Wow, thank you so much for the bigger picture!
I am a huge fan of late late weaning, but in this case, I would be all over weaning now, or at least asap once you find a suitable place for the foal, just to get him out of there. In this case, his safety and well-being far trumps whatever his dam has left to teach him (which, granted is a lot, but is useless if he’s, well, you know :no: )
You obviously care, and I’m so glad to hear you’re going to call the vet 
Didi and JB, thanks again for taking the time to reply.
I can assure you that this little guy means the world to me and the day that he moves to the new location that we have reserved for him can’t come soon enough. We checked out several alternatives but this one was hands down the winner for me. Eventually, we aim to have our own location where we can all live together…but these things obviously take time to set up…in the meantime, I have to do the best for him in every way I can.
We’ve instructed the staff to arrange a vet visit as soon as possible…I will make sure that I am present as I intend to speak with the vet. Also found out yesterday that the little guy has not been dewormed…we were told he had been around the same time as his vaccinations…seems a communication problem was again the issue…:no:
Good luck in putting some pressure on those people at the barn!!! Deworming is something which is extremely important for foals!! I am sure the vet will tell you that too!! They are very sensitive for all kinds of problems and if they are weakened by a bunch of worms in side it can cause severe health problems.
Good that you found out about it!!
Thanks Manni, I am still trying to work out how and why we were misinformed but yes, the most important thing is that he gets his treatment as soon as possible.
[QUOTE=WOAPE;8252008]
Thanks Manni, I am still trying to work out how and why we were misinformed but yes, the most important thing is that he gets his treatment as soon as possible.[/QUOTE]
I STRONGLY recommend that you sign up for an online account for The Horse. Its an official publication of the AAEP (Amer. Assoc. of Equine Practitioners). They have up-to-the-minute, in depth article on horse care, int he archives for free. There was a recent fabulous article on recommended de-worming practices for foals that you can read in the archives. There is also an article on recommended vaccination schedules, but it sounds like you are too late for that, unfortunately.
I will start with I don’t know much about breeding and foals. But I kept my horse at a Morgan breeding farm. He used to wean his babies at 3-4 months. He would wean them all at once. The foals were all well adjusted and always did well later in shows. So I would agree that while it may not be the ideal to wean at 3 months in this case it likely makes more sense to wean early and get the foal to a safer place. Something to discuss with the vet.
Can you talk to the mare owner (MO) and see if you can move the mare and foal to the new facility? I am unclear on the relationship the MO has with the current staff and current situation. If she is just a boarder maybe you can bring her up to speed on how unsuitable the current situation is. Plus if she is just a boarder won’t she potentially have to move if the place is sold?
ahf, thanks for the tip. I know this site and have just signed up, will no doubt be of great use going forward.
SonnysMom, thanks for your input, I appreciate it. The mare’s owner likely won’t want to move the mare…this is something I have already given thought to…but the new place would be far from where she lives and her friend (who is also our friend) has been looking after the mare for a while now as the mare’s owner recently gave birth herself. We’ll try to convince her…the facts are plain to see…it would be better for all concerned…except the mare’s owner would be much further away from her horse and I believe that she wouldn’t go for that. It really is a complicated situation and I just hope that we can get it sorted out as soon as possible, so that our little guy can move forward and be a happy, healthy horse.
Again, thanks to everybody for their input…it means a lot.
Carl
p.s. Thought it was time I showed who it is we are talking about…if you click on my profile name, you will see a photograph of our foal. His name is woape (a Lakota word…it means Hope)
He is precious!!
Was the mare vaccinated in the 30 day range pre-foaling? If so, and she got appropriate vaccines, it’s not yet time for the foal to get his. That needs to wait for the 5-6 month mark. But it is time to start thinking about them if the mare was not vaccinated.
I would definitely make sure to read through The Horse on foal deworming, as they have very different needs from adults. You should assume that there is ascarid resistance to ivermectin, so use double fenbendazole or pyrantel pamoate (no idea the brand names where you are, but it’s the chemicals which matter), AND, assume resistance of strongyles to fenbendazole and pyrantel pamoate, so use ivermectin. That means a monthly rotation between ivermectin, and double fen or double pyrantel, to take care of everything.
A late Fall ivermectin rotation should bring in praziquantel to get tapeworms, but you can also get tapes with the double pyrantel.
Love the little guy!!
We’ve instructed the staff to arrange a vet visit as soon as possible…I will make sure that I am present as I intend to speak with the vet
Why not arrange the appointment yourself to ensure you can be present. It is better to be one on one with the vet and not put the staff in the middle.
