How can i make this situation better for him?

SpottyTB

SpottyTB

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hi there, after some advice to make the weaning period/settling period easier for my new foal (due for arrival next week)...

Before i start, i'd like to say i am not exactly happy about what's happening as i think it could be gone about's better however i haven't really got another plan and i'm just going to have to hope it goes ok. :) so please no hate, i just want to do the best i can by him once he gets to me...

Foal will be 6 months, they are going to get him into the trailer/take his mum away and then drive him to me (I THINK THIS IS THE PLAN - I MAY BE WRONG, just leaving it with them as they've done it quite a few times before).. I am about an hour and a halfs drive away from them - on fairly straight roads.

He'll get to me and i'll put him straight into the stable next to Prince our yearling - in the stable there's a grid/window so he can sniff/touch/see prince - who is absolutely lovely and very friendly. I am hoping he may have calmed down enough so that i can turn him out on the following day in the afternoon - for a couple of hours (SUPERVISED).

What can i do to make this nicer for him? I've got a tube of probiotic paste coming (as suggested from a friend who breeds) to settle his stomach and i'll be putting him on the suregrow balancer - but do have some mix (which he's been on) to wean him onto it... (not overly keen to feed the mix as he's a warmblood and i'm terrified of OCD)...

Should i put hay down? or leave it for a few hours? Should i put anything in his water? Rescue remedy? or electrolytes?

any advice is welcomed, and as i said above, i am not completely over joyed about the arrangement but it's all set now and they have done it many times and have promised it'll be fine!!

Thank you :)
 
Its a fairly normal way of weaning when a foal has been sold so I would not worry too much about it. Can you ask them to worm him a few days before he travels so you don't have to worry about it upsetting his stomach at a more stressful point of his life? ones that are bought here usually have a run around the stable at first but once they make friends with their neighbour they settle pretty fast. hay on the floor is good but not a lot at first and top it up later they normally don't have mix the first night and if they do not more than a handful. and if the baby is stressing the top door gets shut for the first night. If the foal is very stressy sometimes they get put in the indoor with a companion so they can have a good run around but not be alone and that can get the stress out of them but its not often needed.
 
I'd prefer it if they could travel mare with him until unloading if at all possible (presuming she's a good loader of course!) but if they can't, they can't and you have to work around that.

I would have his box all ready for him complete with hay and untippable water so that you don't have to unsettle him more than you have to. Make sure he can't climb over anything and leave him to make friends with your yearling. Definitely leave him on the mix he's already on for at least a week if not longer until he's settled down and then gradually add a handful of Suregrow and decrease the mix. For the time he'll be on it it won't do him any harm and it will be far less stress than being in a strange place with strange people/water/handling let alone a new diet to put up with. Depending how he is the next morning on whether to turn him out again; if he's a bit wild I'd be tempted to keep them in and handle more during the day so that he's got to know you as sometimes, they're let out and they run straight through the nearest fence still trying to find their dam, you need to avoid that at all costs of course. By the second day he will have twigged that she's not about and you should be able to turn him out with his mate who should show him the ropes. I always make a point of visiting them during the day in the field to get them used to coming over to me (I don't do treats though at all!)

Good luck, hope it goes smoothly. There are many ways to skin a cat, this would be mine but many will have different ideas.
 
Hello all - thank you for replying :) very helpful!

crabbymare- I'm glad to hear that it is the normal protocol for weaning foal's from a stud/breeders.. thats made me relax a bit. They have said they will be worming him before he comes - so that's sorted :)!

Maesfen - I've got some mix to use to wean him onto his suregrow - thought i could put a bit of beet in with it? what do you think? Travelling the mare with him is not an option as she is 3/4 months pregnant.. so they won't want to risk it - especially if Hugo is being silly ---- hopefully he won't be though! Will be making his stable up ready this weekend - i'm to excited not too!! I too am not a treat person - however my FIL is (he owns the yearling) - :cool: but it's something i cant stop him doing - so will just have to look the other way. Yearling is super friendly and will be very good at getting the foal used to coming up to us :D - i am going to be supervising his first turn out session's - just incase he decided to jump out/go through any fences!

digger66 - thank you, they are bringing him to me and have done it before so would hope they'd make double checks to bolt all door's/window's :).

