Yearling still trying to suckle off me

[carmenlucy123]

Hi guys my orphan who is now 15 months still try's to suckle generally when hungry she is not as obsessed with it as she used to be but still usually at feeding time gets suckly and I would love to hear off someone who has had a similar experience and if they stopped??
Thanks xxxx

 

[Truly]

Hi,
I have an orphan who is 6months on the 20th October.

She is now living out with my other mare and foal (who is a month younger) and my two yearling fillies and has become one of the herd now ...which I am really pleased about

She is down to one feed a day now but is living out on good grass plus I throw a bale of hay in everyday to them.

Her feed is still a mixture of milk powder and foal creep pellets soaked as a liquid feed and in a bucket.
She would try to suckle from me if I didn't put the bucket down quickly and let her drink...and she wants to press her nose against me when she has finished drinking.
I avoid any contact around feedtime and completely ignore her...I walk off and around the other horses and if she follows me, I blank her and keep moving inbetween the other horses until she loses interest.
It has been much easier since she has been with the herd 24/7 and I haven't had to discipline her as much as before.

I have been concerned that she would still want to try and suckle from me also but mainly because a few years ago I bought a foal at eight months old and he was always trying to suckle from my other yearling colts sheath, up until he was about 14 months old...I came to the conclusion that he was maybe weaned too early from his mother?....so I think I will carry on feeding my orphan until I feel she is not looking to suckle anymore...this should be easier in the Winter when I stable her at night as I can put the bucket in her stable before I bring her in rather than me bringing the bucket to her. I hope to make the change over to dry pellets gradually by reducing the liquid feed and increasing the pellets in stages.

She is my first orphan (and last I hope) but the colt I had did eventually stop trying to suckle the other colt but he wasn't an orphan.

I'd be interested too on what others say that have had experience of orphans about how long it takes for them to stop wanting to suckle?

 

[Maesfen]

My two boys (foster foals) were weaned off bucket feeds of milk at nearly six months old and never suckled anyone or each other ever after and because they were colts I would have smacked them if they had, they knew better than to be nippy with people; it isn't a habit I would be allowing I'm afraid as it can lead on to them becoming nippy because they've been allowed to do it.

Truly! They had Suregrow from 3 weeks old and it was only damped for the first few days, after that they had it dry with nothing added twice a day after their Equilac feeds (they were on 12 feeds of Equilac every 24 hours at first, then 10, then 8, 6, 4, 2 then down to 1 for the last fortnight and they weren't fussed about that either, it was more for my benefit than theirs!)

 

[carmenlucy123]

She isn't nippy at all and I have given up smacking her i just move away or push her away
I always left her to feed from a bucket alone and she has been with a companion from a week old she doesn't try to suckle off anything else
Think I will just continue to ignore her and move to a spot she cannot get to me it's normally when putting her rug on
She was turned away then had to be moved due to her companion dying of GS then I turned her away again later in the summer when she settled on a new yard by its been so wet I have bought her in as she started to come to the gate at night
I will try an get her out late spring again but she is still turned out with others every other day when the weather is good

I feel I was given really bad advice from baileys to wean at 3 months I did continue to 4 months as I felt she wasn't ready but I wish I hadn't listened at all

 

[Truly]

Hi Maesfen

She will eat the pellets dry but I'm mixing them with the milk powder into a liquid because I'm feeding her in the field with the others and they don't bother her if it's in liquid form.
When she is in the stable I put the pellets in her manger and she eats them like normal.
I have cut the feeds down like you did to one a day now x

Hi Lucycarmen123
Yes I think you are right about being given the wrong advice for weaning off the milk too early....it's such a learning curve with an orphan and you get allsorts of advice but have to go with your gut instinct and what you feel is best...you pick out the bits you feel is helpful from all the advice given.
My filly isn't nippy either but has been bolshy when hungry and I have had to smack her to get her to respect my space...although that's been when she wasn't with all the herd...it's been much easier to ignore her by going the other side of one of the others who she does respect
Hang on in there...sounds like you've done a good job x

 

[carmenlucy123]

Thanks every now and again I just panic about her and her behaviour but she is as good as gold

 

[carmenlucy123]

This is still happening and now has become almost wind sucking because I move away and smack her if she grabs me she will now stand alone and suckle her own tounge she also suckles anything she can wet feeds apples mints!!?
Has anyone seen this before????
She is nearly two in summer I am hoping after turning her away again it may stop she doesn't do this with horses I don't understand it

 

[carmenlucy123]

Truly how is yours getting in? X