Weaning foals

Weaning is often an event that causes breeders or owners to worry.  Most foal injuries, accidents and loss of condition happen during weaning.  The mare also suffers a loss and is often uncomfortable with a lot of milk in her udder.

Vedete de Itajoana and foal

When should it be done?

There is no set timeframe, but the usual answer is 4-6 months.  In the wild, the mother will often let the foal nurse until the next foal is born.  However, at four months, much of the foal’s nutrition is coming from grass, hay and grain, not mother’s milk.   The weaning timeframe may depend on the situation.  Often, if you have more than one foal, it makes sense to wean them all at once, so some may be 5 ½ months old and some 7 months old.   Weaning sooner is also situation-dependent.  We had one foal that seemed to be lactose-intolerant.  Although healthy, he had bouts of diarrhea.  It was in his best interest to wean early.

How should it be done?

There are many approaches to weaning, but this is our approach.  We found it to be humane to both mare and foal.  There was little or no stress to them and therefore, we were happy too.  Perhaps our timeline could be shortened, but it worked for us.  We use a method called fence-line weaning.  Fence-line weaning is an option in which mares are moved to one side of a strong fence while foals are left on the other side

For the first week, we separate the mares and foals for eight hours in abutting pastures.  Our fencing allows the foals to nurse.   The mare needs to cooperate to make this event happen, so we have seen that the mares only approach the fence when their udders are full.  But the foals can see, smell and hear the mares and vice-versa.  During the second week, they are separated 24/7, still along a fence where they can nurse.  During this week, I really watch to see how much nursing is still going on and how full or empty the mares’ udders are.  In almost every case, they have stopped nursing.  Week 3 they are separated by a pasture, so they are still visible, and if any nursing was occurring, they can no longer nurse.

A study at Texas A&M University showed that foals weaned in this manner showed less whinnying and running than foals separated by other methods. Levels of cortisol, a hormone that indicates level of stress, were lower in fence-weaned foals than in foals suddenly separated completely from their mothers.

A Christmas Story

A brother and sister had made their usual hurried, obligatory

pre‐ Christmas visit to the little farm where dwelt their elderly

parents with their small herd of horses. The farm was where

they had grown up and had been named Lone Pine Farm

because of the huge pine, which topped the hill behind the

farm. Through the years the tree had become a talisman to the

old man and his wife, and a landmark in the countryside.

The young siblings had fond memories of their childhood here,

but the city hustle and bustle added more excitement to their

lives, and called them away to a different life.

The old folks no longer showed their horses, for the years had

taken their toll, and getting out to the barn on those frosty

mornings was getting harder, but it gave them a reason to get

up in the mornings and a reason to live. They sold a few foals

each year, and the horses were their reason for joy in the

morning and contentment at day's end.

Angry, as they prepared to leave, the young couple confronted

the old folks. Why do you not at least dispose of The Old One."

She is no longer of use to you. It's been years since you've had

foals from her. You should cut corners and save so you can

have more for yourselves. How can this old worn out horse

bring you anything but expense and work? Why do you keep

her anyway?"

The old man looked down at his worn boots, holes in the toes,

scuffed at the barn floor and replied, "Yes, I could use a pair of

new boots.

His arm slid defensively about the Old One's neck as he drew

her near with gentle caressing he rubbed her softly behind her

ears. He replied softly, "We keep her because of love.

Nothing else, just love."

Baffled and irritated, the young folks wished their parents a

Merry Christmas and headed back toward the city as darkness

stole through the valley. The old couple shook their heads in

sorrow that it had not been a happy visit. A tear fell upon their

cheeks. How is it that these young folks do not understand the

peace of the love that filled their hearts?

So it was, that because of the unhappy leave‐taking, no one

noticed the insulation smoldering on the frayed wires in the

old barn. None saw the first spark fall. None but “The Old One".

In a matter of minutes, the whole barn was ablaze and the

hungry flames were licking at the loft full of hay. With a cry of

horror and despair, the old man shouted to his wife to call for

help as he raced to the barn to save their beloved horses. But

the flames were roaring now, and the blazing heat drove him

back. He sank sobbing to the ground, helpless before the fire's

fury. His wife back from calling for help cradled him in her

arms, clinging to each other, they wept at their loss. By the

time the fire department arrived, only smoking, glowing ruins

were left, and the old man and his wife, exhausted from their

grief, huddled together before the barn. They were speechless

as they rose from the cold snow covered ground. They nodded

thanks to the firemen as there was nothing anyone could do

now.