Thanks again and if anyone else has any advice please post :)
 
Slightly different as I have had my foal from birth, but on the 28th of sept I weaned him off my mare, they had been living out away from the yard, So we boxed them up together, then at yard mare went one way and colt the other, they went in stables and he went next to his new buddy, my mare called a few times but as he was out of ear shot she settled quickly. at 6pm we put the colt and his new buddy out in the field he is now living out in, he was so chilled it and went perfectly. In the stable he had a section of hay, a straw bed and water waiting for him. My two are now out in fields near each other, foal out 24/7, mare daytime and they don't even notice each other anymore.
 
Thank you Barney&Buzz - it's god to hear a positive story! How old was your foal when you weaned? :) sounds like the yearling we have, he was so laid back he was almost vertical.. lol!
 
5 an 3/4 months, My mare had had enough of him and he was getting up to no good. I weaned earlier than planned. But it has gone well so he was clearly ready :D
 
Barney&Buzz said:
5 an 3/4 months, My mare had had enough of him and he was getting up to no good. I weaned earlier than planned. But it has gone well so he was clearly ready :D
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Same age as mine- Hugo's mum is beginning to wean him off as well... she apparently does this when she's in foal again (obviously smart enough to not let the foal drag her down to much).
 
Am I the only one who thinks that this method of weaning is complete utter madness- it's just asking for trouble and severe accidents and its a very unkind way of doing it.
 
seabsicuit2 - please don't, i wouldn't have it this way but i cannot avoid it now. They are bringing him to me as my lorry is off the road and even if i did hire a box.. he would still be leaving his mum and going straight into a box/trailer.. so its the same difference.
 
Seabiscuit, i have had a lot of foals delivered this way as far as I know its very normal in Europe to deliver and wean this way and its very rare that there is a problem. foals either travel loose with a breast bar and no partition or if they have travelled before they are in a partition and are tied as long as possible but just short enough that they cannot turn round. its suprising how well they take it and they rarely arrive sweaty which is more than can be said for some of the older horses!
 
seabsicuit2 said:
Am I the only one who thinks that this method of weaning is complete utter madness- it's just asking for trouble and severe accidents and its a very unkind way of doing it.
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I agree, not only will he have the huge stress of leaving his mum, but also a journey in which he will be terrified.
There must be a better way.

Can he not be weaned first at the stud, stay there for a few weeks then come to you.
Im sorry I know its not your choice but surely there is some other way
 
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No he can't be weaned at stud, it's a private breeder.. They have 4 fields (all next to each other) and that is it. No where or way to wean him I'm affraid..

I can't win obviously and I'm worrying but have now had several pm's from people telling me to not worry - so will just have to hope he arrives in one piece.

Thanks for posting!
 
He will be fine, just make the transport safe and remember foals will go for light, so if you have windows on the box black them out.

I bought an RID colt and picked him up in a trailer from the stud, simply lead the mare on and then off the front, keeping baby on, all 15h of him.

Hour and a half down motorway, not a peep, he travelled loose in a good deep straw bed, he turned and faced the rear. Backed box to stable and waited for him to unload himself, (he had not been halter broken or touched).

Obviously he was nervous but ate up over night and I spend 2 days in the box with him getting him settled and haltered. He was no trouble at all.

Stop worrying about it, look forward to having him and enjoy bringing him up, youngsters are great fun.
 
Well it's your foal and therefore you should have control over how it's weaned, not anyone else.

Please please don't make the mistake that I did when I was in a similiar situation,which was to trust the stud and the mare owners. I should never have listened to them but they , and several other people assured me that all would be ok. I bought this young mare that had a foal at foot& did not want to buy the foal,&the owners persuaded me that the best way to wean would be to walk the mare onto my lorry and leave the foal at the stud shut in a stable.
The mare panickedin the box frantically trying to get back to her foal& and very nearly killed herself. Spent two weeks in hospital attached to a drip recovering from severe shock and several huge gaping wounds all over her legs, rump, and hindquarters.
8 months later and a huge amount of physio and vets fees later I eventually had her sound and happy enough to break in and ride. She was going very well and was very sound for about a year then gradually over time her old injuries seem to have caught up with her& she has been very lame and broken out in the field for the past 3 months. I don't know what to do with her now. Of course the insurance has excluded everything so I can't claim on insurance to investigate anything.

