Weaning a foal-Help please

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foxtrot

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i have a mare with foal at foot (& in foal again), the foal will be 6months old in Nov so i have decided to wean it then. i am new to this and this is my first mare and foal and not sure how to go about the weaning.

The mare and foal are at the moment coming into the stable at night to get them both settled indoors and to get the foal taking hard feed easily.
The bit i am not sure about is the seperating bit. I have nowhere i can move either pony to so i cannot get them out of ear shot of each other.
i thought i could perhaps just put then into seperate stables (over the wall from each other) Will they go mad???? i was gonna put my shetland pony in with the foal as a companion keep them in for a couple of days before a short turnout. the mare i was gonna keep in for a couple of days and then give her a short turnout at a seperate time to the foal.the fences are not great and we have barbed wire in some places due to mainly being a cattle farm.
What do you suggest i do????
They are welsh sec a ponies.
 
I think it best to maybe take the foal to a livery yard compleatly away. You could try just feeding them in the seperate stables now then putting them back together so the foal is more independent.
I think if you just put them in seperate stables divided by a wall you could risk the pony trying to jump it. Also it will be easier if you break their 'bond' so to speak.
It would only take about a month of the foal being at another yard.
 
Do it the natural way - the mare will wean the current foal herself if she is in foal again. At this point you can work on taking the foal away from her and her new offspring until they are both comfortable with it.

As an aside, why are you breeding from the mare (repeatedly apparently) if you are not set up for dealing with the weaning process? Not a dig, just wondering what the purpose is? Is the mare exceptional in terms of breeding, conformation & temperament or do you just want lots of ponies?
 
Just a thought but this year we are leaving the wee one with mum through the winter (she isint in foal) she will wean him herself and hopefully make him more independent. He is due to come away in December. Maybe you could do this till you get something sorted out field/stable ways.
 
Where are you based?
It may be an idea to see if anyone in your area stud etc are weaning at a similar time and send your baby there (taking mare and foal together to said place and weaning from there). This is what we are doing with our foal. He will then have friends of a similar age to play and socialise with. And when the mare comes away she'll be well out of earshot.
Have you posted this in "Breeding" there are some very experienced people in there that may have some good answers for you.
 
HBBambee said:
Where are you based?
It may be an idea to see if anyone in your area stud etc are weaning at a similar time and send your baby there (taking mare and foal together to said place and weaning from there). This is what we are doing with our foal. He will then have friends of a similar age to play and socialise with. And when the mare comes away she'll be well out of earshot.
Have you posted this in "Breeding" there are some very experienced people in there that may have some good answers for you.
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Thats a good idea. The problem with the 'natural' way is that the mare is in foal so will be 'feeding' two foals, whick takes it out of the mare. Also the foal is best out of the way when the mare is foaling again. Also it makes handling the foal easier.
Saying that I left my foal with the mare a lot longer but she wasn't infoal again.
At work we leave the mares out in field out in the field (with other barren/infoal mares) and bring the foal in the stabe. We have mesh like top doors so the foal can't jump out. The foal is taken out for walks in hand, then turned out with a companion until he/she is compleatly settled then put out with other youngstock over winter to form a 'gang of thugs'. :D
 
Last foal I weaned 5 years ago, I started by putting foal in stable next door at night with short feed and hay, but they could see each other and it worked well. I still put them out together during the day, seperate at night and after awhile then putting them in paddocks next to each other always bring foal in first, also putting foal out last in the morning. The only time the youngster got panicy was when I started working her mum and she tried climbing over the stable door, so blocked it off at the height she couldn't climb but still see what went on. Mum wasn't bothered at all and the youngster calmed down within a couple of days. nothing is written in black and white when it comes to seperation, you have to play it by ear sometimes, but don't rush it.
 
