# What age do you wean your foals?



## Parker Horse Ranch

I heard that some can be wean at 4 or 6 month old


----------



## AKPaintLover

We just weaned our colt at 3 and half months. I would have liked to wait longer, but mom was really struggling. Also, he was very big, very strong, very independent, and neither he nor mom cared in the least when we separated them. Though he does occasionally try to check out our gelding's sheath... maybe there's milk up there


----------



## valleychick2121

I weaned at 4 months when my riding mare was starting to get pulled down with having a baby, working, and trail rides.


----------



## Zanesgirl

So, from what i've read, it really comes down to circumstance (ie mare doing well feeding, or struggling and how the foal is doing) rather than a set age.

We do the same with puppies, especially as our girls tend to have large litters, 10 pups isn't unusual.

if my girls have big litters, i supplement and start weaning at about 3 weeks.

thanks for the responses guys.

now for the next question:

Do any of you let the mare wean her baby, as they would in the wild?


----------



## Vidaloco

A mare will wean her own baby if she is bred back. She will naturally start to push off the old baby when the next one is due. If she isn't bred back then the foal will continue to nurse as long as the mare allows it. I've seen them at a year or older still trying to nurse so its best to give them a helping hand. We've weaned at 4-5 months usually when the mare starts making a fuss about the baby nursing.


----------



## FGRanch

I wean all my babies at 4 months old.


----------



## Angel_Leaguer

3-5 months, depends on if the baby is eating and drinking well on its own, also if the mare is struggling with her weight or healt,h and the baby is doing ok on its own we will wean earlier. It really depends on the individual horses.


----------



## my2geldings

It's really foal dependent really. My rule of thumb is normally anywhere from 5-7 months on. When I used to breed minis, unless the mare was showing I didn't even bother weaning them myself. They always did the job themselves and that way I like it better because they do it when they are ready. The mare usually gave them the boot as they became to teethy


----------



## meggymoo

Well Poppy is 5 and a half months now, and still with mummy. I hoping to wean her off at the end of the month. She'll be 6 months then.
I didnt realise you could do it as early as some of you had said. :shock: Mum hasn't really shown any signs of being fed up etc, but then Poppy doesn't suckle any where near as what she use to.


----------



## AKPaintLover

Hey meg, you should post some recent pics of poppy!! I haven't seen her since those first weeks. I was hoping to keep Blizzard on mom longer (as there really is no better diet for them than mom's milk), but she was already starting to get fed up, and was really struggling to keep weight...also, he is pretty big compared to her and dad (really weird).


----------



## TxHorseMom

Angel_Leaguer said:


> 3-5 months, depends on if the baby is eating and drinking well on its own, also if the mare is struggling with her weight or healt,h and the baby is doing ok on its own we will wean earlier. It really depends on the individual horses.


That is exactly what we do.


----------



## aappyfan1

Most of my foals were weaned at 6-7 months old I did have one that the mom weaned. She was a catch (colt) filly born in Sept. so wasn't weaned til the following spring...


----------



## valleychick2121

My friend who breeds APHA horses has a 2 y/o colt that is still suckling. He is as big as his dam, lol.


----------



## WSArabians

Usually we let our mares do it.
They're pretty good at it... some let others nurse a lot longer than others, but like Vidaloco said, they'll let them stay if they aren't bred back. And I've had that, then had to wean him. Mind you, he was plenty old enough. lol
Unless the mare is not taking to having the baby on her side, I see no problem with letting the mares do their job naturally.


----------



## FGRanch

If I let Kita wean her own babies she would never ever do it. Even after he baby has been weaned for two years and she has another foal at her side she will still let her two year old nurse. Actually for that matter she would let anyone nurse.


----------



## o0hawaiigirl0o

We're in the process of weaning Contessa right now. Today was her third day. It's been crazy. xD She's a little over 4 months old now. So far she's been stalled apart from mom in the day and then they're put out at night together(although Tessa would rather barge through the fence and stay with the herd). Her dam is really thin so I think it'll be better for her when Tessa's fully weaned. The screaming is really annoying though.


----------



## AKPaintLover

o0hawaiigirl0o said:


> We're in the process of weaning Contessa right now. Today was her third day. It's been crazy. xD She's a little over 4 months old now. So far she's been stalled apart from mom in the day and then they're put out at night together(although Tessa would rather barge through the fence and stay with the herd). Her dam is really thin so I think it'll be better for her when Tessa's fully weaned. The screaming is really annoying though.


Can you put baby in with some other horses so that she is not so frantic? Sometimes, they just need some company. Also, I wonder if it would be easier for you if you just weaned them cold turkey? The back and forth might create more anxiety. Every horse is different though


----------



## o0hawaiigirl0o

^ Those are some great suggestions, but I can't really do anything about it since they aren't my horses. I just have to trust that my BO knows what she is doing.