I would do anything to turn back the clock and not make that same stupid , stupid mistake again. I put my trust in people that i thought knew best. Yes it's the mare that got damaged not the foal, but it could so easily have been the other way round. I have lost a very special and talented young horse.
 
seabsicuit2 said:
Am I the only one who thinks that this method of weaning is complete utter madness- it's just asking for trouble and severe accidents and its a very unkind way of doing it.
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I know of one case where this happened, foal was unloaded and they tried to put her in a dark stable, she created and it didn't end well. This may be "protocol" for some breeders, but I would never wean my babies like this. I really hope all goes well for you Spotty. Please do remember though that YOU are the owner of this foal and YOU should have a say in what time he or she arrives and how it is done. You have paid your money and deserve to have the foal delivered in a way you feel comfortable with. Do ensure it all happens in daylight if they really cannot do a better way.
 
spottytb - just don't turn him out too soon, better a day too late than too early in this occasion. I thought Piper would be fine, same field (I took the mare away and they were apart overnight anyway) and put him out after one night with his companion, who he had lived with for months. I think partly companions fault as he missed the mare as well and they galloped themselves to a standstill, no harm done but I was lucky. They are safer in a safe stable! Make sure the bars aren't too far apart that he can get his feet through.
I'm sure Maesfen will answer again but I'm sure she said foals can't eat beet, I never fed it to Piper.
 
You do have to wonder how they planned to wean the foal if they hadn't sold it.

FWIW, I'm only a very small breeder with very few fields but I would never let my foals go before they had been weaned at least a fortnight if not longer and I can't understand anyone willing to risk accidents by doing it this way; you expect it of dealers and the like but not experienced breeders of decent sporthorses.
 
It is happening in daylight and actually we've agreed that i don't pay until he's with me safe and sound (deposit fully refundable if he is not as i have seen him on prev occasions).. the stable he'll go into will have lights and he will have company on both sides..

I cannot change this, they can't wean him any other way as they haven't got enough land to do so. All i can do is make when he GETS TO ME as good as possible - which is why i posted this post :). I haven't got a lorry on the rode at the moment and even if i did.. it would be the same difference (just my lorry and not there's...)

I should add that when we saw Hugo about 3/4 weeks ago, he tried one and off for about an hour to feed and each time she lifted her leg to him and wouldn't allow it. In the end he got the hump and walked off with his mates and the other mares up the field and left the mare down the bottem.. Breeders did say that she has a habbit of weaning foals of herself when she's in foal again.. so i assume thats what she is doing.

Please, i can't change this, i'd just like advice on making things nicer for him when he's actually WITH ME and all paid for...

thank you
 
well, if they really can't change it, yes all you can do is make the absolute best of it. From when he arrives with you, ensure he has a very very soft exit from the lorry. Put down plenty of straw on the ground if necessary - make sure he has absolutely no opportunity to leap off the lorry from the top of the ramp, or fall off the side.....have plenty of burly help to guide him down safely.

Remove any and all objects from the stable that he may do himself harm on - as someone else said make sure the bars are not wide apart (this is actually a manic fear of mine)...no haynets, rubber skips only for feeding etc. Lovely warm welcoming bed and most of all, be there for him. Stay with him and just sit in the stable with him and make sure he knows he is not alone. Even if he has been physically weaned by his mare, there will always be an emotional attachment (and personally, breeders like this do not account for it in my view). Can you imagine having your baby, being with them for 6 months and then suddenly they are gone....the mare should have some consideration, not least baby...

Some babies love a jolly ball, or a spacehopper...remember they love to play - distract him with lovely things...a lick treat will be nice for him too. Hopefully he will make quick relations with those around him. Let us know how it goes and remind us what he looks like?
 
HBM1 said:
well, if they really can't change it, yes all you can do is make the absolute best of it. From when he arrives with you, ensure he has a very very soft exit from the lorry. Put down plenty of straw on the ground if necessary - make sure he has absolutely no opportunity to leap off the lorry from the top of the ramp, or fall off the side.....have plenty of burly help to guide him down safely.

Remove any and all objects from the stable that he may do himself harm on - as someone else said make sure the bars are not wide apart (this is actually a manic fear of mine)...no haynets, rubber skips only for feeding etc. Lovely warm welcoming bed and most of all, be there for him. Stay with him and just sit in the stable with him and make sure he knows he is not alone. Even if he has been physically weaned by his mare, there will always be an emotional attachment (and personally, breeders like this do not account for it in my view). Can you imagine having your baby, being with them for 6 months and then suddenly they are gone....the mare should have some consideration, not least baby...

