# What age do YOU wean??



## mini horse mania (Nov 18, 2011)

Ok- I know everyone weans at different times- 3-6 months- what are the pros and cons of weaning early/late?? We have had to wean early on one of our QH mares that was older, and she was getting pulled down so bad-but 4 months was the earliest. I am picking up my colt this weekend. He is 3 1/2 months old-born aug. 1st. I just think it is a bit early. Should I ask to leave him a bit longer?


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## Tremor (Nov 18, 2011)

Personally I wean at 5-6 months.

EDIT: Under no circumstances (unless mare is in poor condition or dead) would I bring a foal home before 5-6 months. No way.

Edit again: I should say that I have weaned later. I weaned an August filly this spring at about 8-9 months of age.


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## Wings (Nov 18, 2011)

5-6 months is my rule of thumb. Later if the foal needs it and the mare won't be effected, earlier if the mare needs it. I wouldn't wean before 4 months unless there was a big health reason.


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## disneyhorse (Nov 18, 2011)

I think it depends on the mare and foal. I wouldn't wean earlier than four months but I think five is average.


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## Becky (Nov 18, 2011)

I generally wean at 4 - 5 months of age. I make sure the foals are eating well and used to the diet they will be on after weaning. It's worked well here.


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## Miniv (Nov 18, 2011)

Our weaning ages are all over the place between 4 to 6+ months. A lot depends on the mare and in dependency of the foal. We even left one foal with his mom til he was almost 8 months old, but that was an usual situation.


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## frostedpineminis (Nov 18, 2011)

I wean at 4 months, foals are pretty well independant as far as I have noticed, dont really go to see mom and neither mom nor baby protests when I seperate but they are always weaned with another baby or more to play with and I make sure that they are readily eating a feed that is 16-18 percent protein, I havent had any trouble, if it looks like they need more of mom I wouldnt protest to keep them on up to 6 months but dont see a reason to ever leave them on after that.


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## mini horse mania (Nov 18, 2011)

Well- I just called to ask to leave him a bit longer with his mom, and found out he was weaned at 3 months old-2 weeks ago!! . What do I need to do special for him? Anything? I am just disgusted at this point-he wasnt supposed to be weaned until christmas...he already has the mare bred back !!!!


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## Tremor (Nov 18, 2011)

mini horse mania said:


> Well- I just called to ask to leave him a bit longer with his mom, and found out he was weaned at 3 months old-2 weeks ago!! . What do I need to do special for him? Anything? I am just disgusted at this point-he wasnt supposed to be weaned until christmas...he already has the mare bred back !!!!


There's nothing wrong with breeding the mare back. We've always bred on the foal heat. The mares tell us when they need a year off.

Honestly I think all you can do is provide him good hay (alfalfa?) and a good feed with protein (14-16%)


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## JMS Miniatures (Nov 18, 2011)

I would not wean any eariler then 4 months. There was a foal that we got back that was weaned at 3 months because momma was getting pulled down and it certaintly was not fun. Defintelly give a jr feed but I would also add some foal-lac pellets. I would not get the foal unless you know for sure that he is eating grain and what.


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## Sandee (Nov 18, 2011)

I got my mare when she was just 4 1/2 months old. She was and is fine. Just make sure you worm every month as they still sometimes eat the other horses poo. Also give good protein feed and I'd offer softer hay for a few months.


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## rabbitsfizz (Nov 19, 2011)

At this time of year I would wean, even if it was early. There is no advantage to the foal to be on the mare, dragging her down, as all the goodness goes from the grass and her milk suffers. It is far better to have the foal off the mare and eating a good feed twice a day, better for the mare and the foal both.

Now all this is assuming the foal has been fed before weaning, properly, and is in good condition.

I do not think you need to do anything special at this stage- since the foal is weaned giving it milk pellets will not really help as the digestive proteins in the system will have changed and it will not be able to digest milk properly. It is a modern myth that adult animals benefit from milk- they cannot digest it really- your money would be better spent on assuming the foal has not been as carefully fed as you would do (you may be pleasantly surprised, though) and investing in a good, higher protein, foal/weanling feed.

I would suspend any criticism until you actually get the foal home and see what condition it is in.

I always breed my mares back on the foal or next heat. It is only at this time of year, with a late foal, that I have ever had a mare look a little tired.

