Abrupt weaning - humour me

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Winifred

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Need a bit of reassurance really please. I've gradually weaned my two previous foals no problem but have to abruptly wean this one tomorrow.

She's now 10 months, has spent daytimes with others and then back in with mum at night (initiated by her) and fed seperately etc but tomorrow will be coming in for night and mum will be loaded up and going home.

I'm not worried about mum - she will go without a backward glance, just need some advice about how long to keep baby in for etc?

I've had to go down this route as she is slightly accident prone and although she has come on loads I wouldn't put it past her to go in a blind panic so going for the stable option and have a tube of sedalin too if needed.

Plan is:

All in (mum and her two friends), sedalin if I think we need it, shut her in (top door too) and mum loaded up and gone fast. If not sedated lots of hay to occupy. Turn back out whenever settled, be it next day or a few days.

Any tips or hints or reassuring stories would be much appreciated. I always hate this part and think I'm dreading it more given how well I know the little orange child!
 
"She's now 10 months, has spent daytimes with others and then back in with mum at night" - I might be being stupid here, but if she is out with others on her own during the day why cant mum be taken away then? Filly wont know any different if she is not out with her anyway, then she just comes in at night as usual to her own stable & feed. Her routine stays the same & in practice should be ok.
 
I would try and make sure she can see her friends, this will help her the most.
She will scream and call a lot, it may break your heart ;) that's fine and acceptable. Make sure you don't hang around too much and shush her and fuss.
Keep an eye on her but just let her get over it.

I hate weaning, always feel so horribly guilty! But we abruptly wean ours and they are fine. Promise!!
 
i would bring mum in loead and go. then bring foal in with one of her special friends and feed them and leave together overnight, then turn out as normal. as she the foal has spent daytime with others then i think she will be fine. i think its more worrying for us humans than for them esp if they have been independant even if only in the day. keep a tube of sedalin handy and be around to monitor the situation for 24 hrs. if in doubt at night shut foal and friend in a big box with a nice bed, and nice hay. sure it will all be fine.
 
I am still missing what is the problem with turning her out as usual with her friends & then loading mum? Neither are together during the day, so you would not expect either to be upset. It sticks with the routine they are used to & be the evening you could well find that the filly is not even bothered. Unless your mare is grazing in a paddock next door where filly can see her?
 
magic104 said:
I am still missing what is the problem with turning her out as usual with her friends & then loading mum? Neither are together during the day, so you would not expect either to be upset. It sticks with the routine they are used to & be the evening you could well find that the filly is not even bothered. Unless your mare is grazing in a paddock next door where filly can see her?
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Sorry I didn't explain it well enough. Yes mum is other side of the fence, she is next door with friends then they are all together at night. She is a bit of a stress head and although she has been fine with thus far I wouldn't put it past her to go through things in a panic so hence the coming in and mum departing swiftly and getting it over with.
 
Winifred said:
Sorry I didn't explain it well enough. Yes mum is other side of the fence, she is next door with friends then they are all together at night. She is a bit of a stress head and although she has been fine with thus far I wouldn't put it past her to go through things in a panic so hence the coming in and mum departing swiftly and getting it over with.
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Right, with you, me understand now.
 
magic104 said:
I am still missing what is the problem with turning her out as usual with her friends & then loading mum? Neither are together during the day, so you would not expect either to be upset. It sticks with the routine they are used to & be the evening you could well find that the filly is not even bothered. Unless your mare is grazing in a paddock next door where filly can see her?
Click to expand...

If they're anything like mine, then yes, there would be a problem! Mine are fine if they're stabled and you take one away (even when weaning which is why I do abrupt weaning anyway, a gradual weaning would be a nightmare for me)) but if they're out in the field then they'd never stop shouting and razzing about - and on this hard ground, that's the last thing I would want them doing; I'd also want control of how much trouble they could get in (through fences and so on) because weaning is stressful enough to us without something going wrong/getting cut/kicked, you name it; that's the last thing you need and just another drama that would have been un-necessary.
I always make sure everything is in the box it needs (no haynet, would rather it was loose on the floor) bring them in, whip mare away, shut all doors until she's loaded or gone off yard and have never had a problem doing it this way. The mares are glad to see the back of them and the foals have company that they can talk to through the grills but usually you come back to find foal's tucking into the hay without any stress at all on their part; it's me that does the stressing! Because they are going back out with their original mates, unless one is very stressy then they are turned out the next morning; they'll have a canter around and a shout but when the mare doesn't answer them back they get on with grazing and playing, as they would have been doing the day before.

Good luck, it's always worse for us I think as long as the time is right (and ten months seems more than enough).
 