You retain the services of the vet- and communicate directly with the vet- dont leave that to staff
if you need to wean at 3 months it would be preferable if at least you could take mare and foal to the new place and then remove mare once foal is settled there but if you cant do that, though not ideal, it will likely work out OK eventually.
Thankd Didi, and JB, many thanks for the info and tip. I’ve noted the chemicals and will find out what they are named over here, to ensure that the correct meds are used. Will also read up on The Horse.com, as suggested earlier.
Crockpot, thanks and yes, we are trying to arrange that meeting as face to face…I intend to be there for certain…don’t want to leave anything to chance…and to those at the stables to mess up…
Would love to move both the mare and foal together…just don’t see the mare’s owner agreeing…will try though…
I may have missed seeing it, but has he been introduced to “creep” feed yet?
Amd for the vaccinations and deworming, such lack of communication is exasperating, and scary.
merrygoround,
Thanks for your comment.
No, he has not had any creep feed as yet.
[QUOTE=Didi;8250156]
I am so glad you have made other arrangements. It sounds like you DEFINITELY have the best interests of your foal at heart. I would recommend weaning him ASAP -3 months is not too early though 6 months is optimal. I think (and, as they say, opinions are like… ) the harm of keeping him hemmed up in a stall because he might “escape” or the other examples of poor care are far worse than a rather early weaning. Fellow COTHer’s, feel free to disagree as I know some of you have a lot more experience than do I, but this is my $.02.[/QUOTE]
Why wean a foal at 3 months when the mother is taking care of it?
The problem I see is a boarding barn that has no safe fencing for mares and foals. Where on the current farm will weaned foals go? Some tape fencing is not acceptable and keeping the foals in stalls is not either.
I would look for a better barn to keep my horses at.
Didi, this is what I was thinking too.
Perhaps the mare owner would allow you to take her and the foal to your pre-arranged stables, until weaning when she can be returned without her foal?
Early weaning is a possibility too. I would be more comfortable weaning at 4 months but it is definitely not the end of the world to wean at 3 months if you deem it to be in the best interests of the foal.
Just heard that more information regarding the staff’s departure will be known next week. And we’ve also just received the contact details for the vet…so will arrange everything ourselves.
I know everybody here is into weaning foals at 3 months… I would not recommend it, as I mentioned before especially with a foal which might not be in best shape…
Please, you have other options… I am sure that you paid something for this foal and I hope you did not pay already, but you will pay when you pick up the foal.
In that case you do have a lot of power for the wellbeing of the foal. Talk to the mare owner and tell him/her your concerns. I think she is really the one who should be concerned about the health and the wellbeing of the foal, because, if the foal is with 6 months not as healthy as it should be, you are not required to pay and take it. The breeder does have the responsibilty and all the risk until the new owner picks up the foal.
So I have no idea, why the owner is not interested in the wellbeing of the foal.
If the situation is like you tell, I would not feel secure to leave a mare with foal there… Fences are very important. Foals are very vulnerable. Also turnout is extremely important. If the foal is not able to move around and exercise because its kept in a stall all the time, there might be harm for his tendons and ligaments… And no deworming will maybe make it prone for future colics… So it might not be as valuable anymore as before… Tell this to the breeder and I am sure you will find a solution which is the best for the foal…
Thanks again Manni, I appreciate you taking the time to post and offer your advice. The foal, woape, is already paid for. To make it short, I’ve dreamed of having a Palomino for many years…and never for one moment thought it would really happen until this spring, when after visitng our friend at the stables area (she lives in the farmhouse on site with her horses) and spending more and more time around the horses, my fiance surprised me with an early wedding gift…she had arranged to buy this foal. The mare’s owner is somebody we have gotten to know and my fiance has already transferred the payment. Before she did so, she checked with the local office regarding the transfer of funds and when it should happen and was told yes, do it when you exchange contracts (which was done a few weeks ago). When he was born, he was small (his mum is also a smaller than average paint horse) and quite weak - he even needed assistance when first nursing. But over the weeks, he has come along quite well and grown considerably…although he is still small for his age. The spell in the box was during a very warm spell, and I managed to bring both mum and foal out together for several hours on each of the days they were locked up - apart from the day before when I wasn’t around and had no idea that they had been locked up! The fencing issue is an utter disgrace…as is the water condition (very old farmland and pipes that basically seem to be falling apart from within, resulting in metallic water on site)…and as for the other horses together with the three mares and their foals, well, I’ ve already mentioned that earlier…this place is just terrible…and the staff…:no:
I just hope we can get something sorted out for him, and his mum too, ideally, as soon as possible. First thing is his meds…and the vet visit to really sort out the health issue while we are there in person.
Carl
Good luck to you, I keep my fingers crossed!!!
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