As to weaning age, I pretty much leave that to the mare...I do not wean, whatever, under normal circumstances, until the youngest foal in the group I am weaning, is four and a half months old, and then only if the mare and foal are ready.


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## Riverrose28 (Nov 19, 2011)

Truth be told mares milk production peaks at 2 months after paturation, so as long as the foal is getting all he needs from grain, grass & hay, he'll be OK. Not to say you should wean at 2 months of age, heavens no, I don't usually wean until 4 to 6 months of age depending on several conditions, but I agree with the others your little guy will be OK.


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## mdegner (Nov 19, 2011)

4-5 months generally, but it really depends on the horse. We tried to wean the filly that had the broken leg this year at about 5 months old and she was not ready. Made sense given all the time she spent in a smaller area with just her mother; she was a little behind on the "socialization" development, so we let her stay with mama--with the other babies as well--for another 4 weeks and weaned her with no problems after that. We always try and weanmore than one at a time. They seem to do MUCH better if they have other babies they can commiserate with. We also use Farmers Almanac to determine weaning days.


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## supaspot (Nov 19, 2011)

5-6 months is usual for me although I have left them as long as 8 months


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## AnnaC (Nov 19, 2011)

We usually wait for the youngest foal to reach 5 to 6 months before weaning (given the mares foal close together). If your new colt has been properly weaned and is eating well, I'm sure he will be fine, although I do think that to wean at 3 months, unless there is a good medical reason concerning the mare, is very unfair on a foal. They still need a Momma's influence plus they need to learn 'herd' behaviour from the other mares. Also to be weaned this young and then to be transported to a new home/strange place (however nice) can be very stressful for a young baby. There is also the question of immunity to a new place - weaned foals going to shows late in the season often pick up bugs from the new surrounding, so just keep a good eye on your little chap.

Do you have another colt to keep him company - babies do much better with a companion of the same age to play/tussle/race about with, it keeps them fit and healthy and gets rid of a good bit of their natural energy.






Good luck - and dont forget the pictures when he arrives!!


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## chandab (Nov 19, 2011)

The saddle horse foals I raised were weaned at 4, 5 and 6 months old; depending on what each needed. The only mini foal I raised (so far) was a June foal, but stayed with her mom over the winter, partially because they didn't seem ready and partially in dead of winter I didn't have a weaning pen to use.


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## midnight star stables (Nov 22, 2011)

I am surprised at how late most wean! I had thought the "norm" was to wean at 3-4 months and have known many foals that were. Very interesting to see that many others choose to wait. I have my first foal this year and I don't plan to wean until 5-6 months just because it will likely be easiest and I am in no rush. It really is neat seeing what others do.


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## Sungold (Nov 22, 2011)

The first mini foal I ever bought was weaned at 2-1/2 months and I brought her home at 3 months. She did need a good deworming and plenty of good food (she was quite skinny, but I think that was more a case of the "breeders" not feeding correctly than because she was weaned early), but she was just fine and didn't have any lasting problems. She's now 16, plump and happy!


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## ohmt (Nov 22, 2011)

I like to wean at 5-6 months. We used to wean right at 4, but the foals seem to wean so much easier when we wait a little bit longer. We hardly have any 'crying' come weaning now. Plus, they have a little bit more weight come winter and with our winters, that is a very desirable thing. I want my babies nice and plump going into the 40 below weather. My mares have no problem keeping their foals that long-they don't get weighed down. In fact, I think the opposite happens



They are all up front and fed free choice hay/pasture along with mare and foal feed. I can't stand seeing thin broodmares.


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## Joanne (Nov 22, 2011)

ohmt said:


> I like to wean at 5-6 months. We used to wean right at 4, but the foals seem to wean so much easier when we wait a little bit longer. We hardly have any 'crying' come weaning now. Plus, they have a little bit more weight come winter and with our winters, that is a very desirable thing. I want my babies nice and plump going into the 40 below weather. My mares have no problem keeping their foals that long-they don't get weighed down. In fact, I think the opposite happens
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> 
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I agree with this. I was told when I first started breeding to wean at 3-4 months. Now I know that the foals were not ready. There was too much anxiety for both the mare and foal. Really what is the rush? They will start weaning naturally and are much calmer when they have at least one other foal to wean with. Even better if they have mom in the next pen, but are just not able to nurse. They often sleep near each other and can still call and keep in contact.


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