Conference noted::equitation

    Hi Linda,
    
    It's great that your baby will have a friend!  If I were doing
    this, I would leave your baby at home and let the other baby
    stay at your barn.  It's easier for babies to stay in the 
    environment that's familiar.
    
    I've never had a problem with weaning.  When it's time (3-4 months
    for my girls) I just take the mare out of the stall at night after
    they've had their grain, make sure everyone is safe, turn out the
    light and leave.
    
    If you don't have the option of keeping your filly at home, can you
    leave the mare at the new barn with the filly for a day or so to let
    the filly get settled?  Being in a new barn *and* without her mother
    would be a lot of stress.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Gwen
    

    
    Trucking foals requires common sence and patience.  We've trucked
    many weanlings with their mothers very successfully, both short
    and long distances.  
    
    What follows here assumes that this foal does not tie (safely) and
    the mother is happy/safe to truck herself (ie doesn't have bad habits
    like scrambling or lieing down in the trailer)
    
    First take a good long look at your trailer.  You'll want to take
    the center partition out and then you need to find a way to partition
    off the front of the trailer (this assumes a standard Kingston-"type"
    trailer which has a center post and breast bars which can be dropped).
    I've done this two ways - you can use bales of hay (which makes a nice
    cushion) stacked on top of each other and wedged so that they will not
    fall forward in the trailer and allow the baby a way to escape to the
    front.  The other way is to cut a piece of heavy plywood to fit under
    the breas bars but make a solid wall.  With holes in the top you can
    tie it to the breast bars on the top and secure the bottom w/a couple
    of hay bales, or another hole and tie to the center bar.
    
    (*) now that I think of it KINGSTON does make a front foal partition
        but it is easy enough to make, if you have the materials
    
    The next thing to consider is that you can close in the back of the
    trailer COMPLETLY.  I will not go into the gorey details of what
    happened to a foal belonging to someone I know who 'assumed' the filly
    would just stay in the back of the trailer...  Preference is for solid
    doors over the ramp, 2nd best is a curtain that closes tightly.  This
    adds an element of 'environment' to keep in mind as well, (it gets hot
    w/those warm bodies closed up in a trailer)  but the 1st thing is 
    safety - so if you have side vents, and a front window that can be 
    opened to keep the air moving you'll be fine............
    
    I tie my 'moms' on the side that they ride best on - one solid side tie
    and a neck rope (I use a neck rope to truck even my old timers... just
    in case).  Bring the foal onto the trailer - let mom see that she's
    there, and everything is ok... and then close up all the doors and 
    ramp.  
    
    (This is not a one person operation - for sure...) In fact keep in mind
    that the person who loads the filly needs to be nimble enough to either
    climb out over the ramp or whatever you rig up for the front of the
    trailer...   
    
    I put shavings on top of the rubber mats, but I'm not sure they really
    need them.  I've never had one lie down to sleep (even on long - 4 hour
    rides).  It's more important that they have good footing.
    
    That's the big part to getting started.  Moms will not intentionally
    do anything to hurt their babies - so just start out real slow - let
    them get their feet under them (you'd be amazed to see how well the
    babies adjust, really... I've even ridden w/them but never needed to).
    Sometime the foal will end up on the other side of their mom than when
    they started... but they figure it out.  8*)
    
    So - keep cool - drive the corners slow - and you'll get them there
    fine and dandy.  Your mare is liable to be [unhappy] on the ride home
    so make sure she's got a hay bag to keep her mind on something else.
    Having the other horse will probably make it ok - don't forget to take
    the trailer partition w/you so that you can put it back in for the
    other mare.
    
    holly

    I have always parked my trailer inside the pasture with the horses
    for a few days prior to their first ride.  Then gradually
    begin feeding them closer and closer to it until they are no longer
    afraid it will jump up and attack.  Getting babies used to that big
    metal structure will help them overcom the initial loading which
    could later in life cause problems.
    
    Also,  attempt to load the baby with the mother at least once prior
    to the day you trailer.  Perhaps feed them in there then let them
    out.
    
    The last note which highlighted safety is the most important.  Anything
    you do to limit possible injury or frightening episodes will pay
    off ten fold.
    
    Best of luck.  Let us know how it goes.
    
    Karen
    

I have trailered some foals in the manner mentioned in the previous replies,
mare tied and foal loose with the partition removed. I have also done it by
putting mom on and then babay, just as if you were trailering 2 older horses.
However, I only did this if both mom and baby had been taught to tie, lead well,
etc. (in other words, handled alot and well-mannered.)

