foal & pony

Question
my mare had a foal 8 weeks ago, he is nice and healthy but i wondered at what age can he start haveing his own hard feed as he eats out of his mums bucket already, i only feed her mollychop and a stud & young stock mix. also the foal let's us touch him all over, but he often turns his bottem to us as if to kick, how can we stop him from doing this.

Answer
Dear Nicola,
           At around 6 months of age is when foals should be weaned. He is showing interest in grain and that is a good sign, meaning that the transition from milk to grain should be fairly easy for him.
          To stop him from trying to kick you, i suggest you spend 30 minutes twice a day with him, Once in the morning and once in the evening. Try not to do to much to soon with a foal because they are like toddlers, there attention span is not all that great and they will get bored and annoyed if you push them to much. Try rubbing him and petting him for 30min, and introduce the brush if you haven't already.
michelyn