Late Weaning?

Woolly Hat n Wellies

Woolly Hat n Wellies

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 April 2014
Messages
482
Visit site
I've posted about my colt before. Briefly, I bought his mum as a companion pony for my ridden gelding. She's a Welsh X, 8 years old, unbroken, and can be quite nervy around strange people (but totally unfazed by unfamiliar noises/objects/pheasants jumping out of bushes/farm machinery/etc - which leads me to some uncomfortable conclusions about her life before I got her). She was sold as not in foal, but produced young Graham in April, for various reasons, which I won't go into here, we ended up keeping him.

I think having Graham, and consequently being left to her own devices for 9 months has done the mare a lot of good. She's a lot more relaxed and confident, and seems to feel at home. I was told by one former owner that she'd been through 8 homes in 6 months, and I also know she has been to a horse sale and not sold, so I think time was just what she needed. She isn't broken, and feeding the monster foal has, surprisingly, not stripped any weight off her at all. She's done them both amazingly well. Because she wasn't struggling, and I wasn't waiting to be able to ride her, I haven't separated them.

They have 6 acres between mare, colt, and my ridden gelding, spread across three paddocks with enormous holly hedges between, and Graham is quite happy to go off out of sight of mum and graze on his own. He can also be led away out of sight of her without fuss. In fact he's often so keen to go for a walk he won't even bother about where she is. He very rarely goes for milk any more, and when he does she usually tells him to bog off. If he does get to have a little bit, it really is a little bit. Mum seems quite capable of telling him where to go. She's had two foals before him, I've been told, and I can well believe it. She's super competent, far more than I am!

So I was quite happy to let them carry on with her weaning him at her own pace, and hoping for his other ball to drop so he can be gelded (soon, ideally!) before I go for any lengthier separations. But the other night I was chatting to a very knowledgeable lady, who asked after him, and when I said he was still taking a little bit of milk now and again, she said "but he's NINE months!" in a rather incredulous voice. Now I'm worried I'm doing something terribly terribly wrong, and he ought to have been whisked away from her 3 months ago. I had been feeling pleased that he was choosing to go away out of mum's sight on his own, and to stay away from her for longer and longer periods, and that he was drinking from her less and less, but now I'm afraid I'm mucking it all up. Maybe I'm making him into a big fat thug by letting him stay with mum so long? (Although my aunt's horse was taken away and weaned and gelded at 6 months - the proper way, she told me - and he was such a thug I refused to go in the field with him).

Any thoughts?

Fluffy monster pic for anyone who gets this far:

DSCF1357_zpswedbwfnd.jpg
 
Woolly Hat n Wellies said:
I've posted about my colt before. Briefly, I bought his mum as a companion pony for my ridden gelding. She's a Welsh X, 8 years old, unbroken, and can be quite nervy around strange people (but totally unfazed by unfamiliar noises/objects/pheasants jumping out of bushes/farm machinery/etc - which leads me to some uncomfortable conclusions about her life before I got her). She was sold as not in foal, but produced young Graham in April, for various reasons, which I won't go into here, we ended up keeping him.

I think having Graham, and consequently being left to her own devices for 9 months has done the mare a lot of good. She's a lot more relaxed and confident, and seems to feel at home. I was told by one former owner that she'd been through 8 homes in 6 months, and I also know she has been to a horse sale and not sold, so I think time was just what she needed. She isn't broken, and feeding the monster foal has, surprisingly, not stripped any weight off her at all. She's done them both amazingly well. Because she wasn't struggling, and I wasn't waiting to be able to ride her, I haven't separated them.

They have 6 acres between mare, colt, and my ridden gelding, spread across three paddocks with enormous holly hedges between, and Graham is quite happy to go off out of sight of mum and graze on his own. He can also be led away out of sight of her without fuss. In fact he's often so keen to go for a walk he won't even bother about where she is. He very rarely goes for milk any more, and when he does she usually tells him to bog off. If he does get to have a little bit, it really is a little bit. Mum seems quite capable of telling him where to go. She's had two foals before him, I've been told, and I can well believe it. She's super competent, far more than I am!

So I was quite happy to let them carry on with her weaning him at her own pace, and hoping for his other ball to drop so he can be gelded (soon, ideally!) before I go for any lengthier separations. But the other night I was chatting to a very knowledgeable lady, who asked after him, and when I said he was still taking a little bit of milk now and again, she said "but he's NINE months!" in a rather incredulous voice. Now I'm worried I'm doing something terribly terribly wrong, and he ought to have been whisked away from her 3 months ago. I had been feeling pleased that he was choosing to go away out of mum's sight on his own, and to stay away from her for longer and longer periods, and that he was drinking from her less and less, but now I'm afraid I'm mucking it all up. Maybe I'm making him into a big fat thug by letting him stay with mum so long? (Although my aunt's horse was taken away and weaned and gelded at 6 months - the proper way, she told me - and he was such a thug I refused to go in the field with him).

