weaning
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REO
Well-Known Member
How old is he now?
chandab
Well-Known Member
Is the foal eating any type of creep feed, yet? How much? You can't wean til he's eating enough to sustain himself or he'll drop weight. I really wouldn't go before 3 months, but earlier has been done in extreme cases.
Have you offered the mare free-choice grass hay (or if on pasture, added a mare/foal feed or perhaps some alfalfa) and/or increased other feeds she may be getting? Lacatation is the highest demand on a horse's nutritional needs; needing at least 2x maintenance amounts, if not more. [i feed a ration balancer, and the lactation level (first 2 months lacation) of that is 2x maintenance; and each mare would be different as too the extra calories they need.]
Have you offered the mare free-choice grass hay (or if on pasture, added a mare/foal feed or perhaps some alfalfa) and/or increased other feeds she may be getting? Lacatation is the highest demand on a horse's nutritional needs; needing at least 2x maintenance amounts, if not more. [i feed a ration balancer, and the lactation level (first 2 months lacation) of that is 2x maintenance; and each mare would be different as too the extra calories they need.]
HI,
Colt came with teeth, has been eating his dam feed since he could stand.
Chaff/ foal mix 14%/sugarbeet/ balencer/ oil and vitimins.
The mare has two good feeds twice aday and adlib hay, (Twice as much as my other mares and I have wormed and had her teeth rasped)...thought weaning would be the next step.
Becky
Well-Known Member
If your mare is eating well and cleaning up her feed, then she is probably not getting enough calories to support her and her nursing foal. Feed her alfalfa if you can in addition to a quality mare and foal feed. Some of my mares require 3 X the amounts they normally get when they are nursing a foal. I wouldn't wean the foal yet if the mare is eating well. Just feed her more!
Becky
Well-Known Member
I hope your mare responds favorably and you won't have to wean early.
I've weaned foals at 3.5 months and they've done fine. It's important that they are weaned with horses they can eat with and be buddies with. I've also found it very important to feed them a milk based feed at this age as young weanlings don't digest fiber and grains well and they need the milk to help them do that.
I've weaned foals at 3.5 months and they've done fine. It's important that they are weaned with horses they can eat with and be buddies with. I've also found it very important to feed them a milk based feed at this age as young weanlings don't digest fiber and grains well and they need the milk to help them do that.
TEN WEEKS is WAY too young to wean if the mother is still ALIVE.
Allow the foal to eat hay and grain with the mother, and even more importantly, increase the dam's feed - double it!
You may also want to analyze WHAT you are feeding the dam. She needs a high protein/high calcium diet...and plenty of it, plus mineral supplement. (This is why we feed our pregnant and lactating mares a senior feed.)
Allow the foal to eat hay and grain with the mother, and even more importantly, increase the dam's feed - double it!
You may also want to analyze WHAT you are feeding the dam. She needs a high protein/high calcium diet...and plenty of it, plus mineral supplement. (This is why we feed our pregnant and lactating mares a senior feed.)
rabbitsfizz
Well-Known Member
It may be too early to wean but it is not too early to be taking the foal off for a while, each day, and getting it to eat seriously. All my foals around this age are coming off for two hours a day, during which time I halter, pick up feet, mess around, etc, and leave them a good feed which I weigh (so I know what they have eaten.) Mares are in sight if they want to be, but mostly they wander off out to graze after a bit.
I also milk the mares off before letting the foals back on, this serves two purposes:
I can judge what sort of amount of milk each mare is producing, and what sort of quality.
The foals do not get to go back to a full bag, and the mares start to get humpty and shrug them off, this is the very first step towards weaning.
If your mare is on her own you could use this time to give her a really good feed she can eat without her foal annoying her, which will make this a pleasurable time for her, but she has to be, at least at first, in plain sight of the foal or it will stress them both. When I start I bring the mares into the round pen and tie them up, but this bores the socks off them and they are really glad when I let them stay outside!
I also milk the mares off before letting the foals back on, this serves two purposes:
I can judge what sort of amount of milk each mare is producing, and what sort of quality.
The foals do not get to go back to a full bag, and the mares start to get humpty and shrug them off, this is the very first step towards weaning.
If your mare is on her own you could use this time to give her a really good feed she can eat without her foal annoying her, which will make this a pleasurable time for her, but she has to be, at least at first, in plain sight of the foal or it will stress them both. When I start I bring the mares into the round pen and tie them up, but this bores the socks off them and they are really glad when I let them stay outside!
Dee
Well-Known Member
I think the advise about changing the mares diet is best.
They need mom at that age for comfort and they learn so much from her about pecking orders and horse behavior in the herd.
They need mom at that age for comfort and they learn so much from her about pecking orders and horse behavior in the herd.
happy appy
Well-Known Member
I'm in a similar situation right now. My colt is eating grain and hay/pasture well. Mom is in great shape though but is starting to wean the colt herself. I have been noticing that a lot of the time when she would normally let him drink she is pushing him away or moving so that he can't drink. She has milk still and is in great health. The colt is 10.5 weeks now. I'm going to start moving mom and the other big mare out for a couple of hours in the afternoon and leave him with the yearlyings in his similar pasture.
ssshowhorses
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Often times when sucklings are about 2- 2.5 months the mare will start to wean them on their own, they will make them wait to nurse or let them nurse a less number of times then they would like to. I have a mare that has a month and a half old filly that she has almost completely weaned, we supplement the baby but I still wouldn't think of weaning her, there are lots of valuable behaviours that the babies learn from mom. By the time they are about 3.5-4 months the mares will usually have them down to half a dozen good feedings a day. It wont hurt your colt to separate your mare for a few hours a day but it is completely normal for the mare to begin weaning on thier own.
sihri
Well-Known Member
I am also in a similiar situation. my colt who is now a liitle over 5 months is getting close to the weaning stage but mom is not weaning him herself both are doing well. I currently have 2 pastures available for use, my farm was originally designed for large horses I found that the minis are able to get under the fence in areas so only 2 are available at this time. One pature has mom and the colt. The other has our mini stallion and my husbands 16 hand paint gelding. the 2 patures are next to each other so the horses can sniff and talk to each other. The stallion does get along with other boys but cannot be put in with mares as he has raging hormones and wont leave our mare alone. I was thinking about putting the gelding in with mom and baby to allow the colt to buddy up with him prior to weaning and putting him in the boys room(pasture) what are your thoughts on this.