I am sure I am not the only one, but I keep on hearing about people having problems weaning and we have NEVER EVER had an issue.
All we do is make sure the mares and foals are in nice, established groups that mimic a natural herd situation (a group of mares and foals running together). Every single year we do instant weaning - we bring the foals in groups of 2 or 3, pop them in a stable and quickly remove the mares and take them out of earshot. Without exception, they do the odd call for 5 minutes or so, and then just accept the situation. They have food and they have their mates, they don't ever care!

I appreciate it is not quite the same for the OP, but thought I would share this information, as I think so many people worry very needlessly about weaning.

In your situation OP, I would pop the foal in a box with one of their current friends, give them plenty of food and leave them for a day. I would not put them straight out in their current field, as if the foal thinks mum may be nearby, they may attempt to find an escape route!
 
When I am weaning, the mares and foals come in at night for a week and are fed am and pm in two mangers so that the foal eats out of a manger on his/her own. In the am they all go out after breakfast and then one evening one mare wont go in with her foal, the foal will be in its usual box with its usual feed and while it will probably shout, once its finished eating usually, it will settle and in the am will go out with the others as usual. I've never had one gallop around screaming as its friends are there calmly grazing and when the first one is totally happy usually only two days the next one is done. I've found that once they know their box and paddock they are happy but I do close the top door for a few nights in case of accidents.
 
Touchwood said:
I am sure I am not the only one, but I keep on hearing about people having problems weaning and we have NEVER EVER had an issue.
All we do is make sure the mares and foals are in nice, established groups that mimic a natural herd situation (a group of mares and foals running together). Every single year we do instant weaning - we bring the foals in groups of 2 or 3, pop them in a stable and quickly remove the mares and take them out of earshot. Without exception, they do the odd call for 5 minutes or so, and then just accept the situation. They have food and they have their mates, they don't ever care!

I appreciate it is not quite the same for the OP, but thought I would share this information, as I think so many people worry very needlessly about weaning.

In your situation OP, I would pop the foal in a box with one of their current friends, give them plenty of food and leave them for a day. I would not put them straight out in their current field, as if the foal thinks mum may be nearby, they may attempt to find an escape route!
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I couldn't agree more, we do exactly the same with our babies. We have never had a problem with any of the foals when weaning. I did have a mare go off her food for a while, but even she was back to normal in no time. She never worried again with her subsequent babies.
 
Have to agree with both Touchwood and Cruiseline.
I can see far more problems and potential for accidents with gradual weaning or where the mare stays close by than ever with the way we do it but to each their own; I just would not like to take that risk with mine myself.
 
Thank you all for your input. It's very reassuring that this plan, knowing her, is the right way to go. I'll play it by ear when she and her friends go out again, depending on how settled she is and have planned to put her in a new field with lots of fresh green stuff so she isn't going out in the field they are in today thinking mum is hiding round the corner.

I will update tonight how we get on.
 
Maesfen said:
If they're anything like mine, then yes, there would be a problem! Mine are fine if they're stabled and you take one away (even when weaning which is why I do abrupt weaning anyway, a gradual weaning would be a nightmare for me)) but if they're out in the field then they'd never stop shouting and razzing about - and on this hard ground, that's the last thing I would want them doing; I'd also want control of how much trouble they could get in (through fences and so on) because weaning is stressful enough to us without something going wrong/getting cut/kicked, you name it; that's the last thing you need and just another drama that would have been un-necessary.
I always make sure everything is in the box it needs (no haynet, would rather it was loose on the floor) bring them in, whip mare away, shut all doors until she's loaded or gone off yard and have never had a problem doing it this way. The mares are glad to see the back of them and the foals have company that they can talk to through the grills but usually you come back to find foal's tucking into the hay without any stress at all on their part; it's me that does the stressing! Because they are going back out with their original mates, unless one is very stressy then they are turned out the next morning; they'll have a canter around and a shout but when the mare doesn't answer them back they get on with grazing and playing, as they would have been doing the day before.

Good luck, it's always worse for us I think as long as the time is right (and ten months seems more than enough).
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But it was not made clear that mum was only in the paddock/field next door. If they were only together at night, then because filly was not with mum anyway, she would not be hooling around & at night she would be in her safe stable anyway. If they were happy to be apart during the day, I would have had them in separate stables at night anyway.
 
Thank you all for the advice. All done with minor stress and now two happy separated girls.

Did give her a bit of sedalin, then got them all in. Mum loaded straight up without so much as a backward glance and travelled fine the half an hour home. Back in her old field with old friends to rule the roost again and not a peep from her.

Baby did rear a couple of times when she was taken away and then drugs kicked back in and she went back to sleep. OH and a friend stayed with her until I got back from dropping mum off and she had tea and hay delivered to her ensuite when she was back in the land of the living and ate them happily, a little unsettled but only shouted a couple of times.

This morning her nanny was calling which was upsetting her as she was settled and quiet, so decided to try putting them all out and as expected was very happy in the field, a quick trot round and then straight down to eat.

Phew, as always I was the most stressed!
 
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