Both methods have worked well; the important thing to remember is be patient,
be careful and have someone else assist you who is also knowledgable with 
horses. Foals mainly become a problem if they get scared or nervous.

Good luck!

Linda

    
    Make sure the foal has Flu and Strangles shots before you consider
    introducing her to a new barn!
    
    For trailering: 
    
    1) Tranporting in the morning is commonly preferred.
    2) Don't feed the mare or foal in the morning. 
    3) Put the mare on first
    4) The foal follows immediately (sometimes they get halfway on before
       they know what's going on)
    5) If the foal stops on the ramp:  (Voice encouragement is extremely
        important from this point on)
    	a) Be patient the foal needs to build up it's confidence and
           in the end will usually choose to be with mom.
    	b) Stop and think before you act...try not to let the foal lose
    	   any ground by backing off the ramp. And don't try force tactics
    	   right away. Use your voice to encourage.
    	c) Remember with 2 people it's easier to get'em on in refusal
    	   situations-one can hold the rope and keep the tension on
    	   it so the foal doesn't lose ground. Then 2nd person can try:
    	   -standing beside the foal and pushing on the withers, or
    	    holding the lead line and start walking and command the
    	    foal to "walk" beside you. Try this a few times.
    	d) Try holding feed just out of reach (hay, or sometimes even
    	   better..grass or carrots)
    	e) get inside the trailer with the other person who is holding
    	   the rope and stand to one side of the foal (never stand in
    	   front this discourages loading) and shake the grain in a bucket.
           Sometimes if you stoop down and give it a couple of minutes
           the foal will decide to investigate and walk in or at least
           take a step or 2 of progress.
    	f) Try pushing from behind or other techniques described in
    	   books such as more people and push! 
    	g) Be willing to spend the time and you'll be able to encourage
    	   that foal to get in without trauma. Go slowly, don't rush.
        h) Younger than 4 months you might want to ride in the back
    	   of the trailer with the foal, be warned it can be dangerous
    	   in some trailers.
    
    I trailer young foals (around 3 months) that never have seen a trailer
    in their life and if they've been taught to lead usually one of
    the above methods motivates them onto the trailer actually pretty
    easily.  
    		Hope this helps. Seems like alot of trouble to go through
    just to wean a foal. I don't like the idea of stressing the foal
    (making it more difficult) by removing her from the enviroment she's
    used to - must be pretty scary for the foal! But if this is what
    you want to do..go ahead and do it, it's a feasible method.
    
    			Hope this helps,
    
    				Nancy

    Thanks for the replies, they've been great.  The reason I am taking
    her to my friends house is because she has a nice pasture and they
    will have a lot more room to run than they would at my paddock.
    Has anyone had any trouble weaning a colt and filly together?  I
    haven't seen her colt since he was just a baby, so I don't know
    if he'll be a lot bigger than her, as colts can be.

    I weaned my 5 mos old colt last weekend.  It was probably a less
    stressful situation for him though because I removed the mare, so
    he was left with my yearling.
    
    My yearling is 15h, my colt is 12.1, but size hasn't made a difference.
    However, they were great pals before the mare left, so I'm sure
    that helps.  
    
    Incidentally, the colt screamed off an on all day when his mom left,
    but has been great since.
    
    Kathy

    When my oldest filly was 5 months old (and had been weaned for a 
    month), I had to be hospitalized.  So Diva went to live with Back
    Bey's mother for 8 weeks.  While there she had a colt for a playmate -
    I think he was roughly her age.  But he was quite a bit bigger - a
    quarter horse.  Anyway, the point I want to make is - they got along
    beautifully.  Two babies playing.  They even would try to go in the
    same stall at night.  I bet your filly will have a wonderful time.
    
    There's one thing that I didn't do that I hope you'll remember to -
    take lots of pictures!
    
    Good luck,
    
    gwen
    
    

    We weaned a filly and a colt together...no problems.  They used each
    other for emotional support.  The one thing I would recommend is that
    when they are weaned and together, handle them separately a great deal.
    With ours they depended so much on each other that when they were
    separated it was like weaning each of them all over again.
    
    Good Luck....things will work out.
    

    Just wanted to let everyone know that the weaning took place this
    weekend without a problem.  We put the mare in the trailer and the
    filly followed her right on, and we tied her like to the regular
    ties that are in the trailer.  Since we had to go over some bumpy
    roads, we figured she would be safer this way.  When we got to
    Pepperell, we unloaded my filly and loaded my friends mare and left
    with the mares so the foals wouldn't hear them calling.  We put the
    filly in the paddock with the colt and they pretty much ignored each
    other until the colt chased the filly and tried to bite her, she let
    go with both hind feet and got him right in the chops.  I think he
    respected her a lot more after that.  Now they are the best of buddys,
    they have two grain buckets with them, but eat together out of one
    before they go eat from the other!  Thanks for everyones replies, 
    and I'm just glad everything went smoothly!!
    
