If your mare had a foal last year then you have already been through weaning your foal. Hopefully it was a good experience for you and your mare and foal. Here are some tips we have found to make it a painless experience for your mare and foal.
1. Give yourself plenty of time. Don't be rushed to wean the foal. Weaning cold turkey can be stressful on the mare and foal.
2. As much as possible keep the mare and foal together but where the foal cannot nurse. This minimizes the stress on the both mare and foal. We have a barn where we bring them both in. We keep them in separate stalls but next to each other. That way baby can still see and be next to mama.
3. The first day you need to bring them back together a couple of times in the day so that the foal can nurse and relieve pressure on the mare. The second day you double the amount of time the two are separated. So it continues for the third and fourth day. The mare will begin to ease on milk production and the foal will become more accustomed to being on its own.
4. At this point the foal is not nursing but still next to Mama. Leave them next to each other for a few days.
5. Then you can move mama out. Just know that baby will probably be anxious when the mare leaves. Remember, horses are herd animals, put an gentle horse next to baby's stall. Having a buddy close by will significantly reduce the stress.
These pictures were taken this past summer of some of our 2014 foals that we just weaned last month
