The mare is pushing away the foal and refusing to let it feed.
Sometimes a foal will be rejected by its dam. In severe cases it will be attacked. It’s not well understood why some mothers seemingly have no maternal instinct but it could be due to stress, change or some other factor. Some suggest that smearing the mare’s droppings over the foal may help her associate with it but if she refuses to accept it you may have to step in and hand-rear the foal away from the mare.
If the foal doesn’t get to drink the colostrum it will never grow as strongly as one that has, and it’s important you get this down him. We’ve manually milked such mares before and fed it to the foal by dribbling it down our fingertips. Normal horse milk can generally be replaced by goat’s milk, and there is a National Foaling Bank in the Uk who help put orphaned foals together with mares with milk.
Is a mare protective of its foal?
Usually, yes, and in extreme cases it can be dangerous to approach either, even if the mare is used to you and would normally be no risk.
Even the most mild-mannered mare can become dangerous when she perceives a danger to her foal.
How do horses take care of their young?
When a mare gives birth, first she cleans the foal, the licking does more than clean it, it also stimulates it and provides the first bonds with its mother.
Within a couple of hours the foal is standing and walking around, In the wild this is imperative as it may have to run away from danger.
As soon as it is standing it will take its first important drink from its mothers milk, this will provide it with something called Colostrum (basically the mother passes her antibodies onto her foal through her milk, providing the foal with a means to fight infection and disease and grow strong)
A mare will stay by her foal always during the first few months and is always looking out for dangers, some mares are very protective and will stand and fight if they feel their foal is threatened.
At first all the foal drinks is its mothers milk but from about six weeks onwards it will start to copy her and try grass/feed etc. As the foal gets older it will become more independent, it learns by copying its mother and other horses.
In the wild the mare will naturally wean her foal and push it away (by now she is probably pregnant again) but in captivity the owner usually weans the foal at about six months. Colt foals tend to form “bachelor gangs” away from the main herd.
How soon after foaling can you start to ride your mare again?, do you need to take the foal with you, what is the best procedure?
Also do you need to take the foal with you, what is the best procedure?
Tough question! The problem seems not so much the working of the mare, Shires at the beginning of the last century, for example would often be working the next day or day after, with the foal running alongside or tethered within site to the plough. But, it would be unsafe to ride out on the road with a loose foal, or even a foal on lead rein. Removing the mare or foal from the others’ sight is very stressful and not a good plan.
Most people seem to take the mare off work until the foal is weaned.
When should a foal be weaned from its dam?
The foal should be taken away from its mother between six months and a year after birth.
Occasionally a foal needs to be seperated earlier than this, such as the case that the mare has died, ill or otherwise unable to care for his foal.
Foals can be hand reared from any stage, but it is essential they get the first milk from their dam which contains colustrum.
They can be fed on mares milk, or goats milk is a good substitute. Cows milk is unsuitable for horses.
At what age will a colt become fertile?
The books state that a colt starts producing sperm at his first birthday, but in reality they can be fertile from as early as six months.
Once the colt starts mounting other horses (of either sex) then he is should be treated as fertile and if not already, weaned and seperated to prevent inbreeding with his dam.
When should I geld my colt?
Usually a colt is gelded when it’s two years old, preferably in the spring or autumn when it’s fairly mild to aid the recovery and there aren’t too many flies around to bother the wound.
By this time the colt will be physically mature (gelding too early can stunt the growth), but he shouldn’t have developed too many of the stallion behavioural traits, which can sometimes stay with a horse if he’s gelded late.