Some babies love a jolly ball, or a spacehopper...remember they love to play - distract him with lovely things...a lick treat will be nice for him too. Hopefully he will make quick relations with those around him. Let us know how it goes and remind us what he looks like?
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I really can't and if i could i would!! Thank you for the advice :o, i've got him a rubber feed skip and a jolly ball and a salty lick.. he'll have brand new bedding down and lights on/company in and i shall be there armed with lots of love - at his own pace though!

I've planned to get them to drive into the yard and back trailer up to stable? so then it's literally straight of ramp, few steps and in stable which will be alight cos it will be afternoon and because of lights IN the stable.

This is Royal Update AKA Hugo :)

5-1.jpg


3.jpg


(that's him at 3 and a bit months)

PS) i'll make sure i update you all with photo's when he's here.. but that#s ^ to introduce him if you've not seen him in posts before..
 
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Don't worry STB, I think we're all putting the worst scenario for you so that everything else is a bonus!

Sorry, missed the beet bit. A foal's digestive tract isn't developed sufficiently until about 7 months old and before then it can't digest the sucrose efficiently so normal sugar beet shouldn't be used; I know some that use the unmolassed stuff but I personally wouldn't risk it and with Suregrow, it doesn't need anything else fed with it at all; mine only ever get hay/haylage and grazing for their first year.
 
he is lovely. I'd put rubber matt between the ramp and the stable, or lots of straw..those little feet can slip really easily. Just make sure the humans helping him have room to move too...one of mine did leap from the top of the ramp down when following his mum - I have never allowed any of them to be in that situation since. Nor have I listened to "so called" professionals who say it won't happen....always think it will, then plan for it, and when it doesn't consider you have done a really good job in preventing it. Even just sitting in his stable reading a book will get him used to you.
 
I appreciate all the advice you have given me :) thank you, and maesfen i understand that you are giving me the worse scenario - fingers crossed i can up date you all with photo's of a happy healthy baby once he gets to me :) - and settles. :).

HBM1 - thank you :) i LOVE him already.. Yes that's a great idea, i'll be sure to get some mats from the other yard and put them down! Don't want him to slip down on his little knee's bless him.

:) thanks again!!!
 
SpottyTB said:
I appreciate all the advice you have given me :) thank you, and maesfen i understand that you are giving me the worse scenario - fingers crossed i can up date you all with photo's of a happy healthy baby once he gets to me :) - and settles. :).

HBM1 - thank you :) i LOVE him already.. Yes that's a great idea, i'll be sure to get some mats from the other yard and put them down! Don't want him to slip down on his little knee's bless him.

:) thanks again!!!
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PS) I shall follow your advice RE feeding maesfen - i was thinking he could have a handful of current feed (cheap mix) and then a cup of suregrow and that would do him? :)

Thanks!
 
I would personally keep him in much longer and have a grill on the door in case he jumps out and goes looking for Mum. Better to be sure he isn't going to go crazy looking for her before he goes out. Good luck.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I would personally keep him in much longer and have a grill on the door in case he jumps out and goes looking for Mum. Better to be sure he isn't going to go crazy looking for her before he goes out. Good luck.
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what we had decided (may have to re decide) is that we'd play it day to day.. hour to hour like.. if he's settled by the morning we'll try it, if he's still a little tight/looking around/calling we'll leave it till the afternoon.. or the day after :).
 
SpottyTB said:
what we had decided (may have to re decide) is that we'd play it day to day.. hour to hour like.. if he's settled by the morning we'll try it, if he's still a little tight/looking around/calling we'll leave it till the afternoon.. or the day after :).
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Yes but he will settle in his stable due to familiarity, going outside is a big difference and much harder to control. I worked for a stud where a bought in TB foal jumped out and went three miles on a road by himself... The worst part being he left a mare he had known his whole life and had been bought with, to do it!! Yes he was supervised but what can you actually do if that happens other than follow and pray...
 
I know a lady who when younger bought foals at sales the mare and foal where separated in the car park and the foals driven home ( three hours in her case) .
It sounds awful but at six months they are really ready for weaning take every precaution you can , probiotics are a very good idea I would feed them for six weeks.
 
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