Weaning baby/moving mom question

[mereditho]

I bought my mare last year; the sellers wanted a baby out of her and she foaled a lovely colt this spring. I am going to move her from their barn to one closer to me after weaning the little one.

The way the current barn owners typically wean is to take mom and baby to a friend’s place where they’ll join some other moms and babies. After about a week, mom is removed and baby remains with his new herd.

My question is, would it be less traumatic for the mare to go back to her old barn when she’s separated from her baby, then move her to the new place after she’s settled? Or would it be better to just get it over with by moving her directly to the new barn when she’s separated? My preference is to go straight to the new place (it’s 35 minutes closer to my home) but I want to do what’s right for her.

Any recommendations?

[Scribbler]

I don’t think mare cares where she goes that much. Horses are moved all the time and in the wild they cover s lot of ground. They don’t nest and they aren’t cats.

Leaving the foal might bother her but go ahead and take her to where you want her.

[joiedevie99]

Yeah. I doubt she’ll care.

[Foxtrot_s]

She’ll look around and then eat. Do you have horses at home which she knows. It has to happen, so just do it.

Better this than when the baby/Mom is just yanked away cold turkey - never could do that one.

[mereditho]

Thanks, everyone, I appreciate it. I think in some ways she’ll be relieved - he’s the nippiest baby I’ve ever seen. He’s also really dragging her weight down despite current efforts, so I’m off to search the forums on that topic!

[Highflyer]

I would just move her directly. Maybe give a little ace if you’re worried.

[SnicklefritzG]

OP, the way your current barn owners handle weaning is great, but it’s not necessarily something that works for everyone. I could have weaned my foal that way, but that would have meant sending mom and baby to board at another farm, then leaving baby there for a while. It would have been too much expense and driving time to have horses at 2-3 different places.

What I ended up doing was having the mare and foal turned out during the day in a paddock that was next to the gelding that the foal would eventually be turned out with. He has a nice personality and reputation for being good with youngsters. On the day of weaning, I gave everyone a shot of Ace, mom left on the trailer for another farm and the gelding and foal were left outside together. The foal was upset that the 24/7 milk bar had disappeared, but my gelding was very kind about the foal’s attempt to nurse. She stayed mad for a few days but then settled.

Op, in your case I think your situation is easier since you will have to deal with just the mare. My mare called out for about a week and then went back to her usual self. Some mares don’t seem to mind much if their baby is taken away. Others scream more. you should be fine within a week or so, especially if your mare has other horses to be turned out with.