The old man turned to his wife, resting her white head upon

his shoulders as his shaking old hands clumsily dried her tears

with a frayed red bandana. Brokenly he whispered, "We have

lost much, but God has spared our home on this eve of

Christmas. Let us gather strength and climb the hill to the old

pine where we have sought comfort in times of despair. We

will look down upon our home and give thanks to God that it

has been spared and pray for our beloved most precious gifts

that have been taken from us. And so, he took her by the

hand and slowly helped her up the snowy hill as he brushed

aside his own tears with the back of his old and withered hand.

The journey up the hill was hard for their old bodies in the

deep snow. As they stepped over the little knoll at the crest of

the hill, they paused to rest, looking up to the top of the hill the

old couple gasped and fell to their knees in amazement at the

incredible beauty before them. Seemingly, every glorious,

brilliant star in the heavens was caught up in the glittering,

snow‐frosted branches of their beloved pine, and it was aglow

with heavenly candles. And poised on its top most bough, a

crystal crescent moon glistened like spun glass. Never had a

mere mortal created a Christmas tree such as this. They were

breathless as the old man held his wife tighter in his arms.

Suddenly, the old man gave a cry of wonder and incredible joy.

Amazed and mystified, he took his wife by the hand and pulled

her forward. There, beneath the tree, in resplendent glory, a

mist hovering over and glowing in the darkness was their

Christmas gift.

Shadows were glistening, in the night light. Bedded down

about “The Old One" close to the trunk of the tree, was the

entire herd, safe.

At the first hint of smoke, she had pushed the door ajar with

her muzzle and had led the horses through it. Slowly and with

great dignity, never looking back, she had led them up the hill,

stepping cautiously through the snow. The foals were

frightened and dashed about. The skittish yearlings looked

back at the crackling, hungry flames, and tucked their tails

under them as they licked their lips and hopped like rabbits.

The mares that were in foal with a new crop of babies, pressed

uneasily against “The Old One" as she moved calmly up the hill

and to safety beneath the pine. And now, she lay among them

and gazed at the faces of the old man and his wife.

Those she loved, she had not disappointed. Her body was

brittle with years, tired from the climb, but the golden eyes

were filled with devotion as she offered her gift‐‐‐ Because of

love. Only Because of love...

Tears flowed as the old couple shouted their praise and joy...

and again the peace of love filled their hearts. This is a true

story. Willy Eagle

Spooking - Tips and Comments welcome!

Azenha de Maripa, one-rein stop practice at a canter

How many times do I hear – I want a bombproof horse?  We use so many terms that are not defined well in horsemanship, but what does this mean?  It could mean a dead horse walking.  But to many, it means a horse they can trust to take care of the rider.  Most accidents happen when the horse bolts or tries to lose the rider in an effort to save themselves from whatever impending danger they see.

Every horse spooks in some fashion at some time.  My favorite variety is the stiff-legged tabletop spook, where after being startled, the horse freezes into position.   Spooking is a natural reaction that any living thing has when something is scary or startling.   I know I jump during the big thunderstorms at the loud crashes. 

There is no substitute for a relationship with your horse and building their trust in you.  Then, during a scary moment, they startle and then check in with you to see what they should do.  You can teach your horse all about the things that might be scary, but in the end, you cannot train for every new situation, so their trust is my primary safety net.

Koyote Libertas, because he trusts me, he often checks in with me when he see something scary.

My second safety item is lateral flexion and the one-rein stop.  I teach this to all my horses from the time they are foals.  Bits do not stop horses, no matter how strong.  This stop is then automatic and there if I ever need it.

I do believe the Marchador has a good mind, perhaps different than many other breeds.  We rode in the Rose Bowl Parade as our first parade when Bossa Nova was 3 years old!  From what I learned afterwards, that was crazy!  She handled the whole experience with ease.

I also think the breed and genetics do matter.  You can choose a breed or breeding pedigree that may be calmer, less reactive and a better mind.  People talk about dog breeds all the time, but we rarely make the connection to horse breeds. 

 What do you do to help your horse?

Finding Seamus - a story of gait

The Mangalarga Marchador has a natural marching gait.  However, there are times when you need to "set or train" gait.  One is when they are young and need to learn how to balance a rider and stay at a steady pace.  The other is when you have screwed it up.  This is a story of the latter.

Seamus da Boa Fe, imported in-utero, grandson of Malibu da Santa Terezinha.

He loves to be picked!

Seamus is a great Mangalarga Marchador – proud, good size and like all Marchador horses, very sweet.    He was a family member almost his whole life.  We kept him a stallion – our first – and he taught us quite a bit about horsemanship along the way.   He was the first horse we ever started under saddle and he did just fine at that.  But we also made a number of mistakes with Seamus.  

