Arrrgh. Any help for my poor mare? Yup, baby's being weaned!

[Oldenburg Mom]

And she's just MISERABLE with a big dripping bag. :(

This is my beloved mare, the same one that started the "OMGiH I loff my Mare" clique ... she's sooooo miserable.

Anything that can be done for her ...?

[Quinn]

OMom, I'm sure you have already done it but no grain. She will dry up and even though I know she looks miserable, she'll be okay. Keep a sharp eye out for any sign of mastitis and under no circumstance do you relieve the pressure by milking her. That will only postpone the process. Buck up old girl, she'll be fine.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

[Oldenburg Mom]

... for any sign of mastitis

AH. I'm going to look on Google for signs, but any help would be appreciated.

[sixpoundfarm]

She will survive. Just keep her out and moving, put some bag balm on her udder. It should get more comfortable for her in a day or so. I dont cut concentrates completely, but do go down to the minimum recommended on the Ration Balancer, and remove any extra calories for awhile.

[Oldenburg Mom]

Tracy,

Actually, that's exactly what I'm doing ... she's getting her ration balancer and no extra oats. Plenty of grass hay ... what does the bag balm do?

[sixpoundfarm]

I think mostly lubrication and to prevent chafing. Vaseline or something greasy like that would probalby work too. Just to make things 'slide' a bit better with movement I think. Apply liberally.

[Oldenburg Mom]

Ok. I'll pick some up on my way home from work. Also, she's currently stalled ... last night because of weather ... so baby will come in tonight and she'll go out. That'll help, especially since the weather is cooler. Right? RIGHT?

I hate having her hurt ... *sigh*

[sixpoundfarm]

Put her out. That will help her alot.

[Edgewood]

She will survive. Just keep her out and moving, put some bag balm on her udder. It should get more comfortable for her in a day or so. I dont cut concentrates completely, but do go down to the minimum recommended on the Ration Balancer, and remove any extra calories for awhile.

I do the same thing as Tracy.

My girl was just weaned 24 hours ago and her bag is starting to drip milk too. They usually do it for a few days then dry up. It is a bit uncomfortable, but they will survive.;)

[Oldenburg Mom]

My girl was just weaned 24 hours ago and her bag is starting to drip milk too.

Yup, that's about how long it's been. Poor little girls ...

Pig-face, aka "The Brat" aka, CuteastheDICKINS has been tearing around the pasture with "de boyz". I am NOT, repeat NOT, puting him out with that known escape artist, Joey Starbuck.

Mamma is soooo thin. If anyone drove by and saw her they'd think she wasn't being fed. Thank goodness she's gray. The dapples hide her ribs. She's been such a good Mama. I'm very proud of her!

[Home Again Farm]

Ditto sixpound and edgewood. Mastitis will make the udder hard, lumpy and hot. It is very painful. Any milk that you express will be clotted and have some blood in it. I have only had one case of mastitis in any of my girls post weaning.

Most important is to keep her out and moving. She will be fine very soon.

[sixpoundfarm]

Mamma is soooo thin. If anyone drove by and saw her they'd think she wasn't being fed. Thank goodness she's gray. The dapples hide her ribs. She's been such a good Mama. I'm very proud of her!

Those are the hardest ones to pull feed from, IMO. I'd cut her back for a week or so, depending on how quickly her udder goes down, then gradually add back some extra calories.

[sporthorsefilly]

Lots of Timothy or grass hay is OK.

Mystery had been dripping milk for several days before "Dreams" was born. Then two days later she had "no baby" to feed. It took her about a week to dry up...she went out on pasture and had lots of hay...no problem.

Mr. Dickens will be fine, and so will momma. It is much harder on us humans to watch...eggnog is good this time of year :)

[goodmorning]

For those mares who may be a little more sore than others - about how long have you found they are sore for? Poor moms!

