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Foal Training

Horse Weaning Pt 1

Horse Weaning Pt 2

Horse Weaning:
A short Guide to Weaning a Horse

Disclaimer: This article was written under the assumption that you have already taken the required procedures to determine whether or not your foal is ready to be removed from his dam. Horse weaning can only be safely accomplished when the foal is ready otherwise complications can occur.

There are some strong factors that need to be understood in order to achieve safe horse weaning. The factors lie within the horses's surroundings, its feeding, and its companionship. There are also two distinct types of horse weaning which we will be discussing today. They are abrupt separation, and gradual separation. All of the above styles and factors need to be contemplated well before engaging in foal or horse weaning.



What exactly is horse weaning? Well, it is the act of training or getting your young horse or foal used to food other than it's mother's milk. It also involves a withdrawal from its comfortable habitat and parents. Weaning a horse can be both a challenging yet rewarding task but as mentioned before, the foal must be old enough and ready to be removed from its dam. Let us now discuss the two types of horse weaning that have been used for centuries.

There are basically two styles of horse weaning which include the abrupt separation style and the gradual separation method. Both styles are excellent ways for weaning a horse but as a good horse keeper and owner, you must make the determination as to which style will suit your foal best.

In abrupt separation, you are to remove your foal from its dam or visa versa and keep them as far away from each other as possible. It works best if you keep them far from plane eye sight and even an earshot. The last thing you want is for your foal to get anxious and aggressive. This can lead to your foal crying for its dam throughout the day and at times the foal may even inflict damage onto itself due to loneliness and anxiety from the separation. This type of horse weaning can backfire if not done properly.

Gradual separation on the other hand requires you to remove the foal from its dam but not completely. You can keep the foal in a paddock next to its dam and even allow it to visit its dam daily while gradually cutting down its visiting hours over time.

When weaning a horse, it is important to make sure its surroundings are well suited for the foal regardless of which style of horse weaning you decide upon. The paddock or stall needs to be safely secured because there is a good chance that the anxious foal may try to escape. Even worse, the stressed foal may start rubbing itself on the walls or doors so make sure there aren't any nails or harmful items in its paddock or stall.

Feeding is another key issue in horse weaning. At first the stressed foal may not be interested in eating but much like humans eat to relieve stress, an anxious foal will soon turn to food to calm itself down. Make sure the foal has plenty of clean water and food to eat throughout the day.

If the foal is still giving you trouble during the horse weaning process, try weaning multiple foals at once. Companionship can sometimes reassure a young horse that everything is alright. There is a good chance the foal will be looking to fill the empty void left when it was removed from its mother, so weaning other foals together may help with the stress and anxiety.