Best method for weaning .... advice please.

[wonkey_donkey]

When the time comes to wean my colt foal am I better to take him to my friends yard to mix with her weaned foals of a similar age, or to keep at home and send the mare to my friends yard ??
Was also going to leave him with his mum until he is at least 7 months old and wean him gradually before the 'big seperation day' as I'm in no hurry. Does this sound ok??
Advice please folks

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

No idea about moving him, but our mare wasn't coming back into work again, so we kept her filly with her until she was a year old. The mare was then removed (as she did come back into work, on loan!).

 

[TalismanFarm]

When we wean, we have a variety of methods depending on how many foals we have to wean but generally it involves removing the mare from the foal rather than vice versa.

In years where we only have one to wean, we introduce a nanny mare or gelding to the mare and foal's paddock a week or two prior to the event so that the foal can form a herd bond with the nanny. We then put the foal and nanny gelding/mare in a safe stall together and remove the mare (we take her out of earshot). We leave the foal and nanny in the stall together for 24 hours and then put them back in the paddock together. This has been successful for us over the past decade. This method has never resulted in injury and the foals have always accepted their new sitation very well.

7 months is fine - we wean anywhere between 4 and 8 months.

 

[nikkiportia]

I would take both the mare and foal to your friends yard, let foalie can make friends with other foals. Then take your mare back to yours.

 

[Penniless]

You don't need to take anyone away. We wean ours in the same yard, whether we've just got the one foal or a handful of them. All we do, is once they are a couple of months old, and feeling a bit independent from mum anyway, when we lead them back in from play, we put foal into the stable and leave mum outside for a couple of minutes and then build that up to leading mum around the yard still within eyesight of foal, and gradually build up to putting mum in a stable for a feed and then back together again. This has worked every time for us (over 30 years), and usually our foals are so greedy, they are pleased to have a stable to themselves and a feed bowl that mum won't share with them either. We always make sure that come the day we do a total separation, the foal and mare can always see each other. We usually get about 5 minutes of calling and them absolutely nothing. We make sure one of our old mares has been introduced to the foals beforehand as a "nanny" to her/them, and that way, once weaned they go out with nanny and mare goes back to her band of friends. The foal usually stays in for about 4 days. Even when they go out, they can still see each other across the paddocks, but as we said, never had a problem at all. Personally I think it's more upsetting for the mare and foal not to be able to see each other. This way, the mare can always reassure the foal that she's around. As we said, build it up from a minute to stretching out for a longer period. Our youngest foal at the moment (4 months) goes out to play in the paddock for about ten minutes at the moment before we lead mum out to join her. Foal couldn't care less, nor could mum. On the other hand though, one of our mares will go out and wait half way up the paddock until her foal comes out and then will walk away. Good luck - it shouldn't be stressful any one.

 

[Enfys]

I did basically the same as Penniless last year, and it worked very well. Mare and foal separated but able to see/touch, a few tantrums from the foal (a stroppy madam from the very beginning) because she couldn't get a drink but no other problems. As this method suits my set up I will be doing the same again.

 

[Tia]

Totally agree with Enfys - that's the way I wean too. I always have the mare and foal being able to touch one another, however separated by either different stables or by fenceline. Never in the 20 years I've bred foals have I had any problems whatsoever doing it this way - in fact, on the contrary, my foals have all been well adjusted little guys without any hangups in life, and I really do put this down to a pleasant and stressfree weaning.

Mind you, having said all that, when my foals are weaned from their mothers, they are perfectly used to their mothers going out for rides and being away from them for hours at a time. I do this gradually from a month or so old and no-one ever gets stressed.