Feeding a foal?!

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EquestrianFairy

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Baby is coming up to 4 weeks old now (my god its flown!)
anyway shes starting to eat grass and drink water which my other foal never did- vet said some do, some dont but watch for when she tries to eat mums food as you may want to look to getting her some of her own to nibble at.

Im starting to bring them both in, then feed mum outside stable so baby gets used to going in there alone and not stressing so i can start to bring mum back into work- its working well as baby has stopped crying now and just wanders around and sits down, mum doesnt give two hoots but i think even if i bring mum back into work and we're out for an hour its a tad long for baby not to have anything to munch on?!
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what do i feed her?

(My last foal was not the 'usual' mum fed her up so well i never gave her anything extra and she blossomed very well and under vets advice i never gave her anything) Plus, mum was retired so no 'brining back into work'
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Oh i dont want to give her anything really but feel i should get something small to nibble at?

Im not the sort of person who likes to give hard feed in general and my ponios only get chaff with vit and min supps.

what is foal creep? is it easily buyable? (word?!)
 
I've always just used mare & youngstock mix by Dodson and Horrell (I think that's who it's made by). Do you have a companion who can stay with your foal while mum goes out? I would be worried about leaving foaly in by herself as she's only four weeks old and should still be very dependent on mum. Also, I know my mare would have gone mad just being out of sight of her baby, even at 5 months she was still like that!
 
Give her a chance to be a mum! I personally think four weeks is far too early to seperate mum and baby for any period of time. Putting foal in a box and letting her see mum over the door is one thing, but taking mum off for an hour, and you are going to end up with one seriously stressed foal, whether you leave food or not! What is the rush in riding your mare? She has given you a beautiful coloured foal, which is what you dreamed about, so why suddenly rush her back into work? Give her a few months to settle with her baby, don't be in such a rush to get her going again.

If I were you, I would get foal used to another horse - perhaps your yearling? That way, when you take mum away, she still has a friend to play with and take her mind off things. Trust me, at that age, a foal is not food orientated (not hard feed anyway!)

You will also find that your mare will become uncomfrotable and fills up with milk while she is away from her foal.

Personally I think seperating them just so that you can ride her is not a good idea - wait until the foal is at least three or four months old. There is no rush.

As for feed, we give our foals Dodson and Horrell Foal Creep, some stud nuts and some flaked barley. We change the foal creep to D&H Suregrow when they are six months old.
 
if mean't 'when' rather than 'now' i'm not bringing her back into work yet although she gave me a lovely foal there are still things i want to do with my mare- like hunting this year. I also don't want to be the same situation i'm currently in with my old mare and yearling so stuck like glue that even being two meters apart they get dangerously stressed. Unfort my yearling doesn't get on with the foal (atm anyway) leaving her in the field is not the best option as there are other mares there also who don't take kindly to her. I'm going on vet advice so i'm trying my best to do what is best.
 
One thing I would ask, is is your vet a stud vet, and have they bred any horses? Just because they are a vet, does not meant that they know everything about mares and foals, etc. I would talk to studs and breeders, consult books etc rather than ask a vet when it comes to things such as weaning.

What you are doing, ie, putting foal in box, and mare outside is fine, and even taking mare away for ten mins or something is good. I was not suggesting leaving your foal in a field when taking your mare away - this would be a big no-no, what I meant was getting her used to another (small) horse or pony that she could have in her box while mum is out. Apparently goats make good foal companions, lol.

As for hunting this year - I would rule that out tbh. We are already starting to get the hunters fit - as you are in Wales, hunting can be pretty rigorous on the horses, and your mare will need a few months of fittening work before being ready. Your foal was born in July, which means she shouldn't be fully weaned until about January time - I personally would not leave her alone to ride the mare until she was four months old, which means you are in to November. You might fit in some 'fittening' work, and some hunting at the end of the seasons (Feb/March 09).

I am not trying to "get at" you, I just want you to give your mare the time to heal and bond with her foal, and not be in such a rush to get going with everything. Causing emotional trauma to your foal now, could result in a lot of problems in the future. I know it is frustrating waiting, expecially when you had all these things planned for your mare before you knew she was about to have a foal, but be patient, and you will enjoy them far more, than spending all day worrying about what is happening at home.
 
i know your not trying to get at me, and even though i'm very pleased with my foal i do find it frustrating as much as i try not to. You know my history, i just wonder if i'm ever destined to ride the bloody things as every time i do something goes wrong or happens. End of season hunting is fine with me...only 7 months to go!
 
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