Re: Seperating foal and mare
Tlove wrote:
Hi
My foal is coming this month 1 year. I wanted to let her stay with and drinking with her mother for at least one year, like how it goes in nature.
But now we are at a point where I think they need to seperate for a while so that the foal stops drinking and mommy stops producing milk.
These last weeks mom has lost seriously weight. She still looks good and healthy, but is is just very noticable. I think it will be a good time for her that she stops producing the milk.
How can I seperate them the best way? I can easily take the mare out for about an hour without the foal is worried. But I can't take the foal out and put the mare in a stable, then the mare is freaking out. I thought of taking one out and move that one to another place for about a month. But the hard thing is finding another good (!) place.
Does someone has experiences, ideas or tips please?
Thank you
Regards
We weaned Bonnie from Altea by increasing periods of separation. We were fortunate, and foresighted enough, to build our barn with three side by side stalls, with swinging panels between. In theory it could open up into one three stall wide space. As a practical matter, we did have it open, when Bonnie was born, and for nearly nine months thereafter, as two making one stall.
The dividing panel is the same as the stall front panel. Horizontal upper bars, and solid wood lower half. Horses can see each other through the panel and even touch noses. Bonnie still can put her growing nose through and get give her kisses.
At nine months we swung the panel in place and created the two stalls but for about a month we did not separate them, just let them wander in and out of both, and fed and watered them in both. Bonnie quickly became comfortable with the arrangement.
We began closing them off to let Bonnie have her own feeding area, with her own feed. Then would turn them out together again when they were finished. Finally we began turning ot only one at a time into the attached paddock, where they could visit but not be together. As we increased this time apart eventually Altea began producing less and less milk for Bonnie.
The time came when we completely stopped having them together, but still side by side in the stalls, or one out and one in, by using the paddock. We kept them apart this way for nearly two months as I recall before we let them be together. Bonnie nursed, so we did another month or so, then tried again. This time Altea was completely dried up, and would move away from Bonnie and do little fake, "I'm going to kick you if you try that again," when Bonnie tried to suckle (nurse).
On rare occasions Bonnie will forget and tentatively attempt to reach under to Altea's udder, but Altea is much more forceful now about warning her off. Even given little bites (which would injure you or I, but to a horse, even a young one like Bonnie, hardly does more than pinch).
I've never seen, as someone suggested, an anti-suckling flap as used on calves, one made for horses. They are fastened through the deeper nostril pocket of calves, and foals don't have that. And it's not recommended that foals/weanlings/yearlings be left unattended with halters on, though I see people doing it.
Personally I prefer, unless it has a purpose other than human convenience such as making catching easier, (such as a fly mask, or to hold on a grazing muzzle) to never leave any equipment on a horse in unattended liberty.
Be creative. Use what you have. And consider, adult horses don't nurse their mothers in the wild. Somehow they do manage (usually Mother Mare sets the pace) to become weaned.
As for physical separation, my own technique for working with barn sour or herd bound horses is the circle game. I keep taking them away then back, then away, then back, in ever increasing loops or circles until the fear wears off and they understand they will be returning once again.
I've not really started Bonnie on this, but because she gets to run out in the forest around our house to play by herself she's pretty comfortable with leaving mommy nervous in the paddock or stall trying to keep an eye on her. It's come down to less a foal and mother mare situation now and looks much more like herd attachment behavior. Bonnie will come back and check in with mom now and then but leaves quickly to go look for sprites in the woods to play with.
The woods are were she finds toys, that is things to pretend with.
Donald
