Great article on weaning too early!

[SportArab]

[QUOTE=BravAddict;7726160]
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.[/QUOTE]

OK, so as you say, “not being a breeder” you have NO idea how much feed, corn oil, alfalfa and pasture it takes to keep my mare in good flesh. It’s certainly not a matter of just a few dollars (and btw, since when did concerns about overhead become equated with a feedlot mentality).

This mare’s filly will most likely be weaned at about six months, and her best buddy will most likely be weaned at a little over five months so they can be weaned together. And I don’t think it makes a bit of difference whether its four, five or six months - or a year for that matter. The mares DO cut back on how much they allow their babies to nurse after a while.

Oh, and btw, she gets bred because she produces super foals and loves being a mommy. On years she has been open, she’s been very jealous of the mares with foals at their sides.

[camohn]

On the poster asking if weaning earlier likely harmed the foal: No. I lost a mare to colic when foal was 12 weeks old.foal was fine… But not my preferred weaning age

[VirginiaBred]

You have to think that the emotional stuff a foal must go through is very internalized and might not show up immediately, but the long term outlook may be hazy at best as stress shows up in strange places. As a very long time breeder and professional in the business asked me; “What’s the rush?”.

[stoicfish]

[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;7726734]
You have to think that the emotional stuff a foal must go through is very internalized and might not show up immediately, but the long term outlook may be hazy at best as stress shows up in strange places. As a very long time breeder and professional in the business asked me; “What’s the rush?”.[/QUOTE]

Sales. Some people put them through an auction or they have a sale and the new owner wants the foal asap.

[crosscreeksh]

“The science here is clear: If your mare is thin, don’t wean the foal, feed the mare.”
I like this sentence the best!!! It is the reply I give to people making that claim!!! I see people weaning early for THEIR convenience!!

[crosscreeksh]

“The science here is clear: If your mare is thin, don’t wean the foal, feed the mare.”
I like this sentence the best!!! It is the reply I give to people making that claim!!! I see people weaning early for THEIR convenience!!

[SportArab]

[QUOTE=crosscreeksh;7728805]
“The science here is clear: If your mare is thin, don’t wean the foal, feed the mare.”
I like this sentence the best!!! It is the reply I give to people making that claim!!! I see people weaning early for THEIR convenience!![/QUOTE]

I don’t think there’s any “science” here at all. And while I generally wean at around six months, I haven’t seen any real evidence that a foal gets better nutrition from the mare’s milk after four months. Which leaves people to “wean at THEIR convenience” since people mostly do things at their convenience unless there is a strong compelling reason to do otherwise.

[Mistysmom]

Foals actually get very little nutrition from the mare from about 4-5 months onward although they still get something. By the time they are older, it is more about the mental/emotional development. Foals also go to the udder during stressful times and this is really noticeable in much older foals. They are not really nursing to eat… its more of a comfort thing (you see this easily at inspections and foal shows etc.). I agree it is an important developmental step for the foal…

[Sparky_Boy]

Just did a search for “creep feeding” and found the article in the first post. Good info for me as this is my first. Glad you posted it

I’m still unclear though if any creep feeding or mineral supplementation is necessary for foals in the first 6 months at all?

My filly is only 3 weeks old and nurses well but she’s already eating grass, hay and trying to get into mom’s grain bucket for a few bites.

Wondering if I should try and keep her out of mom’s grain?

[Sonesta]

[QUOTE=Sparky Boy;8159717]
I’m still unclear though if any creep feeding or mineral supplementation is necessary for foals in the first 6 months at all?

My filly is only 3 weeks old and nurses well but she’s already eating grass, hay and trying to get into mom’s grain bucket for a few bites.

Wondering if I should try and keep her out of mom’s grain?[/QUOTE]

We let our foals sample mom’s grain for a couple weeks or so, but if they start eating a significant amount of hers, we will separate them while mom eats. Our foals already lead and tie by 3 weeks old, so by the time we separate them, we can just tie baby very close to mom but where baby can’t reach moms feed.

And we set up a corner creep feeder that consists of no more than a rail across a corner of the paddock that is high enough for baby to get under, but mom cannot. In that we keep a good quality foal supplement that baby can munch on at will.

We wean around 5-6 months when we notice that mom and baby seem to be about done with each other, but we wean by putting them in adjoining paddocks where they can be close to each other (and baby can sometimes reach through to nurse if mom stands right next to fence). We leave them like this until they lose interest in each other.

[pony_grandma]

[QUOTE=Sonesta;8159922]

We wean around 5-6 months when we notice that mom and baby seem to be about done with each other, but we wean by putting them in adjoining paddocks where they can be close to each other (and baby can sometimes reach through to nurse if mom stands right next to fence). We leave them like this until they lose interest in each other.[/QUOTE]

I do side-by-side also. First in open 1/2 side stalls for separate feeding times, then stretch that out a bit more. Then side by side fence lines. 6 months was pushing it this yr because junior started chomping on mom’s tail ! She has a magnificent full lush thick tail so that was a today’s the day deal.

[mareslave]

for those of you who wean around 4 months, what do you do about vaccinations and salt? do you vaccinate at 4 months? do you allow 4 month old access to salt lick?

[Foxtrot_s]

I never could do the ‘rip them away cold turkey’ routine - seems so unkind.
It becomes a non-issue when done gradually.

[VirginiaBred]

It’s definitely ALL about the mental/emotional development side of things for both mare and foal. You may think your foal (or mare) is disinterested at four months but you are wrong. Emotionally speaking, a foal isn’t ready to be on their own at that tender age. Yes in extreme circumstances it has been done but don’t rush your foal’s development as an individual. And some are late bloomers; as breeders we need to support their youth in all ways as much as possible. It’s our responsibility AND I believe it makes them more well-rounded individuals later.

[Kyzteke]

[QUOTE=SportArab;7724289]
I have weaned many babies. And the age of weaning ranged from 3 months to 1 year.
So, from my perspective, there are many ways to wean and reasons to support different weaning dates.[/QUOTE]

This^^^^
Sometimes the “ideal” situation is to leave mom & babe together for 6-8 mos.But sometimes the better way is to wean early. And it can be done without physically OR mental OR emotionally damaging the foal

For example: orphans. There have been studies and plenty of stories here on COTH of foals orphaned long before the magic (and completely arbitrary ) 6 mos who turned out just fine in all areas.

It just depends on if the foals needs in all three areas are met. If you understand those needs& meet them the foals likely to turn out just fine.

BTW there are plenty of horses weaned" properly" who turned subpar in 1 or more of these areas. If you really want to do it naturally, just keep 'em together till the mare choses the weaning date. That’s what mares do in the wild- it’s the way Nature intended, apparently.

It ranges from 1 -2 yrs…often when the mare has another foal. Not many of us do it that way.