Weaning a Foal - (by Legsfordayz)

[Editor's Note: U Rock 'n Ride member legsfordayz submitted a great piece on weaning a foal. Thanks for the great information Legs! We can't wait to hear more from you and our other members!]

Weaning a foal is hard on all involved, and sometimes even those that aren't! In my years of foaling, raising, and weaning foals most horses react to the calling of both mare and foal. Be prepared for a few sleepless nights if the barn is close to your house!

For me, the first step in separation begins a month before actual weaning. By this time, assuming the foal is halter broke, I separate mare and foal for short intervals leaving the foal in a safe, high walled stall. It's important the foal can't get over the wall, or get its legs caught in the bars. I remove all hanging wall buckets just in case. The mare also needs to be in a safe place with no way to run back to her foal. I prefer to put them far enough away so their calls can't reach each other. It's not a bad idea to turn up a radio. Big barn fans will also mask the sound.

Depending on the foal, the first step to weaning is pretty much just the time that passes while I take the mare out to pasture solo. I go right back and bring the foal out. I'll do this for a few days and gradually lengthen the time it takes to bring the foal to the pasture. Deciding when to wean completely depends on the individual foal and mare; you need to think about them both, but this is another chapter! When you do decide to wean completely, the foal should have some idea of what is expected and the stress level will be a bit lower for both if you gradually introduce the process like I outlined here.

Some people like to wean foals together. I've done this with numerous foals. If you have a large farm and plan on doing the turn out to pasture until they're yearlings this is fine. I prefer to wean foals from total contact with their equine friends! I find they start looking to me for their needs and really begin to enjoy human contact. With their short attention span this is a good thing.