Young Seamus

The first in my mind is that we didn’t freeze his semen!  But the one that refers to this topic is that Seamus learned to piaffe and passage before he learned to walk (march).  It was very impressive to see a gaited horse doing dressage.  In the ring, he looked like a Lusitano or Andalusian.    We probably could have faked it and entered their competitions, since in the early 2000s there were no Marchador show classes.

He passed his ABCCMM inspection, but the Brasilians were telling us what to do to straighten out his marcha.  

Seamus doing Spanish Walk at the Fiesta of the Spanish Horse

The dressage training had asked for him to elevate which he could do very well.  During the time when his muscles should have been asking for extension to get long and cover ground, he was being asked to collect and prance.    Elegant he was; smooth, he was not.

To make matters worse, while in a training barn, his feet were not trimmed right.  In shoes they looked okay to us, but when he threw a shoe, we saw what we had and were horrified.  His toes were so long!  He was lame without shoes.   We consulted 3 farriers and each recommended a significantly different approach.   Seamus is the reason we took the initiative and studied barefoot trimming ourselves.

This summer, we have turned the corner.  Seamus is sound, and I have started riding him again.  Now starting over, I still do dressage moves, but I also practice the marcha, as our great friend Tresa Smith, (Montana Marchadors) would like.  Because it is important to have the MM breed march.

The words of the Brasilians ringing in my ears from so many years ago, I started to find his march and keep him in it.  Here is my approach:

§               Long straight distances asking Seamus to cover ground in the march.
§  Speed for batida.   Almost a canter, but right at the moment that he will transition, I say no, this is the speed.
§  Uphill work.
§  “ALLOW” the gait to happen.  When he is gaiting along, I leave him alone and let him know this feels good and is right.

Lynn and Seamus this summer in Pagosa.

For Seamus, right before the canter, his legs are going like a little duck, very quick, almost disjointed, but guess what?  It is very good!   We have always used Koyote as our measure for a great marcha batida.   Seamus looks to be about the same!   Right now, he is the best in uphills and very fast, but as we practice keeping the rhythm, the smooth marcha gait comes out more and more often.  It’s really just building muscle memory and of course, the muscles and stamina we need to maintain it.

He's very athletic and talented!

For a slow gait, Seamus can do a walk that is close to marcha picada.  I keep him slow because I can hear the rhythm and get it right.  Right now, he can only do this moving slowly, but I think in time, we can increase the speed and have him stay in it.  It’s very smooth, so I use it, especially going down hills.  Of course, with his previous training, he can still elevate.    Whenever he gets nervous, he passages!

We are so excited!  Seamus is an exhilarating and fun horse to ride.  He loves to work and loves the attention.   We hope he will stay sound and just impress the heck out of anyone who sees him move!

Practice riding in the marching gait. 

Young horses will often speed up and slow down.  You need to teach them to be consistent and to set the speed where their gait is most comfortable.  Lazy or smart horses may pick a movement that is easier for them or that they enjoy more like a canter or going sideways.

Or as in our story, your discipline may ask for another gait.   If so, spend as much time marching as you do cantering or piaffing!

Koyote Libertas, ridden by Felipe Ribeiro, our marcha batida standard.

Summerwind is trying to bring up some Brasilian trainers to help owners and breeders learn how to set or improve the marcha gait.   No dates have been set.  Because we ride bitless, we are sending them a Dr. Cook bitless bridle to practice that.  Most Brasilians will use bits.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

Our new handout - Isn't this cool?

Tracey Buckalew at Going Gaited Magazine is just a joy to work with.   Summerwind will be at the Festival of the Horse in November and we wanted to have a handout to give away.  Here's what we came up with.  (This isn't the final, a few mistakes we found after this proof).  I am just delighted.
http://www.summerwindmarchadors.com/news.aspx

Click on the 10/082010 post and then inside, click on the pdf file symbol.

Be sure to visit her magazine and website too!
www.goinggaited.com

New article in GOING GAITED

Summerwind has been granted an import permit to bring in Brasilian frozen semen!  The long-awaited result of a four year effort may be about to arrive.  Watch for more news later this month or early next month.

Stallions from Haras Maripa, the farm providing the first semen in the shipment.

AND, Check it out!  A breed profile on the Mangalarga Marchador is in the latest issue on Going Gaited.

http://www.goinggaited.com/aBreedSpotlight.html

August Newsletter

It's out and posted on our website.  In fact, we re-wrote our website and changed some of the pictures.  Take a look! http://www.summerwindmarchadors.com/qlNews_detail.aspx?CI=4886

In the article about speed in the gait, here is the video to watch.  Enjoy!http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=FazendadasAguasJM#p/u/15/t_JpcRVVQho