping them seperated is much like ripping off a bandaid quickly. Get it over with and don't dwell on it allows the mares and foals to move on. I have found when I wean in this manner the mares understand and quickly "forget" about their foals.
We do not milk the mares. The act of nursing/milking is what causes continued milk production, not hearing or seeing their foals. Allowing the foals to nurse even once a day drags the process out longer than necessary and I personally think its torture to both mare and foal. The constant anxiety is not good for either. Seperating them and keeping them seperated is much like ripping off a bandaid quickly. Get it over with and don't dwell on it allows the mares and foals to move on. I have found when I wean in this manner the mares understand and quickly "forget" about their foals.
JMS Miniatures
Well-Known Member
IMO you should still feed the mare. Nothing like a mare/foal feed or alfalfa. Avoid something with high protein.
I also agree if you are going cold turkey keep it that way. Its just going to make it worse. Do not let them see eachother or even be right next to each other. I'm sure that baby is trying to nurse and it will try any way possible and may hurt itself.
I also agree if you are going cold turkey keep it that way. Its just going to make it worse. Do not let them see eachother or even be right next to each other. I'm sure that baby is trying to nurse and it will try any way possible and may hurt itself.
