"Heliocopter Mom" mare that won't let go of her baby!

[Loess Hills]

She has been "hollering" for three days since we moved her baby to the other side of the barn to wean. He's four months old.........and it's time!

We wean so that mom and baby can see each other and touch through the fences, and never had a problem with this much Separation Anxiety!

But this time is different, and she's rampaging and running back from the pasture, pawing at the fence, and calling for him. He, of course, has adjusted just fine with the other young ones, and doesn't seem concerned. We cut her grain back in preparation for weaning, but her bag is still hard and full.So there is obvious physical discomfort. Today we moved her to the smaller barn with the stallion (they get along well) so she'll have her own run and stall and will go out to pasture with the stallion. She can still see her foal, and has not been calling as much this afternoon.

I'm looking for ways to ease her anxiety, if possible, so any advice would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[Flaxenacres]

sometimes my one mare makes so much milk I have to milk her a little for a couple of days. Not much just enough to relieve the pressure. If you milk to much it will make her keep produceing milk.

 

[Calekio]

I've a great lover of the bach flower remedies, if you get them over there... i just give them in there feed twice a day... or on a little bit of bread etc (something it can soak into)

I had a mare who with her first foal was terrible to wean, her baby was 7 months and baby was ok but mare was going mental i think she eventually took a good few weeks to settle.

As for her bag if its very hard then i would normally just milk off just by pulling a few times, to relieve the discomfort.

Normally with weaning i do make it so mum and baby cannot see each other.... makes them settle a bit quicker and after a few weeks even if they see each other they don't care, however everyone has there own ways of weaning and this has obviously worked for you in the past.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

This is exactly why I hate weaning like this!!

Obviously it is not up to you to decide when the time is right, and just as obviously, the time is NOT right for her!!

Four months is a bit early to wean any foal, I have done it in the past when the mare was willing, but only under those conditions, I much prefer to leave the foal a few weeks more and have a trouble free (relatively) parting.

I never move the mare out of sight of the foal, that only induces total panic in mare and foal, if it does not do so, then it isn't necessary anyway, I have tried every method under the sun and a few by moonlight and the only one that works for me is to separate the baby gradually, a few hours a day everyday, and then just do not let the baby back out one day.

The foal by this time has been out of sight for a short time, every now and again, but it is instinctive for a mare to panic when she loses sight of her foal and thsi goes on well into the foals yearling year, in the wild, as mares do not wean foals naturally, they wean the normally coming two year old when the next foal arrives!!

Since you are now stuck with this situation I would suggest you stick it out, just leave the foal where the mare can see her and wait, as the bag goes down the mares anxiety will lessen, but remember thsi for next time and wean her more gradually, and a little later next time.

I understand that we have to make these "Judgement calls" for our animals, but I would no way say it was time to wean , not at four months....maybe at six, it would be time, at eight it would be well time, but not at four months.

The fact that the baby is OK with this is irrelevant, as the baby will only be weaned the once, a mare will have, in all probability, to wean many foals, and each mare is totally different.

 

[Margaret]

You will get many responses on this, but I personally never wean that early.

And each baby is different, so that goes into the timing in which I use to wean.

Colts are sometimes a bigger challenge to wean, as they can be more persistant.

I prefer to wait til 5 months at least, as I dont need the extra anxiety around the place, and the babies do benifit from the extra nutrition. .

We did wean a colt at 5 1/2 to 6 months, sucessfully this year, but also put him with extra company to keep him occupied.

 

[Calekio]

Now i find the oppisite to rabbitsfizz, if my mares can see there foals..... they will panick more... take them out of sight and they are normally ok.... however we do for about a month before get mums and babies use to coming into different stables to feed.

I was advised by vet this year to wean one of my boys at 3 months for his mum's sake... we did.... and ended up with a very depressed foal who we thought was ill (never did figure it out), about 3 weeks later i gave in and put him back on her... he did after a few day let him suckle again but i never got the totally bratty colt totally back again and it was a good few weeks later he started to pick up....

5 months old we weaned all babies together and he was so much better second time round with weaning and he's been fine ever since....

 

[wpsellwood]

Unless the mare was in really bad shape, which so far hasnt happened knock on wood

I dont wean any earlier then 6 months.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

There is no reason for a mare to panic if she can see the foal, that makes no sense especially if, as I do, you do this every day and work up to full weaning.

To take the foal out of sight will cause an instinctual response in the mare of utter devastation.

Some prefer to wean this way and ride out the storm, keeping foal and mare out of sight and earshot, and depending on the animal, it will take around a week for the mare and foal to settle down.

Since I have come to realise the mare thinks you have killed her baby when you do it this way, and just settles down and accepts it in the end, I could not do this anymore.

I feel ,(and this is a personal thing, so I accept that others who have maybe never dealt with a mare losing her foal, or whatever maybe do not empathise on this level and just prefer to get it all done and dusted.) that I cannot do this to an animal in my care.

I can respect that, especially those of you who have to deal with upwards of twenty foals, I just cannot do it myself, not anymore.

I have never known, in my life, a mare that has not been correctly prepared, not panic if you take her foal away....try it sometime!!!

As said, it is not a matter of opinion, it is instinct.

 

[Loess Hills]

Thank you everyone for your advice. The mare is doing much better today!

We do wean by the Old Farmers Almanac "best days" and haven't had a problem before. The mare and foal can still see each other and touch noses through the fence, so hopefully the next few days will see things through.