How much hay should a 3.5 month old foal get

[4horses]

My mare is rather on the plump side. She pretty much hogs the hay… her foal on the other hand is bit ribby. I’m wondering if he gets enough hay as she pretty much inhales her hay even with slow feed bags.

I’ve been separating them at feeding time and giving him his own pile of hay and that works okay for the morning and evening feed but I’m wondering if he needs more then that? They are out on pasture at night but it’s grazed short.

I’m also considering an early weaning. Maybe in October? As he is already quite confident being on his own and away from his mother.

I’m not sure who to put him in with as a weaning buddy. My oldest mare is 22 yrs old and I’m thinking she might be okay with him but she’s never had a foal of her own so I don’t really know. The last time I weaned a foal, I borrowed my friends pony. I’m not sure my friend would be willing to do that again as that is her favorite pony to ride.

[SusanO]

How much hay can a foal that age digest? I will let the nutritionists here address that.

[fordtraktor]

I weaned a foal at 3 months and transitioned him to free choice hay/grass and a ration balancer. His mom had to be euthanized and that was as long as I felt comfortable delaying it. He did fine.

I put him with a nanny pony of mine I knew would be kind to him. She was a little too kind maybe, she came into milk at age 30 because he would comfort nurse her. Oops! You might ask around, I’ve loaned my pony out a few times over the years. But there are plenty of matronly old horses around (including some geldings).

[beowulf]

As much as they can safely eat. Is the hay soft? I would make sure whatever you are feeding isn’t too stemmy or coarse.

My mare was weaned at 4 months. I put her on 24/7 hay with a foal-formulated RB. She was also put out to pasture 24/7 with a kindly old gelding, like Fordtraktor mentioned. She acclimated just fine.

You know your horse’s disposition best. Some horses aren’t safe with foals, but I have noticed many take kindly to babies, kind of how they take kindly to kids.

[JB]

Put a muzzle on the mare.

At 3.5 months, the foal really can’t digest much adult foods (ie hay, grass) even though they’re eating it. It’s improving, it’s better than at 3 months, but 4 months is generally when the can really start digesting hay/grass and commercial feeds

The mare needs a muzzle though, yes they still work with nets even if you have to enlarge the hole a bit, or you have to go to a bigger hole hay net.

At 4 months the foal really needs access to all the hay he can eat

Get a good ration balancer and start weaning him onto his full dose, he needs it. It’s not worth getting a milk-based foal feed at this age. In the 2 weeks it should take to work him up to his full amount, he’ll be able to digest it well enough, and it will improve from there.

As for weaning - hopefully not for at least another 2 months There is no benefit to weaning early, there are some detriments, and it’s just better to wean later. This isn’t about milk quality or mom’s comfort, it’s about the physical being of the foal. Earlier weaning should be about a medical issue rather than convenience.

Who are they out with now? Is the mare friends with other horses?

[cnd8]

What about deworming protocol?

[JB]

Deworming:

Should have been dewormed around 8 weeks

go to p. 24 and read when and with what to deworm foals through “youngsters”

Internal-Parasite-Guidelines_Updated.pdf

[4horses]

They have own pasture by themselves so they aren’t out with anyone. My mare is bottom of the herd but she pretty much gets along with everyone.

[JB]

I would have been putting them out with buddies before now, but of course that’s water under the bridge I WOULD get them out with a little herdlet so that the foal has known companions when it’s time for weaning. I wouldn’t be too keen on putting a foal in with unknown adults while also under the stress of weaning

[goodhors]

Agree with JB on muzzling the mare. Baby should have as much hay as he wants to eat, but keeping him nursing longer is better for him mentally and physically. A bit ribby is not terrible for a foal, better than the chunky, over-fat foal. Extra weight is hard on his soft bones in the legs. Our foals get some wet beet pulp along with mom as their “grain portion” and seem to like it. Ours stay a bit ribby until later ages, with all the pasture or hay they want to clean up. A literal handful of daily grain mix to get vitamins and Selenium into them after weaning and as growing young horses. They look “racing fit”, not halter or show fat. They last until old age with sound legs and hooves that have not been overweighted as youngsters. They are tall horses, 16-17H, but growth is spread over the years, not got the height until older with their bigger hooves and bone to support their sizes. We use them pretty hard as adults, they stay sound in work. It is not a look folks are used to seeing anymore on young equines, with feed photo advertising promoting fat horses so YOU are the GOOD OWNER. They want to guilt you into buying products horses may not actually need!

You might want to introduce your older mare or chosen other foal companion to broodmare and foal, with adjoining stalls first for a couple days, then out into the pasture together… Mares can do fly swishing together, watch the foal. I would wait on weaning, at least 2 months. Weaning fully at 6 months would be even better. Foals seem to be more calm, mentally mature at the later age.