Weaning Mare, and Starting to Ride again, question(s)

Fantasy_Horse · 08-24-2004, 09:06 AM

Well my mare will be weaned from her filly early September. She(the mare) is the type of mom that when you wean her foal, she runs back and forth in her pasture screaming her head off for a 2 days or so. So as you can imagine, she looses a little weight from this...which isnt going to hurt her at all...she could use the loss of some weight. The last time I rode her was last fall. She is not bred back, because I want to use her as a trail horse and not have to worry about stop riding her because she is going to foal. How long after weaning do you think is a safe time to start lunging her? I want to start lunging her, then start lunging her with a saddle, and then ride.
Thanks in advance for your replys.

AnnaBelle02 · 08-24-2004, 09:10 AM

Humm my mare is still feeding her foal (he is almost 2 months now) and I've just started working her from the ground - mind you the extent of our work is usually 10 mins walking in both directions with short periods of trotting equaling no more than 5 mins in total in both directions.
I would start doing some light work with her right away (lunging) this may even help to focus her mind on something other than the foal - only if it is for a half hour or so, it will give her a rest from stressing.

Fantasy_Horse · 08-24-2004, 12:36 PM

Thanks for your quick reply, and comments!

Should I give her a week or so to cool down from the whole weaning process? We will be watching her bag...to make sure everything is going okay. We are starting right now to take away her grain...and at weaning time she will get no grain at all. Her filly is coming up on 4 months of age, so the milk has no real value at this point anyways.

Thanks again.

wolfden · 08-24-2004, 02:54 PM

Thank you for taking care of your mare.. The girl I got my foal from last year was out riding her mare 2 weeks after she gave birth and would take off for hours and leave the foal tied to a tree. I felt so sorry for the baby that I bought him thinking she had gotten the "breeding bug" out of her system. The mare was not really breeding quality and was a mix. Well she enjoyed the experience so much she went a purchased 6 others and bred them all. Again just mixed breed pleasure horses some only 2 years old and she is doing the same thing.. Mare has a foal and she up riding them and tying up the babies. The 2 year olds are not pregnant (just relised it sounded like they were) but she will ride them all over the place and plans on breeding them this year. No consideration for their age (shouldn't be riding them like that) or anything. Sorry to vent on your thread but it really bothers me.

SyntheticTrust · 08-24-2004, 03:31 PM

I guess you could start lunging her now.. Easy sessions. My mare still has a baby by her side and we are slowly working up to our usual work outs to prepare for a show in October.

08-24-2004, 09:06 AM	#1
Fantasy_Horse Full Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Midwest, USA Posts: 242	Weaning Mare, and Starting to Ride again, question(s) Well my mare will be weaned from her filly early September. She(the mare) is the type of mom that when you wean her foal, she runs back and forth in her pasture screaming her head off for a 2 days or so. So as you can imagine, she looses a little weight from this...which isnt going to hurt her at all...she could use the loss of some weight. The last time I rode her was last fall. She is not bred back, because I want to use her as a trail horse and not have to worry about stop riding her because she is going to foal. How long after weaning do you think is a safe time to start lunging her? I want to start lunging her, then start lunging her with a saddle, and then ride. Thanks in advance for your replys.

08-24-2004, 09:10 AM	#2
AnnaBelle02 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,230 Images: 3	Humm my mare is still feeding her foal (he is almost 2 months now) and I've just started working her from the ground - mind you the extent of our work is usually 10 mins walking in both directions with short periods of trotting equaling no more than 5 mins in total in both directions. I would start doing some light work with her right away (lunging) this may even help to focus her mind on something other than the foal - only if it is for a half hour or so, it will give her a rest from stressing. __________________ I love riding my Standardbred!

08-24-2004, 02:54 PM	#4
wolfden Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 300	Thank you for taking care of your mare.. The girl I got my foal from last year was out riding her mare 2 weeks after she gave birth and would take off for hours and leave the foal tied to a tree. I felt so sorry for the baby that I bought him thinking she had gotten the "breeding bug" out of her system. The mare was not really breeding quality and was a mix. Well she enjoyed the experience so much she went a purchased 6 others and bred them all. Again just mixed breed pleasure horses some only 2 years old and she is doing the same thing.. Mare has a foal and she up riding them and tying up the babies. The 2 year olds are not pregnant (just relised it sounded like they were) but she will ride them all over the place and plans on breeding them this year. No consideration for their age (shouldn't be riding them like that) or anything. Sorry to vent on your thread but it really bothers me. Last edited by wolfden; 08-24-2004 at 02:56 PM. Reason: fixing

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08-24-2004, 12:36 PM	#3
Fantasy_Horse Full Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Midwest, USA Posts: 242	Thanks for your quick reply, and comments! Should I give her a week or so to cool down from the whole weaning process? We will be watching her bag...to make sure everything is going okay. We are starting right now to take away her grain...and at weaning time she will get no grain at all. Her filly is coming up on 4 months of age, so the milk has no real value at this point anyways. Thanks again.

08-24-2004, 03:31 PM	#5
SyntheticTrust Banned Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 4,528	I guess you could start lunging her now.. Easy sessions. My mare still has a baby by her side and we are slowly working up to our usual work outs to prepare for a show in October.