“He told me that the mare had weaned her too soon”…………

 

“Do you think she will ever reach 14 HH or more?”…

I bought a QH baby at 10 months (so the guy told me. I am not sure) He told me that the mare had weaned her too soon and that they almost lost the baby. Well she is now 20 months old and she is around 46 inches tall. Do you think she will ever reach 14 hh or more?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Ashley:

Early weaning does not necessarily have detrimental effects on growth rate. Weaning “too soon” has different meanings – some people wean at 3 months, and others at 1 year. Even weanlings and yearlings who are small are shown to achieve average heights by the time they are 3 or 4, as long as they receive good nutrition. Unless severely malnourished as a foal and weanling, the growth should not be stunted by weaning a month early. Height is genetically determined, and the only way to know how tall she will grow is to wait and watch her grow. Perhaps the sire was small?

 

 

“So he was weaned at 4 months instead of the more common 6.”…

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the day I emailed you she had to have him put down. It just seemed weird to me all of the things she was describing didn’t seem to fit anything I had ever experienced before, and several of my knowledgable horse friends hadn’t the slightest clue either. You might be interested in this. She told me that the vet told her that all of the symptoms were probably caused from him being weaned at an early age.The mare was shot in the field when he was 4 months old. So he was weaned at 4 months instead of the more common 6. Now this hasn’t settled right with me since she told me this. I have many friends who show horses, and many times they do wean their colts at 4 months. They told me after 4 months the digestive system is changing so that they can digest rough foods like hay, or grass, and that the mares milk nutritionally doesn’t have the same benefit as it does 4 months and under. The colt was eating 1/4 to 1/2 a flake of alfalfa hay daily. Combined with 2 cups of equine junior. so they thought he foundered. I don’t know, none of it adds up, and I can certainly hope they do not purchase any more “cheap” colts. Anymore ideas?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Holly:

I’m sorry to hear of your friend’s colt’s unfortunate fate. I have worked on several farms over the years, and on all of them we weaned babies between 3-4 months of age, and none of them ever had “complications” from it. After 4 months of age, the foal is not getting much nutritional value nor much milk in general from the mare. Plus, at that point, the mare is at maximal energy drain from nursing a now-big foal. Most 4 month old foals are quite large, strong, and healthy, and are eating (feedstuffs) on their own. Any nursing observed by them at that time is more of “comfort-nursing”, rather than for nutritional purposes. Thus, I am not aware of any problems your friend’s colt could have had in relation to that event of weaning at 4 months. The diet that he was on sounds appropriate. It would seem strange that a young, healthy colt on a good diet would suddenly founder. But even if he did, that would have nothing to do with his bleeding from the mouth. In retrospect, it would have been interesting to have a necropsy (horse autopsy) performed on him, for learning purposes and to prevent that recurrence. However, for most people that is too traumatizing; and by the time it is thought of, it is too late (already buried or removed). I am sorry for her tragic loss.