[arabs4sprt]

When I wean my foals mom and baby are put in corrals side by side with non-climb fencing so that baby can't nurse. I also let baby take a sip off of mom once during the first 8 to 12 hours. That takes the pressure off a tiny bit so that the mare doesn't get too sore. After that the mare goes out in a turnout where baby can see her at all times and I chase her around a bit to get her to exercise. After the mare has been out several hours she goes back into her corral and baby goes out. My mare's bags get big but not so big that they drip milk. I think that is because of two reasons I generally don't wean until they are both pretty independent and baby isn't really spending much time drinking at all, second is that letting baby take just a little off the top after the first 8 to 12 hours prevents the bag from getting really sore, but yet it also allows the mare to feel some pressure which is the signal to stop producing milk. And of course I reduce the mare's feed just like everyone else recommends. Of course your mileage may vary. But I haven't needed to use bag balm since I started doing things this way. Bag balm is an emolient and is antiseptic, it is used because some mares will get so tight that their teats will develop little splits that can become infected.

Tracy Scheinkman
Misty Mountain Arabian Sport Horses
Tucson, AZ
email: arabs4sprt@aol.com
(my website is down for now while I look for a new place to put it)

[dbaygirl]

Are you weaning cold turkey? If you wean gradually, the mare's bag will gradually stop producing as much milk. Like previous poster, I separate mare and baby, they can still see each other, adding more time every day to the separation until they are apart more than they are together, then nursing once every 12 hours and then gradually to zero. No pain, no fuss, no muss. As well, I don't wean until baby is nursing very little anyways. I don't see how people can do the weaning thing cold turkey. The gradual way reduces risk of mastitis and infection and emotional upset on both parties.

[Indy-lou]

I agree. I think people choose the cold turkey method because it is easier for the human managers. Any pressure on the mare's bag will start the slow-down in milk production mechanism. That along with decrease in milk-producing feed (like alfalfa). In the first couple of days of weaning, I have the foals in a large V-mesh fenced paddock adjacent to the mares. There is a gate at the far, far end of the paddock where the foals can stick their heads through and nurse the mare IF the mare wants to stand there and allow it. If she does not, the foal won't be there either. The mares that are uncomfortable enough will allow the foal to nurse a little from time to time and the mare manages this quite well for herself. Other mares wave goodbye to their babies and never visit the gate at all. The routine varies for each mare from year to year, and they know the drill and what they want to do. After a couple of days, even the mares who had uncomfortable bags move on and do not visit the gate anymore. After that, the babies move on to another paddock. No stress and no pain and no mastitis (which is rare in mares anyway no matter how you wean).

[amdfarm]

Movement will help a lot and also relieve pressure on her bag so I'd leave her out as often as you can and up her feed as needed once she starts to dry, as mentioned.

I wean cold turkey and haven't had any problems. Because of the way I'm set up, or not set up I guess, I have to wean off farm. Babies leave and mom's stay in the pasture. They all do quite well w/ this, as we go by the moon signs and there's less stress for everyone involved. It doesn't make it any easier for me since driving to my friends farm to care for the babies takes even more time. And if they're born in different months and not weaned in a group so they have buddies, that's even more trips on my part. I don't mind though, I enjoy baby only time. :)

She'll be fine.

[Touchstone Farm,Ky]

I weaned mine two days ago. They have been eating separately for awhile. The mares are on ration balancer only for a few days before we wean. We take them into their stalls then pull out the mamas, bag balm them thoroughly and lead them to the back field. I fret about this every year and by now should know that weaning is ALWAYS harder on me than on the mares and foals<g>
This year the mares walked out into the field to the hay rack and never looked back. Only one of them even called for her foal and then only a couple of times. The foals all reacted according to their personalities... The Sir Sinclair filly has been mad for two days . She's sort of the boss baby as the only filly and can't believe she's not in control of her little universe. The UB 40 colt was angry for about 15 minutes and then decided that was Wayyy too much work and ate hay and played sad when he thought it would get him attention. The Freestyle colt figures this is a new adventure... played with his jolly ball , his feeder and anyone who would come in his stall. The thoroughbred stood stock still in his stall deciding how he could turn this to his advantage and the R,Johnson colt is alternating between sad and jubilant that All the hay in his stall is now his <s> The bags go down, the foals become independent and my guilt subsides in about three days <s>

[VirginiaBred]

The signs are perfect for weaning starting yesterday (12/5) for the next two days.
The foal should be in and the mare out.
Cold turkey is best and fastest, and you definitely should back way off the grain in the two weeks leading up to the actual weaning.

