breeding question

hoovesupsideyourhead · #1 06-26-2006, 10:39 AM

have you heard of mares not taking to thier babys and refusing to do the dutys of mom.....

Cajungator26 · #2 06-26-2006, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

have you heard of mares not taking to thier babys and refusing to do the dutys of mom.....

Yes... we almost lost a foal because of it. This is going to sound weird, but we had a goat on the farm that had just had her baby weaned and luckily she took to the filly. It saved her life...

somerfrost · #3 06-26-2006, 10:48 AM

Happens a lot...leads to the practice on some farms where they breed a cheap mare and kill the foal just so she's got milk for a more "expensive" foal!

#4 06-26-2006, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by somerfrost

Happens a lot...leads to the practice on some farms where they breed a cheap mare and kill the foal just so she's got milk for a more "expensive" foal!

Very sad. They often use a surrogate mare, but sometimes leasing the surrogate costs more than the foal.

Downthestretch55 · #5 06-26-2006, 10:50 AM

From my own experience, yes.
One of my broodmares is a terrible mother. She needs to be tied to the wall of the stall so she doesn't kick her baby. She thinks the baby is going to steal her hay.
She allows the baby to nurse, once the hay is gone.
Out in the pasture, she's fine.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #6 06-26-2006, 10:53 AM

thanks ..have the horses grown up to be normal or massive head cases....

Downthestretch55 · #7 06-26-2006, 10:58 AM

Actually, once the filly was weaned, she became "normal". She likes people and is very gentle. She even puts her head on my shoulder (horse hug) if I have a mint.

Cajungator26 · #8 06-26-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

thanks ..have the horses grown up to be normal or massive head cases....

Normal as long as they are weaned earlier... the important thing is that the foal learns how to be a horse and learns proper herd behavior.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #9 06-26-2006, 11:02 AM

i thought if a horse had a stable family and nice herd he would prosper...so after they are weaned ..it doesnt matter who they hang with...lol

Cajungator26 · #10 06-26-2006, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

i thought if a horse had a stable family and nice herd he would prosper...so after they are weaned ..it doesnt matter who they hang with...lol

No, it shouldn't matter. Also, there are milk supplements you can buy to help the foal along in case he/she isn't getting enough milk from mom.

Downthestretch55 · #11 06-26-2006, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

i thought if a horse had a stable family and nice herd he would prosper...so after they are weaned ..it doesnt matter who they hang with...lol

Actually, once they're weaned it matters a lot as to which "group" they hang with. They have a "pecking" order.
Another mare went after one other mare's foals, a filly. Bad situation.
We never put her in that group again.
The colts have a "baby sitter", a retired polo pony that looks after them.
He keeps them calm.

ateamstupid · #12 06-26-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

have you heard of mares not taking to thier babys and refusing to do the dutys of mom.....

hooves, don't worry dude, your mom loves you, it's just tough love and it's for your own good.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #13 06-26-2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

hooves, don't worry dude, your mom loves you, it's just tough love and it's for your own good.

lol ateam ..tough love running around fast so my mare doesnt geld me..

#14 06-26-2006, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

have you heard of mares not taking to thier babys and refusing to do the dutys of mom.....

Yep, this is one of the reasons that there is such things as nurse mares....a lot of nurse mares are just cheap Belgium horses that can really provide good natural nourishment to foals if the original broodmare dies or does the rare refusal to take on her foal....

paisjpq · #15 06-26-2006, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Yep, this is one of the reasons that there is such things as nurse mares....a lot of nurse mares are just cheap Belgium horses that can really provide good natural nourishment to foals if the original broodmare dies or does the rare refusal to take on her foal....

the ideal nurse mare should be a draft cross as opposed to a pure draft. That way one can get the benefits of the draft horse easy going nature while NOT getting a mare that will produce so much milk that it puts the TB foal at risk for excessive growth and therefore OCD...
And in my experience the foal will only accept one or the other--meaning if it goes on a nurse mare it won't bottle/bucket feed or if it's on a bottle too long it won't go back to the mare to feed.

#16 06-26-2006, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

have you heard of mares not taking to thier babys and refusing to do the dutys of mom.....

Like some human moms, equine moms can be derelict in their duties.

My mare used to go out with a mom and foal. The mom wasn't very good at being a mom so my mare was sort of like the surrogate aunt. She would put the baby in line if it was acting up. I'm sure most places do not recommend putting a mare with no baby out with a nursing mare, but in this situation there were no adverse effects.