weaning filly

[Karen in NC]

Hi, I have 5 miniature horses. they vary in age and all are mares. I do not breed but recently, 5 months ago acquired a mare and her baby,, who was 7 months old at the time. The baby i.s still nursing and is always with her mom, in the pasture and the stall. Although the baby is very sweet, she is becoming a handful, pulling on the lead and trying to bite my hand when I am leading her and pushes into me, in other words disrespectful. What is the best way to wean her and teach her respect. I have raised other minis from 5 months old and they have never been disresptful. Should I put her in her own pasture away from her mother but with a friend (another mini) or alone. I do work with her on the lead everyday for short periods and tie her periodically. She is getting better with the farrier. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Karen in NC

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

I'm all for the buddy system weaning, I've done several different weaning systems and the buddy system has by far been the best and easiest on both me and the foal(s) involved.. I would pair her up with another mini that gets along with her, one that will be stearn with her and teach her respect and boundaries, but one that will not hurt her.. I would also get her on halter and lead, working on handler respect and space respect with you, you'll need to be stearn with her, discipline her when she does something not acceptable and praise her when she does what's asked and remember to always be consistent and end on a good note!

 

[Suzie]

Hi Karen,

My experience is that weanlings always respect me better when away from mom. I wean mine with a buddy if at all possible. I do put them in sight of mom but with a stout fence between (electric fence does not work here-attraction to mom is strong). They can whinny back and forth and everyone is usually okay.

Once away from mom, the foal usually realizes YOU are now boss (probably why you have not had trouble in the past). As long as mom is in control of the milk bar, you are just second string....LOL!

Good luck! Suzie

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Good advice here already and I can't offer anything better. I will say however that I've weaned my foals lately by leaving them in the pasture with the herd and removing mom . I have a smaller pen off of the mare pasture and I put mom there for the first while and then once baby has wandered off (should happen pretty quickly at 7 months) I move the mom out of sight so they forget about each other. I keep mom away for at least a month.

 

[Bunnylady]

Is my math rusty, or did you just say this kid is now a yearling (7+5 mos.) She may be trickier to wean if she's been nursing that long! Mom wouldn't happen to be the boss mare of your herd, would she?

Baby girl needs to learn who's in charge here. I've got a backsliding yearling that needs a refresher course in Walk, Whoa, Stand, and No, too! And she was so good just a couple of weeks ago!

They just keep testing to see what they can get away with, don't they?

 

[Karen in NC]

Yes Bunnylady, your math is correct

and her mom is the boss mare. I separated them yesterday, baby is in a paddock with her 2 year old buddy and mom is in the pasture with the others. Mom did call to her alot yesterday but the baby didn't seem too concerned. I will work with her today. Thanks for all the advice and have a great day, Karen

Is my math rusty, or did you just say this kid is now a yearling (7+5 mos.) She may be trickier to wean if she's been nursing that long! Mom wouldn't happen to be the boss mare of your herd, would she?

Baby girl needs to learn who's in charge here. I've got a backsliding yearling that needs a refresher course in Walk, Whoa, Stand, and No, too! And she was so good just a couple of weeks ago!

They just keep testing to see what they can get away with, don't they?

 

[Jill]

When I have horses who are hard to handle, I do separate them from others but since this "baby" has not ever been weaned, I would definitely let her wean in a pasture with a buddy. If possible, where she cannot see her mom and for sure not with a shared fence (they can nurse thru the fence).

I've weaned a few foals so far and one thing I've done for the mom is to put oragel on her udder a couple times a day at first, which I think helps her be more comfortable.

Good luck