This article on weaning foals by Carolyn Resnick contains a technique to help the herdbound horse who is suffering from the type of separation anxiety that has been caused by weaning trauma. Sadly, weaning trauma can be caused by some pretty standard horse handling practices, like it was with my horse Bobby. I’ll put the link to that article below.
Working with the herdbound horse who is ALREADY suffering from separation anxiety caused by forced weaning, means that you ARE working with a traumatized horse – and to support the release of trauma, ABOVE ALL requires LISTENING. That way, you’ll know when they’re ready for change AND when they’ve developed the confidence in your relationship itself AND you’ll be able to move through each step of the trauma release with confidence together.
I’ve seen some shocking soul crushing solutions that people use to solve separation anxiety problems – everything from selling them on, to forcibly separating them from their friend “so they don’t get upset.” WTFreakingheck? How would THAT work???? It stands to reason, if forced weaning is the cause of separation anxiety / herdbound horses, then we cannot expect forced separation to produce anything more than an even more traumatized horse.
Carolyn’s techniques in the article below are a POSSIBLE GUIDE for ideas. You’ll need to add your Feel and the perfect timing that comes from that Feel, for THIS horse and their companion. And the timing will be utterly unique for each horse. I have a lesson that I gave in one of our Live Seminars with another technique for dealing with separation anxiety – so if this one doesn’t feel right, there’s another coming…
And don’t worry, I’ll explain HOW you can go about developing that amount of Feel and connection with your horse, at the end of the article.
I love it that Carolyn describes a horse who has no weaning trauma as smarter – of course they are 🙂 – we’re all smarter when we are not afraid!
Carolyn wrote:
Years ago I developed a way to wean foals that did not create trauma. I used this approach for over twenty years. During this time, I learned that horses that grew up being weaned in this manner were smarter and had a deeper sense of well being created by the trust they had in human beings. I feel one of the biggest opportunities we have to build trust with horses can be accomplished at weaning.
There were two reasons that I did not want a foal to experience trauma. The first being my understanding of the suffering that they go through. Ripping a foal from its mother as a way to wean is torture. I also felt that by avoiding the trauma I would create a super horse that could connect with humans. What I discovered was that less training was needed, and horses that were weaned without trauma were amazing partners as family pets and as performance horses. They excelled at the top of their ability.
I began the process of weaning at around three months, or when the foal was interested in eating along with his mother. Inside their 80 by 50 foot paddock I set up a corral that was about 12 by 16 foot. There was a bar across the gate that the foal could go under, but it restricted the mom from entering. This way the foal got to practice separation on his or her own terms and the mother could call the foal out if she needed to.
At the afternoon feeding time I put the foal’s food down in his corral and waited for the foal to enter. Then I put the mother’s food down on the other side, close to her foal. When they were both focused on their rations, I closed the gate so the foal could not get out. When the foal discovered that he or she was locked in and wanted out, I would open the gait. (This act built trust in the foal. Instead of taking him from his mom, I was returning him.)
If he had not finished his food I would lock the gate so he could not get back in. The foal was fast to learn that he needed to finish his food before he left. If mom became concerned about the separation, I would accommodate her by returning her foal to her. In no time they had the routine down. (The adjustment time was in the hands of the foal and his mom.)
I increased the time before opening the gate when the foal asked to be let out. This built tolerance in the foal to accept being away from mom, without trauma. When the foal could wait for 20 minutes with no concern, after he had finished his food, it was time to move on to the next step. I would feed mom and lead her foal to the next paddock where the foal’s food was waiting. I would return the foal to mom as soon as the foal was finished. In some cases, I would return the foal even before he was finished so he would look forward to returning. The foal was now around four months old.
By six to eight months, they were no longer worried about being separated and they no longer looked for one another. The foal became interested in exploring life without mom. By six to eight months, mom and offspring no long experienced anxiety being separated for any length of time. The foal lost interest in nursing and the mother dried up.
Weaning foals in this manner, along with shaping the character of the foal with the Waterhole Rituals, turns out a horse that is quite different than a foal that has experienced trauma. The foals that were weaned in this manner naturally enjoyed human company and training. Being lead on a rope is quite natural to them, and they shy less or not at all. They are more willing, secure and optimistic. They get into trailers easily without the need for training. They accept saddles easily, and less bomb proofing is needed. Being ridden was natural to them. Of course there were some that took a bit more care, still they took less care than horses that had experienced weaning trauma.
I think it is very important not to keep a mom and foal together for too long as they will develop a dependence on one another. If left together too long, it takes someone experienced to remove this dependency without causing trauma. Many decisions need to be made on the spot; when to allow and what not to allow. For adult offspring or two horses that experience separation anxiety, I use the same system I do for weaning a foal along with the Waterhole Rituals. I got the same good results…no trauma experienced.
What I wish for every horse lover is that they could experience a horse that was raised without the trauma of separation, to feel what a horse is REALLY like. I wish for horses, that their relationship with humans offer them a better life and that trusting them would be natural.
I really enjoyed Caroline’s book Naked Liberty – you can pick up that book on Amazon here.
Back to Jenny
Supporting a horse to let go of separation anxiety is a beautifully bonding experience. It takes Feel and Connection and two way communication. 🙂
If you’re new to us here, then grab the The Key to the Kingdom of Horses video – it explains Feel in a way that I guarantee you haven’t seen before.
And if you’ve seen that already and now you’re ready to develop an IN DEPTH Feel and connection to solve all kinds of “problems” when they arise – including separation anxiety and the other causes of the herdbound horse – then have a look at our Fast Track program.
BUT…
If all you want to do is solve this separation anxiety problem and go back to your same old, same old way of doing things, then I doubt that we’re going to suit you. It’s a LIFE CHANGER. But if you’re interested in how helping your horse to find happiness and confidence throughout their whole life, will spill over into a happy life for you too, then have a look here.
Here’s the link to the article where I talked about the standard practice weaning that caused my Bobby’s separation anxiety to be so big that the horse next door going out to pony club had him needing the vet.
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