Hi all. Its weaning time for my foal. The past few years, I have weaned by the sign of the moon. The foals have seemed less stressed, and the broodmares have seemed MUCH less stressed. Am I imagining this? Also, I have found (for the typical foal) that weaning at five months of age seems to work well. Is this too early/late? Thanks for your input.
Rick
Weaning by the moon
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bcassidy
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Five months is a very good age to wean but obviously you can wean sooner or later depending upon the condition of the mare.
I usually have several mares and foals together and I remove one mare every couple of days until all the mares are out of the field. This really works well for me.
I usually have several mares and foals together and I remove one mare every couple of days until all the mares are out of the field. This really works well for me.
best regards Brendan
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Mood Swings
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Interesting about the moon - by the sign of the moon are you referring to a full moon etc.
There is nothing wrong with weaning at 5 months. I had to wean one at 3 and a half months because she was growing too fast and there is another that will be left until she is close to 7 months as she will benefit from staying with her dam
I find the younger they are the more stressed they get during the weaning process. The older they are the better they handle it, plus the mares already have their bags packed at that point 
There is nothing wrong with weaning at 5 months. I had to wean one at 3 and a half months because she was growing too fast and there is another that will be left until she is close to 7 months as she will benefit from staying with her dam
I find the younger they are the more stressed they get during the weaning process. The older they are the better they handle it, plus the mares already have their bags packed at that point "People come and go but horses leave hoofprints on your heart"