Any thoughts?

Fluffy monster pic for anyone who gets this far:

DSCF1357_zpswedbwfnd.jpg
Click to expand...

I 100% think you should keep him with the mare until he's at least a yearling (or when she naturally weans him). Speaking from experience (and I'm pretty sure there's some science to back this up), horses weaned later are generally more secure later in life - less prone to separation anxiety, less stable, better manners vices etc. My aunt has been breeding horses for about 30years and always leaves them with the mare through the winter (in a herd). The foals learn great manners from other herd members, and are just so much better off for a late weaning. The mare will wean it when ready.
So IMO, keep him with the mare!!
 
Of course leave him with his mum,she will wean him when she wants to.much better for all.Weaning animals at 6 months is usually for our benefit not the animals.Good luck,he looks lovely,make a nice driving pony.
 
No reason why you cant leave him with mum and let her naturally wean - sounds like she's part way through that process already.

I know someone who did similar, but the mare was a maiden and eventually her and 'foal' were separated at about 13 months because mare was too much of a push over and was a bit of a poor doer so they didn't want her to still be feeding in autumn/winter.

It certainly wont do him any harm but, as with any youngster, I'd practice removing him from herd for a few minutes of so to build up independence.
 
I have a friend who does this (leaves colts with their mothers and doesn't bother to wean), and she has a 9 year old that still suckles! He's also rude, opinionated and sulky, but that may not be because he's never been weaned; he's not really been broken either, and used to regularly serve his mother before he was gelded (luckily he didn't get her in foal). I think it is best to wean foals from their mothers at around 6 months and do all the normal handling and civilising that will set them up for their future training. Quite apart from that, it is better to get them used to breaking herd bonds early or otherwise you could be setting both the colt and the mare up for severe separation anxiety later on when you may need to take one away for training, riding or whatever.
 
Graham looks gorgeous! Young cob was with his mum until he was 14 months old. She would quite happily let him suckle - but like yours he was really only have a small amount of milk by that age. He was gelded at exactly a year and a day - mostly because the mare in the next door field was trying to lead him astray!! It was nice to be able to let him back out with his mum once the vet left so he got some comfort from her - though he seemed none the worse for the experience in any case. He was finally weaned gradually by being turned out with another horse during the day, in the field next to mum and then for longer and longer periods over a couple of weeks. We didn't put them back in the same paddock for about a year - but when they are out together now they still share feed etc.
Young cob is now four and tremendously confident - much more so than his mum. He knows how to behave in a herd and is polite to his elders and betters. I did a lot of his early handling in the field with mum alongside. She did draw the line when I once took an umbrella in - she gave me a look as if to say 'not with my baby' and herded him off to the far end!! He is happy in his own company and doesn't fuss if no other horses are in sight. He hacks alone and in company, and is possibly one of the nosiest horses I've ever met - he has to explore EVERYTHING (I'm now on the third umbrella)!
So - go with your instinct - it seems like there are some significant advantages all round in leaving them together for the moment?
 
My friend has mum and baby (baby is now 6 mum 13) they were separated briefly for a few months but have shared a field ever since. Both go off independently with no issues from either.
ETA similarly to the above post baby is exceptionally confident and nosey but very well behaved and forward going ride.
 
Last edited:
Ok, nine years old is a bit OTT!

I left my last foal until she was 11 months or so, then just shipped mum off to a friends place for about three weeks to let her dry off properly. Baby stayed with her paddock mates and everyone was happy.

So yes, would definitely recommend separating them at some point to let her dry off, and Graham to stop feeding off her completely.
 
I would only worry when she starts coming into season, which might be soon, unlikely but Graham might be a bit precocious. :-)
 
Celtic Fringe said:
Graham looks gorgeous! Young cob was with his mum until he was 14 months old. She would quite happily let him suckle - but like yours he was really only have a small amount of milk by that age. He was gelded at exactly a year and a day - mostly because the mare in the next door field was trying to lead him astray!! It was nice to be able to let him back out with his mum once the vet left so he got some comfort from her - though he seemed none the worse for the experience in any case. He was finally weaned gradually by being turned out with another horse during the day, in the field next to mum and then for longer and longer periods over a couple of weeks. We didn't put them back in the same paddock for about a year - but when they are out together now they still share feed etc.
Young cob is now four and tremendously confident - much more so than his mum. He knows how to behave in a herd and is polite to his elders and betters. I did a lot of his early handling in the field with mum alongside. She did draw the line when I once took an umbrella in - she gave me a look as if to say 'not with my baby' and herded him off to the far end!! He is happy in his own company and doesn't fuss if no other horses are in sight. He hacks alone and in company, and is possibly one of the nosiest horses I've ever met - he has to explore EVERYTHING (I'm now on the third umbrella)!
So - go with your instinct - it seems like there are some significant advantages all round in leaving them together for the moment?
Click to expand...