    Linda
    
     

    My filly and mare have been apart for 2 months now, and the filly
    has come down with an eye infection.  I have decided that I should
    bring her home in order to make sure she gets the medication she 
    needs.  The vet gave me ointment that he said she should have up to
    6 times a day.  Now I am worried about trailering her in the cold
    weather.  I plan to take her mother when we go so she'll have company
    on the ride home but I am worried about her catching cold if she 
    gets sweaty and nervous.  Has anyone trucked foals in the winter?
    Should I leave a window open in the trailer?
    
    Thanks.

    
    	The morgan horse magazine ran an article this month regarding
    emergency transportation... they're specifically looking at major
    situations (and your situation is much more upbeat and positive to
    be sure!)...  But, they do talk about the importance of keeping
    the baby warm, and if you don't have a foal blanket they suggested
    the use of a large cartigan sweater (front legs in the arms/button
    down the back), wooly sock leggings pulled up over their hind legs
    will give some protection from bumps as well as give warmth.
    
    	Now.. my own thoughts.. since the filly has been trucked before
    and you're thoughtfully bringing her mom along she'll probably ride
    real well.  If she does get hot/wet/sweaty the most important thing
    to remember is not to let her get in a place where there is a draft.
    I have hauled sick horses in the winter (God I hate remembering it)
    and if your trailer is tight then (depending on the outside temps)
    you will probably get some condensation from their breathing.....
    If it is above freezing I think I would just crack the front window
    enough to let some air in... just a tiny bit.
    
    	The rest seems to fall into the safe trucking guidelines that
    are in another note...  I bet you'll be fine... and won't it be fun
    to have her home!  Hope all goes well, and shes on the mend soon.
    
    

    Hi,
    
    Can anyone help with some weaning advice please ??? On Easter Sunday
    I was presented with a surprise person in my stable !!  Acutally we
    had found out 3 week previously that the mare we had owned since
    November was in-foal - this was after three attempts to have her
    tested  and my vet telling me she just had wind !!!!  Anyhow, we
    are thrilled to bits but as this is our first foal we want to do
    everything right, so far she is doing really well.
    
    Anyhow, my problem is that there is another woman who's mare gave
    birth to an unexpected foal two days after mine, and she thinks
    that I should put my foal in with hers in it's stable when we
    wean, in October when they are six months old.  I am not really
    very happy about this, as I have read everywhere that I should
    not muck out my stable for a few days before hand, and then put
    my foal in with the smell of her own mother really strong in there.
    
    If she goes in with this other one, she will only smell it's mother
    and it will be a different stable from the one she has grown up
    in.  I realise the Company will be comforting, but I don't want
    her to rely on that too much, and would rather I spent a night
    down there with her in her own stable than have her go through
    the trauma of losing her mum, and then the trauma of a new stable
    and companion, and then the trauma of being moved back to her
    own stable eventually.
    
    I want to do the best for the foal, so any comments and help
    on what people think will be best for her would be much appreciated.
    
    The other thing I am a little bit concerned about is that the
    other foal is alot more cheeky than Phoebe and likes bucking at
    you etc, and I am abit worried Phoebe might pick up those sort of
    habits !!!!!!  if she lives with it ?? What do you think ?????
    
    
    Thanks very much for any help and advice  - Sue
    
    
    
    

    Congratulations on your new addition!!  The best thing in the
    world in my opinion for a foal is the company of another foal.
    They run, buck and do general baby play all day long!  When I
    weaned my foal, I trucked the mare and foal to a friends house,
    unloaded the foal, loaded her mare on and someone took the mares
    to another barn immediatly so there would be no calling etc.  We
    put the foals together in the paddock, my foal was a bit lonely
    since she was in a new place without her mom.  I stayed with her
    for a couple of hours to make sure she ate etc. and by the next
    day she was completely settled in.  They got great exersize for
    2 months in an in and out setup,and really had a ball together.
    The foals are now both 3 years old and in training together, though
    they don't seem to remember each other!!  Good luck and don't
    worry!!  They can actually stay together until about 9 months if
    one is a colt and the other is a filly, colts seem to get ideas 
    around that age!  If they are the same sex, its even better.

    
    
    	To help with weaning try seperating them at the same place
    	at first.  Mom in one stall and baby in another just so 
    	she learns how to eat on her own.
    
    	I wish I had another foal for my baby to play with I think
    	she would have been better socialized.  
    