----------



## TxHorseMom

AKPaintLover said:


> o0hawaiigirl0o said:
> 
> 
> 
> We're in the process of weaning Contessa right now. Today was her third day. It's been crazy. xD She's a little over 4 months old now. So far she's been stalled apart from mom in the day and then they're put out at night together(although Tessa would rather barge through the fence and stay with the herd). Her dam is really thin so I think it'll be better for her when Tessa's fully weaned. The screaming is really annoying though.
> 
> 
> 
> Can you put baby in with some other horses so that she is not so frantic? Sometimes, they just need some company. Also, I wonder if it would be easier for you if you just weaned them cold turkey? The back and forth might create more anxiety. Every horse is different though
Click to expand...

I have to agree. Putting them back and forth is causing more stress to both of them. The dam won't be able to let her milk dry up fully if the foal is still nursing at night.


----------



## irisheyes12

My barn owners wean at 4-5 months, depending on how large the foal is at that time and how well they are eating on their own. There is no reason to leave foals with mares for more than 6 months as it only drags the mare down.


----------



## Angilina

My filly is 4 months, and her mother is doing it naturally. I see Boss (the filly) trying to nurse every two days, and every time her mother nips at her and Boss stops trying. She's eating fine on her own, grass, hay and grain, and drinks fine. Angel (the broodmare) has been bred back, but isn't struggling at all. Boss has always been pretty independent (can you tell by the name?) and even at 3 weeks she would be a full acre across the field from Angel before you could blink. This, of course, caused Angel many heart attacks. But she's nice and healthy, and at the moment there's no reason to separate them. Boss is to busy being alpha mare to care about nursing!

I'm really lucky, I have a mare who is a professional broodmare. She loves babies and is darn good at it. She'll probably wean her next about this time, but we'll see how it goes.


----------



## irisheyes12

Angilina said:


> My filly is 4 months, and her mother is doing it naturally. I see Boss (the filly) trying to nurse every two days, and every time her mother nips at her and Boss stops trying. She's eating fine on her own, grass, hay and grain, and drinks fine. Angel (the broodmare) has been bred back, but isn't struggling at all. Boss has always been pretty independent (can you tell by the name?) and even at 3 weeks she would be a full acre across the field from Angel before you could blink. This, of course, caused Angel many heart attacks. But she's nice and healthy, and at the moment there's no reason to separate them. Boss is to busy being alpha mare to care about nursing!
> 
> I'm really lucky, I have a mare who is a professional broodmare. She loves babies and is darn good at it. She'll probably wean her next about this time, but we'll see how it goes.


Great to hear they're doing well and I like the foal's name. If she's as far along as you say, there really isn't any reason to not wean her now but of course, that's your prerogative


----------



## mare

I wean mine anywhere from 4 to 6 months.


----------



## meggymoo

Well my filly was 6 months at the end of September and she is still with Momma.
She rarely suckles now, but she still shares paddock and stable with mom.


----------



## Delregans Way

Usually about 6months (or around that) is a good age. But yes - it does depend on the circumstances.


----------



## DashAwayAll

Six months because Momma was such a heavy milker - and then we weaned for his health. The mare lost tons of weight on just pasture, but she took another seven weeks or so to completely dry up. Also, after the first week, it's a great time to geld your little guys.

We also took the mare off of grain two weeks before weaning. She still milked like a Holstein! LOL


----------



## g8ted4me

I weaned mine at 4 months old and so far so good- everything is going as smooth as pie and my mare is enjoying her freedom and not having a little man following her around everywhere and being sassy! :lol:


----------



## Painted Ride

6 months here....


----------



## DarkRider

I usually wean between 4 and 5 months of age. Other times I have had to wean a bit earlier if the mare was being pulled down. I have never had problems with weaning as of yet.


----------



## bolana

we wean at 5 months generally speaking.


----------



## Kincsem

My mare weaned her filly between 9 and 10 months. I fed her the whole time she was nursing and she was not struggling at all. The filly started looking under my stallion after mom started pinning her ears. My stallion was very patient with her. He is a really great father figure. He has been watching over her and her mom since she was born. He attended the birth. She would take off running back and forth when she was just newborn and upset her mother.


----------



## Midwest Paint

If it's concerning my show stock, typically 3 months. But I also base it on individual maturity too!


----------



## QuickStar

In Sweden is not legal to wean until foal is at least 6 month of age. 
With fillies I let them go with their mother and let her wean the foal on her own. With colts I seperate them one tha nights at 5-5½ months and let them stay together during the days until the foal is 6-6½ month old.

If I have serveral colts I´ll put them together by themselfs.


----------



## Skyhuntress

My first baby was weaned at 3 months, but I thought that was a little too young. However, mother and baby didn't really seem to care. He was the most independent baby and also seemed to stop nursing on his own. We put him in with a friendly gelding and he adapted just fine.

My other guy was weaned at 5 months, which I think is lovely.