This was my experience as well - Diva found her own slot in the herd and was a confident horse, who had no problems going out on her own. She is probably the most opinionated horse I have ever owned, but no telling if that was related to her late weaning or whether she was always going to be like that.

She and her dam remained best friends in the paddock though, until Zara died last year. I actually worried about that more, but she seemed to understand that she was gone and we all just moved on. They do seem to form these wonderful friendships, and I wonder if that adds to their confidence rather than detracting from it. The old adage there is safety and security in familiarity and numbers is very apt for horses I think.
 
The two concerns with leaving a colt this age on mum is that he may begin to pull the mare down and make her lose weight by suckling. The other concern is that he may begin to cover his mother at some point soon - 9 months is perfectly capable of being sexually active.

Natural weaning can be a bit of a myth - you get some youngsters who will wean themselves, but very many more won't - people think they have, but they are often just drinking less often but larger quantities, which can still have a negative effect on the mares weight. I have taken on ponies in the past which are still suckling their foals, even though the 'foals' may be 2 or 3 years old, or older.
 
The yard I'm on leave the foals with their mothers for about a year, and they pretty much wean themselves. They seem to benefit from it, looking at all the foals they've produced. They're also very knowledgeable people :)
 
I leave fillies on the mare and they tend to wean themselves or the mare does!! Colts are gelded whilst still on the mare anytime after six months. Much easier all round if you eventually take the mare away for a month or so once the foals are established in the herd. I would be careful with a colt over nine months old if not able to be gelded.
 
My boy was taken away from mum at 9 months (and she was already pregnant with the next one), though he was mostly weaned by that point, only suckling occasionally.

It certainly didn't seem to bother him, and he has grown up to be a confident, cheeky horse who knows where his boundaries are!
 
My now 4 coming 5 year old homebred wasn't weaned until she was 15 months and she is the most well adjusted youngster you could meet. She has no problem with being on her own, is very confident and secure and will stay out on her own or stay in on her own. Her mother was very down to earth as well but definitely not as confident.

Leave them until you need to separate them.
 
Thank you for the responses, I feel much better about it now!

He will be gelded before the flies come out this year, whether he's dropped the other one or not. I think we're intending to give him another month, with fingers tightly crossed, just to see if he will drop it himself.

I am regularly handling him. I touch him all over to make sure he's comfortable with everywhere (my gelding is ear shy and it's a real pain!), I pick his feet up, tap them, pull them forward, etc, as the farrier would do. I've had rubber mats and cones and blue barrels and things out to lead him around and over. I jump up and down next to him (and then put my arm over his back and tell him I've vaulted on and he's going to be a games pony), and he's worn Christmas fancy dress in a gale. He's met the dog, seen cattle, and walked around farm machinery. He's seen the dentist and had his teeth 'done' (he was introduced to all the kit and noises and sensations), and he has his feet done when the farrier comes to my gelding. He does get a bit pushy and overconfident, but when he's told to back off, he does. He hasn't been out to shows or put in the trailer yet, but loading is my plan for summer, when I can get the trailer onto the grass in an enclosed area just in case he misses the ramp (and more importantly, back off the grass again!)

I'm keeping an eye on mum's weight, as I was worried he'd pull her down, but so far she still seems to be doing well.

This is Mummy China:

DSCF1380_zpsoyc5zg1e.jpg
 
Well done for keeping the together - we bred warmbloods and didnt wean till at least 9 months - the mares dont suffer if they are looked after properly! I call myself 'traditional' in many ways , but the old thing of weaning at 6 months [ which was necessary to get the mares back working] is just plain wrong. Last Sept we bought a foal- weaned at 5 months barely - she is still on milk pellets to keep her bones growing well and a shine on her coat. Early weaning , esp if there s not a stable mixed age herd for them to go to , is so bad for their mental and physical well being. But of cpourse its cheaper fro the breeders to sell early!
The foals we bred were very sane and sensible , I know from their subsequent owners that they are confident and easy to handle - because they had had no seperation anxeties.
When you next get a verbal lashing remind the know-it -all that in the wild foals are weaned at 11months.
 
If they are wintering out the youngster is likely to winter better if he is not weaned until the spring grass comes through. You will probably find it easier to feed the mare if she starts to lose weight than to wean the foal and then have to feed him to keep his weight on through winter. I've had no problems when I've separated them in the spring when the foal is coming up to 1 year old.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top