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Regular
Posts: 63
Location: B-F-E | My mare had her (and my) very first foal in April. When I do wean her, Iishe there anything I can do to make the process easier for the baby? I don't have any other young horses to put her with and I'd be afraid to put her with any of my adult horses. I'd appreciate any advice you guys have :) |
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Regular
Posts: 85
| When we have an outnumbered foal (one filly and 2 colts etc etc) we put the outnumbered one out with a miniature pony. He is nice to them and gives them some company. Sometimes you can find ponies rather cheap and they don't eat much :) |
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 Midget Lover
    
Location: Kentucky | I only have one foal a year. I'll take Mom away to my neighbor's house and the baby will stay with my 19 year old. She is a total biatch, but she doesn't hurt the baby, but she will teach them manners. I wait to wean 4-6 months. Usually by then, they are pretty independent and the split doesn't bother them so much. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Lph88311 - 2016-06-27 11:23 AM
When we have an outnumbered foal (one filly and 2 colts etc etc) we put the outnumbered one out with a miniature pony. He is nice to them and gives them some company. Sometimes you can find ponies rather cheap and they don't eat much :)
Just curious, why do you keep your colts separate from your fillies? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 672
| I put my old gelding in with my mare and colt for a week or 2 then pulled the mare. That old gelding was/is a better "mom" than the mare ever was. This gelding never got attached to any of the other horses, but has a special place in his heart for any baby. He's officially my babysitter now! |
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Regular
Posts: 85
| Gunner11 - 2016-06-27 11:29 AM
Lph88311 - 2016-06-27 11:23 AM
When we have an outnumbered foal (one filly and 2 colts etc etc) we put the outnumbered one out with a miniature pony. He is nice to them and gives them some company. Sometimes you can find ponies rather cheap and they don't eat much :)
Just curious, why do you keep your colts separate from your fillies?
We have a cutting horse breeding program and most of the time the colts are left studs until the owners/trainers have a chance to decide, based on their performance & confirmation etc., whether they will be a stud or gelded...this is normally around the time they are 2 or 3. They are pretty much left alone until the fall before they turn 2, other than some halter breaking and routine vet visits, so we like to separate them while they are young mostly for piece of mind. It is just a system we adapted and it seems to work well.
Edited by Lph88311 2016-06-27 11:41 AM
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 Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
Location: Bandera, TX | I dropped momma off at a friends house for a few weeks and left the baby with my gelding. I will never forget the priceless look on my gelding's face when the baby tried to nurse. These two have been best friends for the past 9 years. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2013
Location: Piedmont, OK | Geldings make excellent baby sitters! |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | This yr we will only have one. I'll wean her by herself, she will have geldings across the fence most likely. Then I'll start working with her everyday and get her halter broke. I have never had any issues weaning one alone. They have weaned just as well alone as in a group. Sometimes better. If you have a real cry baby, they will keep the rest of them upset vs just one will settle down as soon as she figures momma isn't going to come back. The past couple yrs we have kept the mares within hearing distance just because that pasture works best for us and is safe. In the past we have hauled mares 10 miles away and the mares could care less (I think this is easier on them). Babies cry all the same. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | We wean all of ours sometime in October. They will vary in age from 5-9 months. We don't separate the fillies from the colts until the Spring. If you just have a broodmare, then I really like leaving them on the mare. If it is a performance horse and you want to get back to riding, then anything after 4 months really isn't a problem. When we wean, we just take of the mare one day, out of sight out of mind, and that is it. They are all eating with their mom's by that time anyway. Basically, we use nature. The moms and foals are somewhat ready for it anyway. Anytime you wean, you want the foal or any animal to get the feed. Putting them in with older animals often gets them pushed off feed when you want them to have as easy of access to it as possible. We have had to wean individuals before and I think it is best to leave them by themselves as opposed to a gelding or even a pony (they can be pretty ornery). That is just some of my rambling thoughts. I am sure there are lots of ways to do it.
P.S. Once they are on food well, having something in with them is a good idea. I try to use an older mare that will be fair with them. There is nothing worse than a foal that was raised in a pen with only human contact...especially one that just "loves" the tar out of them. It is important for ours to learn pasture, social, and group behavior.
Edited by Tdove 2016-06-27 2:39 PM
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| We have an older gelding that stays with the mama and baby for a couple months-when we wean (between 5/6 months) we put the baby in the middle stall & mama and babysitter on either side (stalls are horse wire panel) baby can see mama and babysitter but can't nurse-after a couple days mama goes out then a couple days later baby & babysitter go out. Baby has a creep feeder next to mama & babysitter feeders that he/she has been eating from since the 1st week old. Come feeding time babysitter has his feeder and baby has the creep feeder. Never had one get injured because they are running all over looking for mama. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | When my nanny gelding died before I weaned my last baby, I got her a donkey as a friend. They got along great, and she never acted like she noticed when her mom disappeared to my parents' house for 6 weeks or so. |
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Regular
Posts: 63
Location: B-F-E | Thanks guys for all the advice! :) |
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Weaning an only foal