Banamine is your mare's friend for the large bag and any discomfort associated there.

[Oldenburg Mom]

Thanks everyone! Some great advice here ...

Touchstone, the foals' reaction, per their personality, is so funny. Mr. D was p!ssed!!! Really really angry. He was calling, running,... Mama ignored him and ate ate ate all the grass hay I put before her. She is now out, so everything has calmed down.

Funny though, Mr. D tried to nurse from his auntie ... who was have NONE of that!!! :lol:

I'll check the bag when I get home ... it should have gone down, especially with this cold cold cold weather (17 this morning.)

[Olympussporthorses]

I weaned my foal this past Tuesday and my mare's bag is way way down. I pulled her off of oats as well and just fed her the ration balancer. The baby was pretty upset for the first 24 hrs and afterwards he's fine. He is in with the mare that was with him and his dam when she foaled so he's known her for his whole life and she is taking care of him.

[genevieveg17]

I wean cold turkey. Both mare and foal are left out in seperate paddocks to move around.
The first 24 hours are the worst for the foal. By 36 - 48 hours the mares bag starts to go down.

[grayfox]

I wean cold turkey now also and everybody is fine after a couple days.

[aspenlucas]

OMom, I'm sure you have already done it but no grain. [/url]

I've never quite understood this. Is there proof that no grain means less milk production? For those of you who did not breast feed. When you left the hospital and your milk came in did the doctor say "no food for a while, or cut down on the protein?" This has boggled my mind for a long time. I've never withheld grain from my mares and I've never had a problem, they dry up just fine. If they are uncomfortable the body's reaction is to leak milk to allow some relief.

[Oldenburg Mom]

Well, everthing is over ... all the shouting, all the puffed-up udder,... finished. Caput. Finito.

What a big storm in a teacup.:rolleyes:

I'm guessing that her thin condition contributed as well, because really, 24 hours after the foal was taken away ... her udder is FAR less swollen and her teats have reduced to normal size. I'm amazed at how quickly it happened, and would suggest that temperatures in the teens and low 20s at night certainly helped.

Well, that's that. Little bugger is out in the big pasture having a ball with the big geldings!!

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice!

[Ladybug Hill]

I've never quite understood this. Is there proof that no grain means less milk production? For those of you who did not breast feed. When you left the hospital and your milk came in did the doctor say "no food for a while, or cut down on the protein?" This has boggled my mind for a long time. I've never withheld grain from my mares and I've never had a problem, they dry up just fine. If they are uncomfortable the body's reaction is to leak milk to allow some relief.

I agree with you.

Well it totally depends on the mare. If the mare is an easy keeper, of course, I cut way back to whatever her maintenance feed would be. For a hard keeper, I might cut back a bit but I still keep her on a gaining ration if she needs to gain. Of course, I don't stall at all for the mare at weaning and make sure she has plenty of hay and water.

I don't feed a ton of alfalfa which I believe can encourage milk production so I guess that could be a consideration too.

[amdfarm]

Same as Aspen and Ladybug. I've always wondered that, too. I don't change mine around any and they're either on pasture 24/7 w/ grass or have a round bale (alfalfa/grass mix) at all times. I feed pellets once a day (Nutrena youth or senior and alfalfa pellets.) My friends and I have not noticed any difference in bags after weaning due to feed and the foals are always eating the pellets and forage well prior to weaning.

Maybe it depends on the mare, who knows. I have all different breeds and types and they're all basically the same in regards to this. Even the mare that milks like a holstein dries up fairly quickly.

I'm glad your boy is happy now and your mare is better.