I'm sorry but I will have to go with the 'send foal away' approach. If she is infoal then really it is not fair to let her do it the 'natural' way. My main reason for this is there is nothing natural about being a field, she cannot 'drive' her foal away in the way that mares would do in the wild so will have no option but to tolerate her foal/yearling trying to suckle from her. We have groups of mares and foals and they do wean to a point themselves and then we take all the mums away. These are living in a herd so far more 'natural'. Weaning seems to be a very emotive subject, it really is not all that bad and beneficial for both. Sending baby away so he can be with his own age for a bit will be good for him and give mum a break.
 
i bought the mare with foal at foot cos she is a very good quiet talented ridden mare hence why previous owners breeding from her.When i bought her it wasnt definate she was in foal but having scanned her have found out she is.
everyone has to start somewhere and not all can be leant through a book,is in not better that i am on here asking for advice rather than just muddling along not having a clue.
its wrong to judge!!!
 
I'm not judging (sorry if I came off that way), just giving advice like most other people are! :)
Its always are horribly stressful time for everyone involved, even at the best of times
 
dominobrown said:
I'm not judging (sorry if I came off that way), just giving advice like most other people are! :)
Its always are horribly stressful time for everyone involved, even at the best of times
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I suppose I am must be 'hardened' to it, we look forward to weaning here, as we can sort out the mares that need a bit more TLC as they give so much to their foals rather than looking after themselves. We had a band of 16 split into two groups this year, weaned through creep feeding and removal as is usual for TB's and no problems.
 
Thanks for all your help everyone.

i was referring to 'Gluttonforpunishment' although they said they are not having a dig. i dont see how asking why i have this mare is relevant to the question i asked!! I just took it that they see me as another one of those people who doesnt have a clue about horses and thought i would have a go at breeding them for the fun of it.
 
Echo Bravo said:
Last foal I weaned 5 years ago, I started by putting foal in stable next door at night with short feed and hay, but they could see each other and it worked well. I still put them out together during the day, seperate at night and after awhile then putting them in paddocks next to each other always bring foal in first, also putting foal out last in the morning. The only time the youngster got panicy was when I started working her mum and she tried climbing over the stable door, so blocked it off at the height she couldn't climb but still see what went on. Mum wasn't bothered at all and the youngster calmed down within a couple of days. nothing is written in black and white when it comes to seperation, you have to play it by ear sometimes, but don't rush it.
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This is how I would go about it too - after the mare's milk has dried up, they can go out together again. My only concern is if you haven't got an "aunty" to be a mate for the foal, he will be very left out when the new baby arrives, so maybe better to send him off with some young ones before that.
 
ive got a wee shetland pony who is already good pals with the foal. Who he be ok to 'aunty' the foal or do they need to be of the same age?
 
foxtrot said:
i bought the mare with foal at foot cos she is a very good quiet talented ridden mare hence why previous owners breeding from her.When i bought her it wasnt definate she was in foal but having scanned her have found out she is.
everyone has to start somewhere and not all can be leant through a book,is in not better that i am on here asking for advice rather than just muddling along not having a clue.
its wrong to judge!!!
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Don't get defensive I was generally interested. You asked as question which gave the impression of you not being experienced in breeding / weaning yet you have a mare with foal at foot who is in foal again, I was curious as to the background - i.e. had you got a mare who had turned out to be fabulous and therefore a line you wanted to breed from & keep going or had you maybe resuced her.

Assuming I was judging you was totally unnecessary and quite wrong.
 
Hello

The good, bad and the ugly are all here aren't they! You should do this the natural way if you can - much much less trouble with attachment issues later for the foal if you can manage. I wait until the foal is independent - ie spending alot of time in separate field to mum (or far away if you have limited ground) and then shut the gate, making sure foaly and whomever is going to be nanny or grandpa are there too. Mares tend to be relieved. Mind you this only works for me cos mine are good doers and mares can feed and grow foals at same time. I like my foals to have milk off mum in our very hard winters (Scotland). I know people who do awful things like shut in the foals for 2 weeks - yuk but it works for them as this is the traditional way they have always known. Good luck, I'll be doing mine in April this year!
 
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