Your foal is officially separated from his dam, and he has been for a while now.  That doesn't mean that he doesn't still think about her or want to get back to her.  In the weeks that follow "weaning," your foal isn't really fully weaned.  Every day of separation could easily be forgotten with one little reunion.

So what do you do with him in the meantime, especially if you have a small farm and can only put so many actual inches between the foal and his dam?  Here are a few ideas and actual things I did (or am doing!) with Kasino:

1. Give the foal a buddy.  Another foal needing to be weaned usually works the best, but that option was unavailable to me this year, so his 4 year old sister Kadence is his buddy.
2. Alternate turnout between the foal and his dam.  In the first few days of weaning, Kadence and Kasino stayed in while Parlay was outside, and vice versa.
3. Spend more time with the foal.  You are breaking a bond with his mother.  I really believe he will be wanting attention from somewhere.  This is a great time (after the initial panic wears off that is) to work on leading, tying, loading, and other skills that he will need.  This gives the foal something to think about and also creates a bond with YOU!
4. Take the foal with you.  Thursday was a great example.  Kadence needed to go to the vet.  I didn't feel safe leaving Kasino turned out alone.  He was probably safe inside his stall alone, but I knew he did not yet have the self confidence to be happy alone.  So I took him with us.

What ideas do you have for occupying the time and brain of a foal being weaned?  Leave me comments below!

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