Do i need to wean this 4 month old colt now? we have no experience with this at all?

Question

We have an 8yr old mare that was in very poor shape when we purchased her a month ago. She is 3 months pregnant with a 4 month old colt at her side.. Shes not putting on any weight and we are concerned about that.. Should i go ahead and pull the colt off of her? and if so whats the best way to wean one? how long does it take? all advice is welcome!

Answer 1

Is she getting adequate feed/nutrition/supplements?

Have you had her teeth checked?

What condition is the foal in?

What does your vet say?

Answer 2

Same problem i have with a rescue.  Her baby is 4 months old now and he is healthy and happy in his own corral.  He was ok with it mama freaked a bit.  Took a few days and now she is fine.  This mare is really skinny to and i have to feed her several times a day, didn't want the baby to get to fat...I took the baby from her at 3 months, my vet suggested this would the best thing to do and he was eating just fine.  Is your baby eating and drinking water?  If so i would pull the baby off mama.  What i did sense mama was freaking was put her in a corral about 30 feet away, this way little guy wasn't sneaking milk, tried next to each other but little guy was still drinking.

Answer 3

EMAIL ME FOR MORE. many people will disagree with this, but as long as the baby is eating and drinking fine, he needs to come off his mom as soon as possible. they need to be AT LEAST 3 to 3 1/2 months old, but if the mom is in bad shape, and the baby is eating well, take him off. mom will be able to gain weight much better.

the best way to wean one is to put it in a stall where there are no big holes, or nothing the baby can get caught in. leave the mom out to pasture for a few hours then let them back together. do that for a few days then seperate them for good. once the baby has become calm without mom around, put him in a paddock seperate from mom or he will go right back to drinking.

we had a mare who had a 9 month old baby, so she had been weaned for 5 months. we put them back in the pasture together and the baby went right back to drinking.

what type of ffeed is the mother getting? the WORST thing to feed any horse that needs to maintain weight is oats/grain. the best thing for pregnant or nursing mares is 14% pellets. after the colt is taken off of her fully, switch back down to 12% pellets and she will should gain weight like crazy. be careful that she doesnt get fed too much too soon as that can cause her to founder.

like i said, email me and i will explain better. hope this helps!!  

Answer 4

It depends on the health of your colt. I have a mini colt who has been eating and drinking on his own since he was 2 mon old. He doesn't nurse anymore, could be due to the fact that he is the same size as his mom. He will be 3 mon sept. 2nd and I'm taking him out. If your mare is pregnant, and still nursing, she will not put on any weight. I would take the colt because between the unborn baby and the colt they will take everything from her, and that is not good for her or the unborn foal.

Answer 5

If the colt is eating grain you could try restricting access to the mare.  Start seperating the mare and colt during the day.  Try it a couple times while you are there and can observe them the whole time because you may have as much trouble from the mare as from the colt.  Don't leave the colt totally alone if you can help it.  This would be a good time to work with him.  Don't leave him in a stall alone - this would be a good opportunity for him to develop bad stall behaviors.  I would say let them together overnight because you can't watch them and you don't want them bustin through fences to get to each other.  If all goes well give it a couple weeks and them seperate them permanently.

Make sure the feed you are purchasing for him is specially formulated for weanlings.  Also make sure the mare is dewormed and healthy otherwise.  Be careful putting weight on her, it has to go slow.  Consult your vet, if that isn't possible talk to the feedstore people and determine the best rations for both the mare and colt.  Get a tape and measure her every week to monitor her progress.  Make sure she has access to HORSE salts and minerals.

Answer 6

As long as the colt is eating grain and hay he is a fine age.  Colts are usually becoming pretty independent from mom at that age.  My colt was just shy of four months when I weaned him last week.  You want to mae sure that the mare is getting plenty of nutrition for her new baby.  I would put her on a supplement for pregnant/lactating mares.  Farman's Mare Plus crumble is great.  I would also add a mineral/vitamin supplement for your colt.  Mine is on Farnam's Grow Colt crumble and he is doing well with it.  

You can wean a few ways.  Some people like to place the mare and foal in adjoining pens to that they can see/touch each other, but the foal cannot nurse.  Or you can place them so they are out of sight.  When mine were weaned, my mare was placed in the back pasture with 2 other pastures between her and the colt.  They were a little upset for the first few days, if they saw each other, they would scream back and forth, and my mare would run up and down the fence.  It's been about a wee now since the weaning and they are both doing great.  No more calling, both are eating well, and my colt is enjoying playtime with the two other colts and their moms.  If you are still concerned, give your vet a call and get his opinion.

Answer 7

Before weaning begins, the mare and foal must be healthy.  Stress can trigger illness.  

        The best age for weaning is between four and six months.  The foal should be nutritionally independent from the mare by this age - eating a feed mix designed for young growing horses, plus good quality forage.  The mare's milk will not be providing adequate nutrition for the growing foal after four months.  

Below is an excellent Web_Site, and I know it is just for you! It is a must read!

Your Mare will put weight on, as soon as she is weaned from the colt!

Good luck to you.

Joy.

Answer 8

you should try 1/2 a cup of corn oil in the mares food and seperate mare and foal at feeding time. i would wait until the foal is at least 6 months to wean him, in the wild mares usually dont wean their foals until they are 8 months to a year old

Answer 9

I feel for ya, dear - it's heart breaking when the babies call for their mommas - it's really not even a call, it's a heart wrenching scream.  I've weaned 3 babies now from my mare.  I don't intend to foal more - too stressful for me.

When I have weaned the mare from the foal, I have the luxury of pasturing them where they can't see each other.  I put a radio in the barn of both horses and turn it up so cover up their cries as much as possible.

4 months is definitely not too young to wean - if he's eating on his own he'll be fine.

If the colt is out of site of mom and she doesn't call to him, he'll settle down in a week or two - he'll still be very nervous as he's left alone for any predator to come along and eat - that's what he's thinking, his protector is gone.

Ensure he's in a fence he's comfortable and familiar enough and stall with no protrusions or short gates he can attempt jumping out of.  Yes, they will do crazy things like trying to climb fences and crawl under board fences.

If he's safe or you worry about him being out, there's no problem keeping him in a stall that he's comfortable in or accustomed to for part of the day - it might allow him to be alone in a place he feels safe and quiet down.  Also, you will find that any activity near him will keep his energy up.  When I have weaned mine, they know from our activities together that Mom or I will protect them well.  So I am just about as good as ol' Ma around the barn - if I go out there, pet 'em, hug 'em then walk away, they're all upset again - so keep the activity around them as quiet as you can to allow them quiet relaxation to think.  Do interact with them though - at feeding times work with him a bit petting and whatnot - this is the time he needs the proper interaction to become a solid trusted horse.  He is ready a couple weeks after weaning to have something to focus on - groundwork, handling, picking up feet, etc all should ensue to properly acclimatize him to what to expect in future.  Don't overwhelm him with scary objects or quick movements - remember, he thinks he'll be eaten at any moment.

Good luck!  Give him lots of love and wait it out.  He'll calm down and start gaining confidence.