We are 16 days into weaning now. I am remembering why I don't like to wean one foal and only have the mother and sire on site! It is tough to visually separate Jayne and Dally. If Dally goes in the trailer and I close the door while she eats her grain, Jayne hollers and carries on which gets Dally all wired up. But despite that trailer loading/unloading is no problem at all now, so I will likely just put that on hold for a while.
Standing tied at the hitching rail is going well. I still haven't tied her solid, but she isn't pulling. She does get a little impatient and paws a bit, which is normal.
She is maintaining good weight during weaning. She gets 5 cups of barley/oats mix with an ounce of camelina oil. I used to feed those formulated feeds but I find they do just as well on plain grain. And it's much less expensive.
After all the lessons she gets a little hand grazing.
She hasn't had a lot of grass this year; it all burned off in the pastures and is finally growing again. Beamer's turnout pen is doing well, and he's happy when he gets to go out.
He's really starting to show his age. I need to get his teeth done this fall and may need to start him on an alfalfa mix hay to keep his weight up this winter.
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Weaning is tough, no matter the age, I guess. I'm considering keeping Cowgirl and Epona apart at night and only together during the day, so that they keep a little healthy detachment. It would require adding another gate between them, but probably worth it in the long run. The only problem with that idea is it that they have to share a round bale when it gets cold. I still haven't received my first load of round bales, because I'm waiting for my small square bale order to be filled, and I can't block the breezeway. My hay suppliers have been unpredictable this year. Keeping weight on the oldies is the story of my life. I have one who is 26, and he can't tolerate alfalfa, so he requires a ton of supplement--Equine Senior. Cowboy gets an alfalfa mix, and he's doing really well. The small bales I'm waiting on are 50/50. I really want them, so I wait, and wait. Tumbleweed also gets alfalfa and grass. I give those to him separately so that I know how much he's actually getting. I don't like the smell of the urine when they're on alfalfa, but it does help them keep on the weight.
Such a cute lil horse! she listens well! 😊👍💜
She sure is a pretty color, she is doing great! She knows that you are the boss and responds to your voice! :) Beamer is aging...it happens to us all...he is still real handsome!
Dally seems to be doing really well with her training and weaning. She's a pretty girl and very smart. Beamer is still a handsome guy even with his age. Like all older men he just looks more distinguished.
Dally's backlit mane is pretty, she looks and is doing great. Hope your pastures recover. Beamer looks content :)
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