All About Babies

I recently visited a nice facility where the owners requested assistance with some yearling colts.  I have an initial routine that includes many basic questions such as “What do you feed?”, “Tell me about your health care program”, “What training have you done with the yearlings so far?” and “What are you future plans for the horses?”  While handling the horses and demonstrating some training techniques we continued to discuss their care and feeding.  The colts were displaying some pretty aggressive behaviors, typical of young stallions, so I asked when they were gelded.  The owner responded with “They are not yet gelded….nor are they weaned”.  I hope I didn’t look too surprised, but frankly, I was!  The owners were intelligent people, who obviously provided the horses with the best care.  However, the more we talked, the more it was clear that they were doing just what they had been told…… by their Veterinarian! 

My readers know that I am a big proponent of professional Veterinary care.  I also write about care programs and horse health in general because I believe it is our duty as horse owners to be informed.  But I feel compelled to warn horseman that not all Veterinarians have enough equine experience to provide advice in horse health or raising/training equines!  I recommend that horse owners use a Veterinarian that is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. It also makes sense to use a professional who has extensive, personal horse experience, practices with a highly qualified Equine Veterinarian or is exclusively practicing in the equine field.  If you re-read the last sentence, I am not precluding the old-time country Vet.  Some of these Veterinarians have a life long practice with many types of animals but have seen so many horses that their experience is top notch and unbeatable.  The key is experience and qualifications working with equines.

This experience prompted me to write about BABIES including the issues of gelding, weaning and foal handling in general. 

Foal handling

I believe in handling the foals from the time they are born.  Actually, I spend considerable time grooming the pregnant mare in an attempt to “train” the baby to my voice and touch prior to birth.  In addition, when the mare trusts me, I have much more access to the foal and mare at delivery, critical in an emergency.

I also believe in imprinting.  HOWEVER, if you are unsure of how to imprint, get professional help as this process can create major problems if done improperly. 

Imprinting, in my opinion, continues for months after foaling and can include leading, standing, picking up feet, loading and much more.  Remember, we must imprint because we have removed the mare and baby from the herd.  If allowed to grow up in a healthy herd environment, the youngster would be exposed to hierarchy, rules and structure that would teach him most of what he needs to know about life!  A band of broodmares without a stallion or other older siblings is not a true herd and can actually reinforce problem behaviors.  A two year old fresh from the herd, not imprinted, is as easy to train as a properly imprinted colt, raised in a pen.  A spoiled, ill-behaved “pet” or an unchecked bully, are typically the most problematic to handle.

Weaning

This subject is sure to create controversy, so I’ll pre-empt the issue by stating that IN THE WILD, BABIES RARELY NURSE TO 11 MONTHS AS MOST MARES ARE IN FOAL ANNUALLY.  Also, after four months, the nutrient value of the mare’s milk decreases drastically.  The baby can no longer have its nutritional needs met by nursing alone.  As a result, grazing becomes the primary source of nutrition.  This suggests that babies are using nursing for emotional support versus primarily a food source once past the four month mark.  In a herd, this foal-dam relationship is vital and necessary and is a functional component of the healthy herd.  In the safety of a pasture the prolonged nursing can place un-necessary (or unwanted) stress on a mare, encourage bad behaviors when the mare allows the foal to act unruly (kicking or biting her) or occasionally result in the foal not eating enough forage/quality feeds due to the time spent trying to get “full” from nursing.   For this reason, I suggest weaning at four months.  Occasionally a foal needs six months with the dam, but in my experience, this is rare.  If properly and regularly provided food at a very early age, most normal healthy foals do just fine during the weaning process.  In fact, I have seen that foals weaned at 4 months are more apt to seek human guidance when stressed, become more confident sooner than those who nurse longer and ultimately make better saddle horses later in life.

Gelding

There is no good reason to leave a healthy colt ungelded once the testicles have descended.  Most colts are ready to geld at 4 to 6 months.  So why do some people insist on leaving their colts in tact?

Many people believe that leaving a colt uncut longer actually makes the horse bigger and stronger.  This is a fallacy.  When not gelded, a horse’s energy goes toward normal growth and sex traits.  These traits include development of the sex organs, thickening of the neck and jowls and sexually related behaviors.  When gelded, energy is spent on normal growth only.  Many also inaccurately believe that a horse can breed a few mares then be gelded and easily settle into a life without hormones.  Even after being gelded, hormones can linger in the body for months.  What’s more challenging is the memory of the behaviors as a stallion that can remain for a lifetime.  Many horses that are gelded late or after one or more breeding seasons are aggressive to others or continue to mount mares when turned out.  Gelding is a simple procedure for a young colt.  It can be debilitating for an older stallion.  Consider the stress on the horse and geld as early as practical.

Reality is that most stallions should be geldings.  The decision to leave a colt uncut should be weighed carefully and always based on the horse possessing the best breed characteristics.