Weaning and Worming

[Nickysminis]

Hi

This year i have my first homebred foal (unplanned, but very much loved!

), but because i'm a novice in breeding I have a few questions

Weaning - i know most of you start weaning at about 4-6 months, but what is the latest you have weaned.

I have a 4 month old foal which i am in no rush to wean (both he and mum are still both looking very well) and i was wondering how long i can leave him with mum before it becomes a problem ( he will be getting gelded, so this wont be an issue)

I am unable to seperate my mare and foal out of earshot from each other as i only have one field which is fenced off into paddocks. what is the best way to wean using this setup.

Worming - Following advice from my local wormer stockist i have not yet wormed my foal, but i now think he really should be wormed. Which wormer should i use/is safe to use for a foal

Thank you in advance for your advice

Nicky

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Any wormer you use on the others is fine, just in proper dose.

I've seen 4yo "foals" that haven't been weaned. 3-6mo is normal. Be aware you may not be able to reintroduce them for a long time. I've seen 4+yo weaned horses "unwean" when put with their mother again.

While out of earshot is best, its not usually practical, so don't stress too much about it as long as they are fully separated. If possible, make sure they are out of sight of each other.

You can geld him at any time, but if he's with mares (even his mother) he will need to be cut before 9mo.

 

[cretahillsgal]

Definitely worm him. I worm all mine beginning at 1 month old. Different people will tell you different wormers to use. But I always just worm my foals with whatever wormer the mares are getting.

When I wean, my mares and foals can hear each other. But I put them where they can't see each other or share a fenceline. After 2 days or so they are good to go. And I haven't had any problem reintroducing them back in with their mommas after 4 or 5 months.

 

[AnnaC]

Hi Nicky,

We dont usually wean our foals until 6 months - unless for medical reasons. But your little chap does need worming. I would use something gentle first, like Pancur, then follow it up with an Ivermectin dose a couple of weeks or so later. He would then fit in with the rest of your girls for his 'bot' dose in December.

When you wean I presume his dam will have the companionship of your other girls, so the biggest problem that I can see will be a companion for your little colt. It is so much easier if they have a friend to be with/play with (an older mare is not much use in playing games!). Do you know of anyone who could 'lend' you another colt foal, or offer a 'livery' to someone on a very reasonable basis. Or even let your little fella go to someone else with one/several colt weanlings (which of course would get him off the premises and away from his Dam).

Just some suggestions for you to consider. Good luck!

 

[Riverrose28]

Personally I would have already been worming him, so since he hasn't had any wormer yet I would do as someone has already suggested and use panacur to start and then you can put him on the same schedule as the others.

On weaning, if you have side by side paddocks and no other foals for little one to buddy with, I would use the slow method. I'll try to explain, take baby away from Mom, never take Mom away from baby, put baby in the next paddock and let him stay there for a few hours each day for a few days. Then put him back with Mom, If you give them both hay, they will settle down and can still see and nose each other. Then after a few days, put the foal in the paddock, with hay for the whole day, he will soon learn he can still see Mom and no need to scream, put him back in with her for the night, this will also help to get her bag down. After two weeks, keep them seperated. Duriog this time you will also want to decrease the amount of feed and hay Mom gets to help slow down milk production. It's hard trying to wean only one without any buddies, but it can be down with the least amount of stress.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Wean whatever way works for you.

Deworm every 30-60 days with a slow kill wormer like pyrantel or a benzimadazole. Until about January.

Dr Taylor

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Take baby away from Mom, never take Mom away from baby.

Is this just for the slow method? When weaning cold turkey (which I recommend) its best to remove mare from foal... that way, the foal is in secure, comfortable surroundings, and can handle the stress better. If you remove the foal from the mare, the foal will be in new surroundings without mom. That's even more stressful.

 

[cretahillsgal]

I also remove the moms and leave the foals together in the area they are used to being in.

 

[REO]

I also remove the moms and leave the foals together in the area they are used to being in.

Same here

 

[Nickysminis]

Thankyou for all your fantastic replies. I knew i could count on the people on here to give me good advice

Currently pedro is living with his mum, half sister and an unrelated gelding ('uncle' Sparky) and then my mini colt and 2yo Dartmoor gelding are in a paddock next door (not ideal but have to do the best with the field space i have) . My plan is to buddy him up with Sparky, so i would split the field into 3 paddocks and have the girls in one, colt and Dartmoor in another and Pedro and Sparky in the other. Does this sound ok?

I will get on to worming him straight away. How do i work out how much to give him if i can't weigh him, i assume a weigh tape won't be very accurate for a mini foal. He is a very well grown mini shetland x miniature horse.

Also, I need to get him passported but can't decide on a registered name for him. His mum is Huggie Bubbles and his dad is Shadel Seahorses Secret and he was and unplaned accident baby, so i'm trying to think of a name using this combination. Any suggestions? My Prefix will be 'Whitewicks.........'

Thanks in advance

Nicky

 

[AnnaC]

Whitewicks Secret Hugs/Bubbles Secret - sorry am useless with names!

With the space you have, I think your plan is a good one. Can you start doing the 'change' perhaps for a few hours, then a day and then for good, thus doing the slow weaning method the others have suggested.

Regards worming amounts, each tube is divided by marks showing usually every 100lbs and each 100lbs is divided by 4 little notches, but you must know this from worming your other horses. I wouldn't think that he weighs 100lbs, so perhaps 2 or 3 of the little notches would be ok (if you cant manage to weight him somehow. Is he well handled? Could someone pick him up? Get the house scales out, weigh the person, pick him up and weigh them both - job done!! LOL!!)