Weaning

         Today we will talk about weaning your youngster. We will go over weaning, finding a new buddy for your baby and finally the first few days. Weaning is a crucial point in a young horse’s life. Educate yourself so it wont be so hard.

         Weaning a youngster can be a very stressful but crucial part in a horse’s life. It is stressful for the dam (mother horse), the foal and handler. There are different ways to wean: natural, gradual and abrupt. With Keeno we just loaded him in the trailer and left. Both Keeno and his mother were fine and didn’t freak out at all. He was ready to leave his mommy. Normally you wean at 6 months, when the foal is eating hay and grain on his own. Large horse farms will typically wean all their foals at the same time and put them in the same pen so they have each other to be with. Keeno’s weaning went very well.

         It is important to find a buddy for your weanling as soon as possible so your baby wont be lonely. His buddy should be a calm gentle horse. We used a 3-year-old gelding that was calm and easy to handle. They met over a half door of a box stall and got to know each other. This was so that they couldn’t hurt one another. When we let them in a pen they kicked each other once and then were buddies. This buddy will help distract your weanling, which will help your weanling feel comfortable and safe.

         Your weanling should be in a well-fenced area where there are no spots for him/her to get out. The fence should be safe with no nails or sharp objects to cut themselves. Weanlings will try to get out and look for their moms. The first night I kept a close eye on Keeno in a box stall. It is also very important for you to be there for your little guy so I slept in the barn with him to make sure he was not hurting himself and so are bond would strengthen.  Your fence needs to be safe but effective to insure that your weanling will be safe and contained.

We talked about how to wean and different methods, finding a good gentle buddy and the first few days of weaning.  Weaning can be a stressful time or you could make it a learning time. Make the best of the weaning experience.