Hassle free weaning for foals

By Ruth Bishop

As the time approaches for many of this year's foals to be weaned, Horse & Hound looks at how the right preparation and diet can lessen any negative impact

For foals, weaning is almost equivalent to the first day at school – time to fend for themselves. Different breeders prefer different methods of separation, but even in the best situations some stress in the foal is inevitable.

From a nutritional perspective, weaning happens at a period of peak growth, and at a time when stereotypical behaviours can start.

A foal's weight increases by more than a fifth between six and 12 months of life, and its height goes up by about 10%. Most of the weight gain is in bone and muscle development, and the foal requires the right ratios of energy, protein and minerals for good growth. Poor feeding during this critical phase can affect bone quality for life.

Weaning can mean a drop in the feed consumed right when nutrient supply is critical – growth rates can fall by 60% in the first week after weaning, and take a further fortnight to regain previous levels.

This can be reduced to some degree if the foal has been used to some of the post-weaning diet for at least a month prior to being separated. This is not difficult – a foal can cope with small amounts of hard feed from as young as two or three weeks old, and, in fact, is ready to be weaned when it is eating 2-3kg of food per day.

In its second six months, a foal's diet can change fundamentally from one based on milk and grass with a small amount of hard feed to one of little grazing, some hay and high levels of concentrates.

This is OK as long as the nutrients formerly supplied by grass and milk are provided by forage and cubes or mix. It is managing this change smoothly that is important for growth and behaviour.

Inevitably, feeding separate meals where the nutrition was once available ad lib has an impact on gastric health. In at least one scientific study, cribbing behaviour in weanlings has been directly linked to gastric ulcers, and incidence reduced when action was taken to deal with the ulcers.

This article first appeared in Horse & Hound (26 August 2004)