Well, thanks for all the advice. Some I am doing, she is getting 14% protein with the safe and sound feed pellets, alfalfa cubes, corn oil, minerals, and coastal hay 2 times a day. The colt was eating only pellets in small doses, but vet had me remove him completely back in December while the mare eats.In December is when I started adding all the other things for the mare. He is strictly on milk and hay (grazing too) due to growing so quickly he has started developing a "mule foot" in front from his tendons not growing as fast as he is. Vet said we had to slow down his growth some and then get his heels trimmed back every couple of weeks. These are complications for me in how to wean and still feed nutrients/compensate without him growing too much. Of course my first one had to be complicated!! Who ever said animals were easier than kids? ;p I think it is going to be more traumatic for the boy than his mom. He whinnies and cries for her when he can't find her, she could care less and leaves him be until he finds her. She doesn't even communicate out loud to let him know where she is. Why does the full moon thing seem to work? As a school teacher, we all notice the students are squirrelier and more disobedient at that time!!

I have been a broodmare manager for several big quarter and paint farms. We wean on the full moon and at 3 mos of age. Of course ours are eating at that time because we creep feed the babies because after 3 mos the quality of the mares milk start going down even if you are feeding great feed. When we wean we always remove completely away from each other. usually in a stall so that they cant run and hurt themselves. Also I totally remove all grain from the diet intill mare drys up. Usually a couple of days and the only hay we give is grass hay. We normally feed alfalfa. The baby we put alittle feed in the bucket and let him clean up bucket and feed again. both will probably not eat real well for a few days. Its ok they will begin to. If you have any questions just email me on here.

PJ,, I agree with that as well. I have had to do a lot of emotional release on horses whose weaning have been quite traumatic. Just as people are different, so are animals. Some go through it very easily and some dont. The way that keeps them the calmest,, less traumatized and afraid , is the best for the foal. I find it amazing how many adult horses still have that fear locked inside of them from the abrupt disappearance of their mother.....

Years ago I read a new study on weaning colts. Since I did not really have a way to separate my mares and foals far from each other I tried it. You put mare and foal in separate stalls, next to each other. I have found after 24-48 hours I could put the mare outside the barn but within sight of the foal. Neither went through the frantic period and the foal was really eating well by then. After another 24-48 hours I put the mare out to pasture and after another 24 hours she would leave the area. Never had any problems and have not found that it takes any longer. I do think it is always better if you can just move the mare completely away, out of sight and hearing but not always something everyone can do so went the easy way. Have been using this method for years now without any problems. Sure stays quieter! LOL

It's been a few years, but I used to work on a QH breeding farm. I'll try to clear out a few cobwebs from the recesses of my brain and share some pointers. If a mare is getting bony, you need to up her feed intake. Even though you are feeding her much more grain now than before she was lactating, you aren't feeding her enough. Increase the grain gradually, of course, so as not to trigger problems!! Also, giving her a high quality alfalfa hay will be good for her now. Think of her not so much as a horse as a dairy cow, and you'll do better managing her during this phase. Right now, your mare IS a dairy animal, in essence, and you need to manage her for milk production. Also, look to the protein content of the grain you are feeding - corn is lousy for milk production - feed high protein. Protein makes milk. Fat doesn't - the oil you are adding isn't helping. She's presently using her muscles to make milk. Give her enough protein, and that will stop. If you haven't already, introduce a creep feeder for the foal, to encourage the foal to get some of its nutrition elsewhere. You don't want to over-do it with the foal, especially one that is only 4 months old -- its digestive system is very immature. But a little can help ease the pressure on the mare. Prior to weaning, you'll want to start scaling back on the mare's grain. The more grain you give, the more milk she can produce. The last thing you want to do is to pull the foal from her when she's milking like a holstein -- mares can get mastitis too. You might want to read up on managing mares and foals. I'm going from memory here, and it is a fuzzy one at best!!! Good luck and have fun, Gloria Who no longer deals with lactating mares, but presently has a heavily lactating goat. :-)

Hi: I always wean my foals under the moon sign from the Farmers almanac. Never had a problem doing it this way. Washy http://www.almanac.com/astrology/index.php

I agree with Cloud, Hoss - the only thing not mentioned is make sure the colt is eating his own feed as well as taking from the mare. Do you have access to good grass at this time of year which I found makes the process easier. If not might be worth the wait. Also my old gelding was introduced very early, he went intermittently out with mare and colt from the start and stayed with colt when we took mare away. I took my mare to a neighbour's farm with another school horse so she was really out of the picture for a while. Good luck.

Well said cloudy only thing else to add a good belding would help, play wiif da baby he will love ya back. Good luck Ole Hoss

Sassy, congratulations on your colt!! THere are many opinions for the actual weaning process, yet there are certain basic considerations they all have in common. This will be a very traumatic time for both mare and colt, so plan acordingly. Each should be in separate, SAFE, paddocks. Preferably out of direct sight of each other, as much as possible,and some distance apart. This is to reduce the continuous association, which will only make them more agitated. The less associatetion they have for the next few weeks to few months, the sooner they will become used to being separated It's not that uncommon for either, or both, mare and/or foal to shows signs of colic. So, be prepared for that. If you are unaccustomed to trating milder forms of colic, contacy your vet, he/she will be able to give you good advice on what precautions to take, prior to separation. Feed as you normally do, drasticly altering feed or feeding routines could also trigger a colic episode. Safe fences..."usually" the mare takes separation better than the foal, so have a safe area for the foal. Plan on leaving him there for some time. Clean water is a must! Shelter for the foal would be nice, especially if he's used to being out of inclement weather. Other than that, the rest is just weathering the change over. This is a good time to establish, or reinforce a bond between you and the colt. The herd dynamic forces them to seek company. By giving him attention, you satisfy his herd instinct. A useful tool to help set him up for later years. When weaning, I separate as far as possible from the mares. Also, I leave the foals alone for a week or two, other than feeding time, a sort of sensory deprivation. Then, the herd instinct has been forcing them to seek company, so when I start giving them attention, they are looking for it. Good luck!! :)

Hello, I am not sure if this has been posted already or not, looked back a few pages and couldn't find anything. Well, this is my first colt/weaning process. I have read many different views and opinions on how I should do it and of course every one of them is different. I thought I would put this out there to see what other people think I should do to wean this little boy. He is 5 months right now, so just getting things ready. He is really sucking his mom down to bones and wondering if I should start before the 6 month mark. I am feeding her 4 times what I normally fed her and adding corn oil to fatten her up to no avail. Wondering if I might need to start doing it now? Any help would be greatly appreciated.