mare and weaned foal

[CarolP]

Can you put a 7 mo old colt that was weaned 4 months ago back in with it's mother? Trying to plan pasture rotations/ assignments after bringing home 3 horses for a total of 6. Thanks Also gelding time recommendations. :shock:

[SandyMM]

I wouldn't.... 4 months isn't long enough and 7 months is too old...

[Barbwire]

Hay Carol, I see it's your first post. You must be awfully brave to be diving into this mud pit. Just joking, we are one big happy family here. WELCOME!

http://www.smileyvillage.com/smilies/party0028.gif

[motorgypsy]

We did it with no problems but there are a lot of possible problems. Some colts can indeed breed very young - like as a yearling. We put ours back in with mom and foster mom because we have a very tough boss mare and number two boss mare in with them and it was winter and we had no artificial light on the property. We moved them apart in early April before they reached age one. It worked very well for us but you want them separated by spring. If you have artificial light I wouldn't do it. It really helps them learn their manners to be in with strong mares who insist on respect. We put our colts back with mom after one month separation. One mom let her colt suckle a little but not often or for very long so we didn't really worry about it. Both colts were extremely tractable and respectful but very friendly.

[cowboy ed]

no, i wouldnt put the colt back in the same pasture with his mother.
as for the question about gelding him, when you can see them, get them.
no need to wait.

[Pasogirlz]

http://bestsmileys.com/welcome/2.gif
Welcome Carol! Tell us more about your horses.

In our case, our colt kept going for the teat on him Mom, or even our other mare. He actually had my Arab producing milk :shock: So he had to be kept separte fromt he time we weaned him.

[CarolU]

no, i wouldnt put the colt back in the same pasture with his mother.
as for the question about gelding him, when you can see them, get them.
no need to wait.

I agree with Ed. There are many horses (I bought one) in this breed named SORPRESA for a reason!!! Those youngsters can breed a lot sooner then you think. A colt that is gelded sooner will grow taller/fuller and have less sex drive then if you wait. If you wait, you will have a thicker neck and more masculine features, but risk have a 'forever stallion'...in his mind.

As for putting them together. I know people who have done so successfully...but try in an observed area first. It is one thing if the colt tries...all together another if the mare allows it. If she does, seperate them longer.

[Carol Nelson]

Yeeesss....I've got an eight-month old colt (actually TWO of them, if you count my mini colt) that I've got to get separated from mama pretty darn quick here. So far neither one of them has started acting like they're gonna breed mama but they're sure becoming interested in the other girls in the pasture. Waiting for my new ten acres to get fenced so I have places to move mares. :roll:
Welcome to the board!

[Terry Wallace]

OOOhh Carol N... you "best watch that".... don't assume because its mama that it can't happen, 'cause it can & DOES! You may never even see it, or know of it until it is far too late!

Carol P...No, I would not put a 7 month old colt in with mares.... especially if he is fully descended....

Days grow longer now (after Dec.21) and mares will start to cycle soon...when they do, the young colt will smell a change on the air....I Gar-Un-Tee !! ;-) it will bring on changes to him...... ;-)

[Carol Nelson]

Ha...yeah, but I'm pretty careful about watching and they're both outside my kitchen window...so not too much escapes me. Rowdy, the mini, will mount mama and just stand there, but doesn't drop or anything. Mama Rosie swings her butt and just knocks him off. Devante, the Paso colt doesn't even attempt to mount yet, but does drop for the other girls.
I figure in less than two weeks they should be done fencing...and then the weaning begins! Oh joy.... :roll:
Now where to put Devante...any ideas? I don't really want to isolate him yet.

[Boyd R]

Well the girls around here are trying to climb the fences to get to the boys. Geldings at that. Each have cycled twice allready. If the testies are dropped get him out and them off.

[Barbwire]

Carol, can't you just put him in with the mini?

[Carol Nelson]

Barbara, the mini is going to have his own pen over by his mama and daddy. I don't put my minis in with my big horses.
I'm not going to geld Devante just yet, he is so nice...and I still maintain he is going to be better than Daddy...I want him to stay a stallion for a bit. I have a pen where I can isolate him now...but I don't want to do that yet. I've heard of putting him in with an old gelding, and I do have our old QH gelding that loves the babies so that's the way I'll be leaning.
But, like I said, got to have the new acreage fenced...which they are doing at the moment. Should be done within two weeks at the very most!

(And hey, it ain't my fault that the land isn't fenced yet, I've been working on these guys gittin' er done for a couple of months now! :roll: )

[motorgypsy]

Brilliant, our 18 month old paso colt and our mini yearling colt have buddied up as have Classy, our mini mare and the rest of our mare herd, so minis can do really well with the big horses - but if the mini is timid I wouldn't do it. Both of our minis are like Jack Russells - way too much courage for their size - but they are fast and our mini colt can go under the hot wire so he can get away from the big boys if he wants to.

That's an idea - just put up a single strand hotwire about four feet off the ground with plastic stepin posts so your mini colt can get away from your other colt if he wants to. But be careful - it really gives those minis a superiority complex to have "big friends". Both of our minis are sooo conceited and brag to the minis that are separated that they have BIG friends and their BIG friends can whup the other minis behinds! ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

[jodiTowne]

Carol....can we have an updated pic of Rowdy???? He must be getting "big"....HaHa

[CarolP]

OK I'm back. Here's my dilemma. I have Raya-pie, 12yo PF gelding, Sarah-pie 16 yo PF mare, and Marty-pie 8yo mule. They have been pastured together for years, Raya is dominent, Sarah is next, Marty is lowman. Sarah tolerates Marty but doesn't like him. This week, I brought home my other two mares, halfsisters, that have been boarded elsewhere. One had a colt in May that was weaned in Sept. So now I have 6 equines. I have a 3 part pasture, front drylot/paddock with barn runin, front arena/paddock with windbreak, and back 4 acre pasture, with pole barn and pond. I would like to combine them into two groups. I originally thought I would put the boys in the back and the girls in the drylot and use the other for rotation. Then I was told I shouldn't put the baby in with the others, for safety, since they may kick him or run him into a fence, So I thought maybe I could put him back with his mother, questioning if she may not accept him back, didn't occur to me he may be of breeding age soon. Currently he is alone in the front pasture, next to the mares, but seems lonely. He was handled some where he was but I have not been able to touch him since he came home, though I can stand within 3 feet. Another complication is Sarah is prone to grass founder, so by spring she needs to be brought back into the drylot. I'm thinking maybe the colt and the mule may buddy up and be able to be put together, they seem to be hanging out acoss the fence. Any thoughts?

[Pasogirlz]

I would make the mule his buddy.

We put my colt w/our gelding for a while, but he ate my geldings pretty tail up. :shock: so it depends how attached you are to the mules tail and if it can stand some youngster chewing on it. :lol:

[motorgypsy]

Colts also like to do the "snatch and run" on tails also. Wonder if it's inherited???