I wouldn't go past 6 months though. Not only is it a drain on the mare, there is absolutely no nutritional value.


----------



## equus717

I will be weaning my foals in 2 weeks that will put Maggie at 6 months and Caddo at 51/2 months. Caddo is going to be easier to wean because he has always been very independent of his mom but Maggie may have a harder time with this as she is still very dependent on her mom to protect her from Caddo. Maggie had a rough start she had to have her leg sewed up at 1 week old because she went through my fence and now she got pushed through again and scrapped her shoulder so I am waiting until she is all healed up before I wean them because I do not want to lose either one and the weaning process can be very stressful. Like I said though Caddo and I already have a great bond with one another I imprinted him at birth and even though Maggie was imprinted she fixated on her mom even more because of the injuries that she has incurred since being born. She is starting to come around though and loves to be stroked on her back and behind. I am just taking my time with her so that she doesn't become fearful of humans because she will be sold and I want her off to the best start that I can give her before I sell her to someone.


----------



## nrhareiner

Between 3-4 months. By this time the foal is eating well. Mare milk is starting to decline in quality and quantity. It also give me the ability to control more aspects of the foals like and they start looking to me for leadership.


----------



## Cougar

My mom had a mare and filly that were left together until the filly was three! No harm on either mom or baby. The momma was ridden, baby was started and she still suckled on the boob. When I finally convinced my mom to let me separate them it was no fuss. Simply baby got put in with two other mares, mom went in with three others and that was that. No fuss, no nothing. In that situation it worked well though I can understand why that doesn't work for everyone.


----------



## CheyAut

Anywhere between 4 and 6 months. I try to wait until after 5 months, but have done earlier (4 months) with a colt who was bringing his dam down too much, despite the massive amount we were feeding her lol!


----------



## Velvet

Vidaloco said:


> A mare will wean her own baby if she is bred back. She will naturally start to push off the old baby when the next one is due. If she isn't bred back then the foal will continue to nurse as long as the mare allows it. I've seen them at a year or older still trying to nurse so its best to give them a helping hand. We've weaned at 4-5 months usually when the mare starts making a fuss about the baby nursing.


This is not necessarily true, some mares do not wean their foals. A friend of mine has a mare whose colt was 8 months old (AND she was in foal) and the mare made no attempts to wean him at all. Eventually they sent the colt away because he was sucking the mare dry (as in she was losing alot of condition)!

I think it depends largely on each individual case, but most of the foals I have heard of are weaned at 5-6months old.


----------



## Velvet

Cougar said:


> My mom had a mare and filly that were left together until the filly was three! No harm on either mom or baby. The momma was ridden, baby was started and she still suckled on the boob. When I finally convinced my mom to let me separate them it was no fuss. Simply baby got put in with two other mares, mom went in with three others and that was that. No fuss, no nothing. In that situation it worked well though I can understand why that doesn't work for everyone.


Kind of sounds like women who breast feed their kids until they are 12 or something! NASTY! :-|


----------



## shesinthebarn

I think it's fine to leave them a little longer if the mare is fine with it. I believe in natural weaning from the breast for horse and human alike!


----------



## smrobs

Rafe is doing a pretty good job of weaning himself. He is 3 months old and doesn't suckle very much anymore. He is perfectly content to eat hay or grass or whatever he has access too (like saddles, bridles, lead ropes, paper bags, etc LOL). Depending on how much of a problem he is, we may leave him with mom indefinitely but I won't pull him off any sooner than 6 months.


----------



## whitetrashwarmblood

5-6 months


----------



## sillybunny11486

my baby was bout 3 months when he was weaned. too me that was a little young, but i was already set on him. he was pretty good about it. he was gradually weaned till i picked him up from the breeder. he was shy to grain for a few weeks, but ate alot of hay and grass and drank alot. hes 7 months now and he thinks my mare is his mommy. its pretty cute, but annoying when i want to seperate them.


----------



## dee

Daughter's colt was still nursing at 15 months, and mom was just a walking bag of bones. We tried sending him to a friend's house a mile or so away, but he came running back the next day. We wound up putting him in the pasture with his daddy and my mare, and left Ginger and DJ in the lot up next to the house. Colt was just fine with that arrangement - no strange horses and he was still safe at home.

We figure Dancer and Ginger are probably pregnant again, since the stallion (daddy) hasn't been gelded yet (dangit!). My oldest daughter wants Dancer's baby, and we'll probably send both babies to her house when they are around 5-6 months old, depending on how mom is doing.


----------



## Prodomus

I do a gradual weaning that usually cuminates at between 5-6 months - usually around the time that they have their first line show so the mare doesn't have to show as well.

I have a whole process I go through so the mare dries up gradually and the foal learns to be with buddies. But buddies are introduced well before weaning starts. 

After the Royal winter fair I allow my foals to go back with their mom for the winter - by that time the mare is dried up and the foal is eating well on their own.


----------

