[B]http://horse-journal.com/article/ite28099s-time-to-re-think-early-weaning-of-horses-5364
[/B]I’ve been a proponent of weaning at six months ever since I’ve been breeding ponies!
Great article, thanks for sharing 
This should be required reading for all breeders! There is way too much early weaning going on and folks justify it with all the wrong reasons. I refuse to let my foals go before they’re at least 6 months old, typically more like 7 or 8 months which is when they get weaned. At that point they’re actually ready to be weaned and it’s just about a non-event, especially since I do it gradually…
Totally agree siegi!!!
Great article!
great article!
Thank you for posting this. I was under the false impression that when mares grew too thin, the foal was taking too much out if her. The dam of my filly seemed to be done with her at 4 months of age and weaning was no problem.
In view of this article, have I caused irreparable damage? She is now two and healthy and easily handled. She has a great brain which I attribute to her sire. I understand it is water over the bridge, but I don’t want to inadvertently cause harm to the two foals due in 2015.
I didn’t see much hard science in that article. Further, it it conflated several factors: early weaning, confinement at an early age, creep feeding, and obesity.
It’s quite possible that if factors such as creep feeding, obesity, confinement to a stall, were avoided in early weaning, there might be no deleterious effects.
It makes perfect sense to me. The three foals I’ve had I just kept with mom in a herd at least a year, and they just stopped when they wanted.
I raise Siamese, and have the same theory. Legally you have to keep kittens with mothers eight weeks, but that’s way too young. Like horses, they probably nutritionally don’t need any milk, but all of the social aspects of being with mom and siblings make a huge difference in personality. I also make sure they have both sets of shots before leaving because they are at their most vulnerable between the colostrum effect going away and a year old, so stressing an animal before being immunized is bad idea.
In general, what is the harm of staying with mom longer, in any animal? I don’t think anyone can come up with any real answers. What is the harm with taking a baby away from mom early? I bet everyone can think of answers to that one. So, if you can do the best for the baby, why not?
SportArab, there is just nothing very positive about weaning early. Keeping the mare and foal together longer is just better for all involved.
[QUOTE=SportArab;7724028]
I didn’t see much hard science in that article. Further, it it conflated several factors: early weaning, confinement at an early age, creep feeding, and obesity.
It’s quite possible that if factors such as creep feeding, obesity, confinement to a stall, were avoided in early weaning, there might be no deleterious effects.[/QUOTE]
Although I agree with the premise of the article, it also stuck me as lacking objective information. It was mainly an opinion piece, and while I think it is great that it opens the subject up for discussion, it does little to provide info to support that position.
I personally think the most important factor is the social and psychological benefits of leaving a foal with it’s dam but I don’t have any proof beyond antidotal. Trying to convince people who differ in opinion if you only have another opinion is not as persuasive.
But it really is a worthy topic of discussion and objective information may not be easy to find or correlate. So besides the article, I think leaving a foal with the dam as long as reasonable is a plus.
A great article! I only wean after 6 months as the foals are definitely ready for it and the gradual weaning really makes the whole process a non issue for them.
[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;7724179]
SportArab, there is just nothing very positive about weaning early. Keeping the mare and foal together longer is just better for all involved.[/QUOTE]
I have weaned many babies. And the age of weaning ranged from 3 months to 1 year. Why would I wean at 3 months? The dam was a fence walker. She was quiet during the last few months of her pregnancy till her baby was about 3 months old. The day I saw her baby tagging along up and down the fence was the day I decided to wean. Baby never became a fence walker and was one of the more well adjusted babies I’ve had. The one that stayed with her dam till she was a year old was allowed to do so because it was convenient and everyone seemed to be getting along ok. That one has turned into a more dependent and somewhat pushy filly who, I think, is a little too bonded with mommy - who runs her off now because she’s got another foal at side. The new baby will be weaned at 6 months.
So, from my perspective, there are many ways to wean and reasons to support different weaning dates.
