weaning my foul

Question
QUESTION: I have a haflinger foul 5 months old. I was told you do not have to seperate him from his mother to wean him. I was told he will wean himself. Is this true

ANSWER: hi alex,
yes a mother will wean off her foal herself, the only thing with this is, if you keep the baby with his mother, when it comes time to training he will be very heard bound. he wont have the independance to go out by himself.he will whinny when you take him and be distracted when you work him, over time he will get used to it. it just causes extra work. you can let the mare wean him or wean him yourself its u to you. when a mare weas a foal the will kick at him at nip at him when ever he tries to nurse, so it can cause injuries. most are very small and nothing to wory about, but sometimes a mare can accidently kick the foal in the leg and cause more harm. i personally think the best way is to wean the baby yourself. but it's entirely up to you. good luck.
amanda groff

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for your advise
every day when we go for a ride clover ( the foal) comes with us but lately he seems less interested and we get quite far away before he comes running . should i try riding without him and leave him behind or maybe letting him come when i take a different horse what do you think

Answer
hi alex,
hes is adventurouse enough to wonder away from his mother on a trail then he can be left behind. this will help himself wean him from his mother. if your on a different horse he probobly wont come. he will stay close to his mom and just wonder around the outside of the corral. doing this he can get himself into trouble. i would just leave him behind in the corral. good luck
amanda groff