    	They really adjust better than you think.. 
    
    	You'll probablly have more problems with the mother.
    
    	Donna

    When we were doing lots of breeding, this was a much simpler problem
    since we tended to have many foals to match up.  One thing that we
    observed was that weaning is usually much harder on the humans than it
    is on the foals.  I would always look for a playmate for a weanling
    regardless of their behavior.  Horses are social animals, and the rules
    of the society are developed in the first two years of life.  Each
    young horse must experiment with these societal rules with others in
    the band.  For example, when you get kicked at, you need to find out
    that the best policy is to get out of the way.  This is best done when
    both horses are small and cannot damage each other.  Humans cannot
    replace this need, therefore, separating a foal out from other young
    horses has a detrimental effect on the foals development.
        In no case would I spend the night with a weaned foal... It only
    prolongs the anxiety, and will be very disturbing to the human.  I
    suggest that if you do decide to keep the foal alone that you leave the
    barn and ignore the noise, it will abate eventually.  I like clean
    breaks, so if the barn isn't big enough to hide the mare, board her out
    for a month.
        As far as feeding, I like to creep feed starting at about three
    months.  This helps to develop the foal with solid food, and will also
    solve the problem of where the foal will find its nourishment.
        Feeding the mare is also a change.  I stop all grain to the mare
    the day she stops nursing.  Give LOTS of fresh water and free choice of
    good quality horse hay.  If she is anxious when the other horses are
    fed, give her a handful of grain mixed with a bit of bran.  Keep her
    off grain until you notice a significant reduction in her udder.  Many
    people will say that you should reduce water intake, but this is the
    worst thing you can do since water plays an integral part in the
    reduction the milk in the udder, not to mention the health of the mare
    who may sweat a bit more than normally.
    
    Bob
    

    I've experienced the clean break method as well.  The first 24 hours
    are tough, but it only gets better from there.  We're lucky that the 
    breeding farm is right up the street, so there are always plenty of
    babies to socialize with.  I think it makes for a well rounded baby
    (based upon my experience w/ sole foals vs. turnout with several
    babies).

    I would be wary about taking a foal to another farm at weaning time. We 
    never did with ours even though they were always single foals. The
    reason I wouldn't do so is simple: WORMS! I know how stict our worming
    and sanitation program is. I don't know about other people's habits!
    Keeping a young foal as free of worms as possible is the best thing you
    can do for their growth and long-term health.
    
    As I said, we have had several single foals and weaned them all at
    home. They did have other equine companions but no other foals. In
    fact, they never had another horse closer than 2 years older as
    playmates. Weaning went smoothly even with Mom in the same barn! Each
    foal yelled but Mama was glad to get rid of them and never answered!
    
    The foals turned out well. They got on well with other horses and
    were also human-oriented because they spent a lot of time around humans
    from birth.
    
    Basically, you can do it anyway that suits your situation.

    
    
    Thanks very much for all your advice ! I hadn't realised my note was
    on Notes as I am new to using it, and couldn't see it in the directory
    !.  My mare and filly are out all day with the other mare and filly, so
    she will have the company of the other filly during the day -and we
    will wean at the same time, so they will have eachother then, and I
    think reading all your mails that I will move the mare to another yard
    for about a month, and keep my filly here, but try to stable her on
    her own at night, but out with all the others during the day.  She is
    only 8 weeks old at the moment, so I don't know why I am worrying -
    you can tell it's my first !!!  She is eating hard feed already -
    infact I am abit worried I might be giving her too much, but I have had
    to restrict my mares grazing as she has been getting colic alot through
    being out on the spring grass, so for half the day she has to be in a
    sacrifice paddock, so the foal has been getting an extra feed, do you
    think you can overfeed a foal ??? She isn't  fat, she is going to be
    about 17hh and is at the moment about 12hh.
    
    Anyhow, thanks for all your help and advice - I could spend all day
    reading this file but feel abit guilty !!
    
    Byee - Sue
    

    Yes, foals can be overfed! Overly fat foals can suffer damage to
    growing joints due to the excessive weight they carry.
    
    BTW, if this filly is 12 hands at about 3 months, I doubt that she
    mature to 17 hands. 15.3 to 16.1 hands is more likely. If she's older
    than 3 months, she'll probably be under 16 hands.
    
    John

There are many things that can cause a foal to get bone problems.  We
have a friend who has a foal with these problems.  The foal is constantly
stumbling.  The vet said she would outgrow the problem.  But, it is
very possible that overfeeding (or feeding to well) was the cause.  This
person takes too good care of her horses.  She needs to let them out to
run and play a little more than she does.

Ed..