Thank you all for the advice and tips..I am also preparing myself to wean my filly. I already weaned one foal and did it by separating them totally one day, he stayed at the farm, she went back to the riding club, it worked out really, really well, when I brought him back to the riding club two years later, he still remembered his mother!!! she hates him. Anyways, my filly is 3 and a half months old, she is huge, enormous, she is already eating feed and some oats, she eats grass, although I dont see her super fat, the mare has excess milk! she has lost some weight but nothing major, however I was curious in finding out if vegetable oil is better than corn oil? I have been giving my mare corn oil forever....also, is it true that if your foal is large, big, that you might want to wean them earlier so that they dont curve their backs also from going under the mare to milk? also the tendonitis and curving of their legs!!! is this true?

Just thought I would give you some encouragement...I dealt with contracted tendons and at 6 months he had to have the surgery. He is now 19, never had a lame step and is my best penning horse! Good luck!

Well, all this has passed now, it has been over a year. I used some advice from here and it worked to a degree. Right when I started weaning, he started to cripple himself up with contracted ligaments and had to have surgery. This almost worked to my advantage (except the cost!) because now I was spending so much time with him doctoring him for 6 weeks we built up a great relationship. When mom did come back things were fine for a month and then I caught him nursing again, not often. I let it go and she eventually knocked him off herself. But since the surgery, he prefers to hang out with me whenever I go outside than to be with his "grandma' horse or his mom. He is definitely being kept. Not sure if the bond is closer from him to me or me to him lol.

moot point now that you've done it... and good for you.. But here is what I've found. If you establish a good relationship with the foal prior to weaning, then spend time with them after giving them a few hours of separation; they will bond to you very strongly. (this could be good or bad depending on whether you plan on a lifetime relationship or selling them.) If I planned on selling I would keep a reserve "wall" up so that the foal wouldn't have separation anxiety from me later, if I'm going to keep it I let it grow! I like to put mom out of sight because I believe she will dry up with less pulling at her instincts to keep producing milk. I like to provide interesting diversions for the foal. IE another foal or "grandma" horse. I also use this time to do some halter work and mild groundwork.. (despooking to objects, showing them the world etc). On a health note.. I always feed a good probiotic starting a couple days prior to help prevent a stress colic, (to both mom and baby) and continue it daily for at least a week. I actually feed it twice weekly for life, just up it to daily at weaning time. But as for WHEN... I have found that if you watch the mare and foal closely, they will show you a time that will eliminate MOST of the trauma. Ole Timer told me that a long time ago. He said... "watch and you will know" Somewhere between 3 and 6 months (totally depends on the mare and foal but for me has been more often in the 4th month) you will see a short(2-6 day) window of time in which neither seems to care much how close they are together. Mom may seem a bit irritated at the foals constant wanting to play... or the foal may be wandering farther and coming back less often, seem more confident, more interested in things outside of mom. If you utilize this window of time, separation is fairly simple. If you miss the window, it becomes traumatic again. It's almost like when a kid is ready to potty train, they can learn it in one or two days, but if they aren’t' ready or you spoil them to a late age, it can be quite a process. I don’t' know exactly how to explain it. 'But watch and you will know'. Just my two sense lol.. but it's always worked for me.

Great advice as this is the time of year up north that most wean

P.J. I agree with you also. You just said it better about weaning them so they can see each other. It never hurts to consult the almanac and do it by the moon signs. I'm glad it is going well for you Sassy. Patsy

I have weaned foals many different ways. You can easily wean a foal after 3 months of age without any harm to the foal. They should be eating well with their dam. The only time I have gotten in trouble from a colt growing too fast was feeding him with a creep feeder. Actually a horse doesn't need 14 percent protein unless you are riding them hard or competing or racing them.I feed all mine 10 or at the most 12 percent protein. It's the fat comtent you want at about 7 percent. After separating foals many miles,I have found the best way is to have them side by side or where they can see each other. Just make certian that if they are side by side the baby can't still nurse through the panels or fence. When I was a little girl we use to turn the mare out in the pasture one week and then the baby out the next week with the other horses he or she was use to running with it's dam. That worked well. As for getting weight on the mare,to me there is noting like alfalfa to get weight on a horse. I have a lot of old old mares and they are all fat and still having babies except for my 28 year old.Alfalfa and Vegetableoil(never ever CORN oil) are a good way to get weight on them as well as the vegetable oil adds vitamin A and E and D. Patsy

Well, it is done. He and mom are separated and he did way better than I thought, maybe it is that moon thing?! :) Mom didn't do as well as I thought she would. All she does now at the other place is pace. I ended up taking my mini over there so she had a familiar face and that settled her down. Old mare is keeping the weanling company. To all that helped with advice. This novice thanks you all greatly! Carin

Not being an expert at ALL, I can only surmise that full moon issues have to do with the water content of mammals. Since humans are 60% water, the ebb and flow does have it's influences. Ask anyone who is in the Police or Fire dept. And Sassy, as you mentioned, teachers..LOL

I have only one thing to add to these great post you got...make sure you keep mom and baby apart for 5 or more months..i had a mare and colt that i kept apart for 3 months..thought she wouldnt take him back..her milk was dryed up so i let him out in the pasture with the rest of the horses..she kicked him away then 2 hrs later he was nursing off her again and she was mothering him again..had to take him away again. Oh yeah..very nice looking colt. Linda