Our foals are slowly coming into the age when it is time to separate them from their mothers, a process called weaning.
They already eat all the food and fodder a grown horse does and just drink their mothers’ milk occasionally, for the extra fortification and the extra measure of solace and reassurance, all young living beings sometimes need.
They are now quite independent and spend more and more time with their friends rather than always sticking close to their mothers. This can be seem more with foals than with my filly who is still very close to her mum.
I don’t always wean at a particular age and definitely always prefer to give them that extra month with their mothers, than risk to separate them too early.
Still, to give you an estimate. Most breeders agree not to wean before the age of six months, rather giving the foals one or two extra months. This is one of the reasons why I don’t really like to cover a mare in foal heat or when she still has a baby with her. Spacing the pregnancies a little further apart, gives her time to recover from the burdens of motherhood. This especially rings true of you cannot provide her with the optimum feed and care or when she is already older and needs more time to recover from birth or lactation.
Weaning is a very controversial topic in which every horse breeder has his own strategy and opinion. I will also discuss it soon, but today I want to talk about how I prepare my foals for it. What I do, to make this process a little less hard for them. Because, let’s face it, it means the end of their carefree childhood and the beginning of a new part of their life. A part in which they still should be allowed to be wild and free, but in a different way apart from their mothers and together with their friends and other horses.
When my foals approach the age of six to seven months and know their foal ABC, then it is time to slowly think ahead about when and how to wean them from their mothers.
Ideally they should be trusting and accepting around people. You should be able to brush them, touch them everywhere, slip a halter on and off and be able to lead them a couple of steps in every direction inside their stable. They have learned to stand still and maybe you have started tying them already.
Now it is time they learn to go away from their mothers for a little bit. I do this by taking them for walks. I start very gradually, avoiding them to panic once they realize they are on their own with that strange being on two legs.
It is important that they already know how to be led and know the concept of yielding to pressure. Once they do, I take them out of their stable on the lead-rope, always gently and in a very positive way. I want them to have a positive experience. Foals – like children- are curious. They like to see new things and explore them. I use this natural curiosity to teach them that they are safe with me and that they can trust me. This is the main reason for me doing this. I want to grow their confidence in human beings. I want them to know that they are perfectly safe around me and that I will protect them, just as their mothers do.
That means, I don’t use force to pull them roughly with me. I just go as far as they are prepared to go and maybe a tiny little bit farther. I talk to them, pat them and try to give them the confidence they need to follow a stranger out into a dangerous world. In the beginning I stay on known territory, the outside of the stable, the yard, the paddock they have already been in. If they want to chew on the rope a bit, I let them. If they stop, I let them for a little while before continuing. I proceed on their pace, giving them the time they need.
Foals are delicate and their trust can be quickly scattered and once it is, it is hard to re-build it. So I work with them in a way, this does not happen.
On the first day, we walk a few steps, maybe not even five minutes. On the second day, maybe a little longer. Like this, I gradually expand our radius and the distance between them and their mothers. And normally, they will soon follow me happily, exploring new things and territories. Maybe meeting a tractor or a cow or a dog. Make sure, you anticipate any potential problem before it can happen. Try being mindful and always keep an eye on your foal. Make sure, your own neglect will not cause an issue. Sometimes we get distracted and forget that we have a youngster with us who might spook out of the tiniest of reasons. If they manage to pull the rope out of your hand and run back to the stable, they will learn a dangerous lesson.
Sometimes your foal might be timid and not happy to go along the same path he went the day before happily. Horses, just like humans have good days and bad days. Bit by bit, you can ask for more. This does not mean that you pull him by brute force behind you, but you can coax him along, building up some more pressure at times. Never forget though, that horses learn by the release of pressure. If you release too late or too early, they will learn the wrong things.
Sometime your foal might get rowdy and try to run you over or pull away from you. Just stay calm and assert yourself in these moments. Make sure you don’t budge, but raise your arm if you feel, he infringes too much on your personal space. I don’t hit my foals, but I let them run into my elbow or my arm. If necessary I use my voice as well. That teaches them to be careful around me. If they try to break away from me, I stand my ground. If they get too fast or ahead of me on the way back, I change direction and suddenly walk somewhere else instead, so they again fall behind me.
In the beginning I don’t care too much about the lead position. That will come later. Function before form as I always like to say. In the beginning I am happy if they walk behind me.
I try to incorporate these walks into my daily routine, so that they become a natural part of my foal’s day. If you cannot walk daily with them, try to do it regularly at least 2-3 times a week in order to build up good habits.
Looking at the equipment you need: I walk them in a normal, well-fitted halter and a strong rope which allows me to have a good grip. Ideally it should have a good metal clip which will not open by itself and which is sturdy enough not to snap in case of stress. The rope would be firm and long, more a horsemanship rope, which will allow me a good grip.
So what can I achieve with these walks? Mostly they build trust. The trust of the foal in me, a human being. And I also foster a certain independence. Very soon, his days with his mother are over and it is good, if he has learnt to trust in people and to spend time with them. That will help him in the process of weaning and he will get over it much more quickly.
