Weaning Question

[wgc517]

My mare and baby have been separated for 7 weeks. The baby is with two other mares (no other babies). At what point can I put the mother mare back with the group and weanling. The weanling is a colt and has been well behaved since he was put with the other mares. I know the ideal situation might be to keep them always separate but does anyone every put them back together?

[JimP]

I put them back together after I am sure the mare is dried up. It is not
the most ideal situation but it will work.

[wgc517]

Jim,

Is there a length of time that would more or less say she is dry? Is 7-8 weeks enough.

[madelyn]

Whenever I have tried that, the weanling tried to return to the mare and the mare kicked the lights out of the baby. Maybe if you wait 6 months or so...

[JimP]

As soon as the bag has physically dried up you can try putting them together.
Because of lack of space I have done this for years. Only once did I have a mare let the baby start nursing again and that was a first time mom. I have also, like Madelyn had the mare try to kick but it didn't take the weanling long to find out that nursing was no longer an opinion. As an upside to this arrangement I have found that the weanling learns herd dynamics from a new angle. If the mare was an alpha mare the weanling is higher up in the pecking order but not at the top. In the wild the weanlings still run with their dams and it works out. Good luck.

[madelyn]

It doesn't take long for the baby to learn, but it only takes one really well placed kick to injure that baby.

[Shammy Davis]

http://www.ufrrj.br/posgrad/cpz/referen ... _horse.pdf

[ireneinwa]

If you let nature take its course the mares will wean their foal. Ive always done it that way and never had a problem. When they start that process I seem to have an easier go at separation.