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Member
Posts: 33
| Is it best to remove the mare completely from the property Someone suggested to stall the foal and to leave mare on the property, but I do not have a separate pen far enough away to put the mare. She'd be right on the other side of the barn wall. No matter what they will not be happy just Concerned that option would keep both mare and foal upset more having each other next to each other This is the first time I am keeping both the mare and foal. Usually one of them are sold and removed from property right away. Thank you in advance |
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 Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
   
Location: Missouri | I took my mare away. I was so worried, but there were no issues.
I fed the foal in the round pen, while she was eating, I loaded up the mare and took her a few miles away to a different pasture.
Pretty much drama-free!  |
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 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | Studies have shown foals do much better if weaned slowly and stress free. Foals who are locked up, or all of a sudden gets their mom taken away are those that tend to mother up and have seperation anxiety as adults also. With that said, we just move the foal into the next pen so mom is right there, they can visit but the foal cant nurse. MUCH easier on all involved. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2013
Location: Piedmont, OK | I have a gelding that is a great babysitter. I put him with the baby and the broodmare for about a couple of weeks before I take the mama away. And I will start taking the mom out of the pen and separate them for a couple of hours at a time to lead up to weaning. I don't do cold turkey. It works like a charm every time. |
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 Special Somebody
Posts: 3951
Location: Finally horseback again.... | I have found that they do better if they can see and touch momma for the first few days. I wean mine in a pipe corral and let the mommas stand or walk around the outside as they please. The babies have mom there close, they just cant nurse. It is way less stressful for both mom and baby. mom will eventually walk away and go about there business. I have done it this way the last 10-12 years and not one accident at weaning since.
I used to wean the other way and just take the babies and put them in the stalls until I have one jump through the stall door and bash his head. Those stressed more and ate less. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | Similar to others I wean slowly ...i start to separate them at dinner time only while they eat their grain and I put them in adjoining stalls ( pipe so theycan see each other but not nurse ) and then gradually i increase that time to momma finishing her grain and alfalfa before putting tthem backttogether for the night. ..i do this for a week or two...then one day i turn them out in separate pastures..they are also adjoining so they can see and nuzzle each other if they feel the need but also wander a bit more each day...it does help to have a pasture buddy for the babies i use an old passive gelding...usually when I first start separating them they dont notice much when they are both In the barn together and i usually keep them in familiar pens both inside and outside so they don't feel uneasy about anything other than momma being separate. ..and usually momma and baby will run back to the fence a few times for each other but no accidents so far knock on wood and both seem to adjust fast..i usually wean around 5th to 6th month and by then mommas are happy to be free lol but they do still calm the babies if they holler for them. ..it takes about a week before they decide they like their new found freedom lol |
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
We had our first foal last year and when we weaned we did it cold turkey. Took mom away, immediately put our gelding in with the filly and moved mom to another pasture. The filly could still see mom in the other pasture, but the pastures were a decent ways from each other. It worked out great. The filly bonded with the gelding and the mare couldn't have cared less.
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 Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | I don't make the mare disapear. I just bring mare, foal & whoever their pasture buddy is in from the pasture. Mare goes in one pen while foal & buddy horse go in the other. I have had absolutely ZERO issues this way & it's pretty stress free for everyone. |
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 Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
| Canchasr1 - 2015-01-21 9:31 AM
I have found that they do better if they can see and touch momma for the first few days. I wean mine in a pipe corral and let the mommas stand or walk around the outside as they please. The babies have mom there close, they just cant nurse. It is way less stressful for both mom and baby. mom will eventually walk away and go about there business. I have done it this way the last 10-12 years and not one accident at weaning since.
I used to wean the other way and just take the babies and put them in the stalls until I have one jump through the stall door and bash his head. Those stressed more and ate less.
This is what I do. Babies go in a pipe corral with the mamas on the outside. They appeared to have very little stress. The babies had been eating grain since they were a few weeks old, so it wasn't a drastic change in diet. I have an old gelding that was pastured with them from the beginning. So after about 2 or 3 weeks in the pen, I took the mares to a rent pasture and the babies never made a peep. |
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 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | It certainly is a LOT easier to just take the mare somewhere else. |
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 Former Hockey Smacker Player
Posts: 5095
Location: Texas Baby!! | I usually do it around 4 months and I put all the babies in a pen at the barn and turn the mares loose in another pasture. Never had any problems!! My mares are a little cold hearted though they do not give a crap they all walk off and start eating. I have only had one mare who always got super attached to her babies and would freak out for a little while but I have not ever had any problems with the babies! |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 540
Location: My own little world :) | When I wean I do the cold turkey method. The baby and mama are separated and that is that. They seemed to be just fine but I waited until the baby was about six months old so maybe they were both "ready"? The last time I had the mare tied up in the barn and threw some hay in the stall and the baby walked right in and went to eating so I lead the mama out to a far away pasture. The mama didn't care....it was like she was ready to be alone and then the baby was a little worked up for a few hours but settled right in. She wasn't in with a friend for a while and i think that helped her become more interested in people as she wasn't touched a whole lot as a foal because I was very pregnant and then had a baby about a month after she was born. Different strokes for different folks I guess :) |
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