Nursing Problem.....

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I have an almost 9 month old filly that refuses to "get past" the need to nurse. She has been weaned from mom for a month - I left her on longer since the mare looked great and the filly was born a little younger and smaller than I like.

The problem I have now is my babysitter mare, a 12 year old bred for 2014 with a heart of gold, apparently has been letting her nurse. For how long I'm not sure as ive only seen her this once but she does not appear to have an udder developed from it. Needless to say she is now not in with the weanlings anymore.

How long did it take your most stubborn of weanlings to give up on nursing? I know good and well if I let her back in with mom right now she would run right up and nurse and mom would love to let her.

Second, since my mare is letting this weanling nurse, if by the off chance I needed to move a foal to her side (orphan, rejected, etc) - would she make a good "adoptive" mother?

I'm beyond baffled as I've never ran across this problem but there is a first time for everything.

Thanks for your responses in advance!

 

[amysue]

I had a colt like this. I WANT MY MOMMA was little Timmy's mantra. He tried nursing every mare I put in with him for a nanny, he even tried nursing the mama goat I put with him. None of the other weanlings had a problem with seperation and not a single mare tolerated his incessant nursing for a second. I finally decided to just metaphorically rip the band aid off the wound quickly and leave the weanlings without supervision. He resorted to sucking on his half brother's ear for about a week before oscar retaliated and got him to stop. Timmy eventually grew out of the habit. Sounds like ur mare is tolerant enough to be a good nanny. Try providing free choice hay as a replacement strategy to ease the transition. Good luck.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I know its not a hunger thing - she has free choice hay and free choice grain too.....almost reminds me of a "security blanket" of sorts....my other weanling that's in with her couldn't give a rip about being weaned and I've never had a foal in previous years be so "nurse needy".

I am putting my gelding in with them now - no way they'll get by with nursing on him lol.

That same mare is at the very bottom of the herd in dominance and was hoping it would work out but such is not the case....

Does anyone think she would accept another mares abandoned foal in the future?

 

[paintponylvr]

I have had a small horse mare (13.3 hh) and two Shetland mares that allowed foals to continue to nurse them - and all of these mares would adopt other foals and nurse multiple #s at the same time. The 13.3 hh mare, in the late 90s, would often have 4 or 5 youngsters crowd around her and they would take turns, LITERALLY, nursing in a line up pattern!! That group was comprised of sucklings, yrlgs & 2 yr olds. The mare produced milk like a Holstein cow and ate a LOT OF FEED!! That year the foals, yrlgs & 2 yr olds she was allowing to nurse all became well adjusted crossbred ponies and could either live alone or in groups. It was still a shock to see and no, I don't have any pictures of it happening.

With that - we've had a couple as old as 3 yrs old (GG, Shetland, 3 in 2013) run up and nurse on her dam before her dam said .... "NOPE, that's enough". It was quite irritating to me in the beginning of 2013 as I would lead GG up next to Bell and she'd try to swap ends and "grab a suck". I didn't really do anything about it other than to pull her back around forward so she could be groomed and harnessed. It made it interesting for a short time when I started driving them as a pair.

Yes, all of these mares would work as "nurse" or nanny mares and if they had the milk I have no doubt that I could "graft" an orphan onto them. All of these mares were in their late teens when I found them doing this... Each has had quite a number of foals. Bell (GGs dam) is still with me, though bred a couple of times in 2012 she didn't produce a foal in 2013 and I don't know if I will try breeding her again or not. The two fillies I have from her (GG and Classy) aren't going anywhere any time soon. GG has turned into a most awesome driving pony with a minimal amount of work and I have no doubt that Classy will as well - just from her everyday attitude. Also, when their times come to be "moms" - I have a strong suspicion they will be similar to their dam, Bell, in allowing other foals to join them and take on "nanny duties".

You may find in the future, when you work with your filly that she remains "mouthy". I ended up making a small headstall with a mini bit for a 1/2 shetland gelding. He started wearing it when he was weaned as it kept him "happy" and his mouth safely busy. Otherwise, he'd "taste" and "chew" EVERYTHING that he could get his mouth around. He also loved "stealing" hats right off of your head when you were working, would grab any feed bags that migrated into their pasture and terrorize the rest of the horses and ponies by chasing them with it (had a couple learn to jump 4' fences that way!), and we learned the hard way to NEVER leave a saddle, bridle or any equipment hanging where he could get his mouth on it. He never outgrew these characteristics completely - when bored in a stall (he's a h/j pony on a very competitive circuit), he will still chew if he can get his mouth on it... Yes, he was one of the sucklings that the other mare nursed when he was a foal. The following year - that same mare had a foal but wasn't nursing "a group" when we sold her with her filly 2 months after she foaled (that we noticed or saw), however, she nursed an undersize weanling along with that filly according to the woman who purchased her starting about 2 weeks after she arrived at her new home.

I also don't remember seeing it every year with each of these mares. Seemed like I'd see it for about 2 years in a row and then wouldn't see it again for a while... For 1 month, after I purchased Bell in 2009 she nursed her colt and 2 extra fillies that I purchased at the same time. The one filly was "accidentally" weaned at 6 weeks of age (long, twisted story, LOL), and after that month, I weaned her colt and the other filly while keeping the younger one with the mare for another month and a half.

 

[disneyhorse]

It could take a while. There is a weanling filly and colt andalusian pair at my barn... The filly "nursed" on the colt's sheath for almost three months before giving up. He didn't seem to mind and he's younger by three months.

 

[wendyluvsminis]

I had a 1/2 Shetland mare and her filly that nursed for two years. I weaned the filly at 5 months and put her in the next pasture. She nursed thru the fence. After six months, I thought surely the mare won't let her nurse anymore and put them back in together. The filly, Beatrice,would nurse when she felt needy. Shania always had a little bag for her. This went on for almost two years. Shania was 37 inches and Bea was about 34 inches and they looked so funny! We never had any orphans and Shania was not interested in other mares' babies. Unfortunately, Shania would not conceive while she was nursing, so Beatrice was her last foal. We lost Shania to colic 5 months ago, but are very thankful to have Beatrice to carry on.