While I agree that there may be reasons, medical or otherwise to wean early, I think if possible it usually benefits the foal to stay with their dams at least to the six month mark. We also have weaned earlier, once because the mare was ill and once because we lost the dam when the foal was three months old. Both those babies ended up doing fine, but took much more human intervention than those staying with their mamas for a longer period of time. JMO:)
[QUOTE=Zuri;7724005]
Thank you for posting this. I was under the false impression that when mares grew too thin, the foal was taking too much out if her. The dam of my filly seemed to be done with her at 4 months of age and weaning was no problem.
In view of this article, have I caused irreparable damage? She is now two and healthy and easily handled. She has a great brain which I attribute to her sire. I understand it is water over the bridge, but I don’t want to inadvertently cause harm to the two foals due in 2015.[/QUOTE]
Mares shouldn’t get “too thin” because they are suckling a foal. If they are fed properly and are treated for worms there shouldn’t be an expectation of a mare having her body score reduced by the fact that she is lactating and feeding a foal. The only thing that should be reduced is the size of her belly after foaling.
[QUOTE=RutlandH2O;7725389]
Mares shouldn’t get “too thin” because they are suckling a foal. If they are fed properly and are treated for worms there shouldn’t be an expectation of a mare having her body score reduced by the fact that she is lactating and feeding a foal. The only thing that should be reduced is the size of her belly after foaling.[/QUOTE]
As mares get older it can be VERY difficult to keep their weight up. Not impossible, but difficult. I have one that is 21 and nursing a baby who is 4 months old. It’s pretty amazing how much food I need to toss into that mare to keep up with the needs of the baby.
One thing I do keep in mind is an article I read a while ago that said that after about month 4, mother’s milk is a very inefficient way to feed a foal. (meaning it takes much more feed than you would to feed them separately).
We never did wean before 6 months unless there was an issue with the health of the mare .
[QUOTE=SportArab;7725975]
One thing I do keep in mind is an article I read a while ago that said that after about month 4, mother’s milk is a very inefficient way to feed a foal. (meaning it takes much more feed than you would to feed them separately).[/QUOTE]
I don’t think anyone expects a four month old foal to use nursing as an only source of food. My four month old foal eats hay, a ration balancer, and nurses, and is in very good condition. I find the idea of taking a foal away from its mother so nutrition can be boosted very problematic, as pointed out in the article.
[QUOTE=SportArab;7725975]
As mares get older it can be VERY difficult to keep their weight up. Not impossible, but difficult. I have one that is 21 and nursing a baby who is 4 months old. It’s pretty amazing how much food I need to toss into that mare to keep up with the needs of the baby.
One thing I do keep in mind is an article I read a while ago that said that after about month 4, mother’s milk is a very inefficient way to feed a foal. (meaning it takes much more feed than you would to feed them separately).[/QUOTE]
I’m not a breeder, but personally, if it were my mare, and she were physically unable to consume enough calories to maintain condition while she nursed her foal for a perfectly normal amount of time, I would conclude that raising a baby was too much for her body.
As for cost efficiency, I can’t laugh at it, but I don’t think I’d apply this rationale to my horse and her hypothetical foal, either! It smacks of a feedlot to me. Sure, I might save a few bucks (or even more than a few bucks, if I have a lot of foals) by weaning earlier, but at what cost? And then, there will be plenty of people who think they’re making a financially sound decision, but negate the money-saving benefits by feeding some specially-marketed baby food.
I don’t mean to pick on you, I just happened to disagree with both of your points at the same time.
I found this article mixed apples (weaning early) with oranges (feeding high quantities of grain). And by the end, it was throwing in pears (isolation from peers) and grapefruit (confinement and lack of exercise). Also, they labeled “early” as 3 to 4 months of age, and “delayed” as over six months of age. Does that make 5 to 6 months of age “normal”? Or just unstudied/exempt from the discussion?
Thus, while I agree with what they say – that weaning a foal early only to stuff it with grain and stick it in a stall is ill-advised – I find that there is a lot missing. As you may have guessed, I tend to wean between five and six months of age, and I feed my weanlings free choice hey, and either a ration balancer or an appropriate quantity of low octane feed.
I would like to get the details of the study that showed differences in bone density and cannon bone circumference. Specifically, the feeding regime and exercise plan of both test groups.
