APRIL 2021 THE RIDER /27 ^Between The Ears^


By Ellie Ross The


psychological


stress of weaning foals is often overlooked and over- ridden by the belief that foals should be weaned by 6 months of age. Certainly if a mare has been bred, it is harder on her to be nursing and pregnant at the same time, but there is usually no reason that weaning has to be abrupt. So why are folks in North America so quick to wean their foals? Re-


stalls than it was amongst the group that were put to- gether in a pen. No surprises there. However, in addition to the stress levels rising higher among the stalled weanlings, their immune systems were lowered more than the weanlings in the group, leading to increased susceptibility of infectious diseases. It should also be noted that there were meas- urable physiological differ- ences among different breeds.


foals showed continued high levels of vocalizations and abnormal suckling be- haviour, which should be noted that the abnormal sucking behaviour was ex- hibited since the imprinting session. It was not observed in any of the foals that were not imprinted. While on the topic of imprinting, foals that were imprinted were slower to stand, nurse, had abnormal suckling and half in the study group trembled. They showed strong de- pendency on their mothers and were less likely to play or explore their environment and were more likely to dis- play agnostic behaviours (biting, kicking etc). The ef- fects of imprinting had gen- eral consequences, as does with human mothers and ba- bies with newborns being weighed, needled, dried off, wrapped etc. before being allowed to bond with the mother. These early adverse neonatal experiences can cause long term behavioural issues and a much higher vulnerability to stress in both humans and horses. In natural weaning, a


foal would be weaned from its mare at a year of age or when the next foal was born. In forced weaning, usually done at 6-7 months of age, it is usually an abrupt rupture of the mare-foal bond.


Diet also appeared to


search has clearly shown us, as have the screaming foals and mares, that separation is stressful. Of course we al- ready knew that. Research has also concluded that how a foal is weaned, can have a significant impact on its im- munity. In one group stud- ied, the weaned foals were put all together in a familiar pasture and another group, the foals were placed in in- dividual box stalls. Stress levels were remarkably higher among those that were put individually into


Another interesting


fact was that foals that had been imprinted at birth, showed remarkable differ- ences in behaviour. Im- printed foals tended to be more dependent on their mares, stayed closer to their mares, spent considerably less time interacting with their peers and were less likely to involve themselves in social play. On day 1 of weaning, all foals were vocal and showed signs of similar levels of stress. On day 2, more of the imprinted


have an impact in reducing weaning stress of foals. Two groups of foals were stud- ied. One group received pasture, hay and pelleted concentrated feed (not corn based) while the other re- ceived only pasture and hay. The behaviour data col- lected indicated that foals that were fed concentrates before and after weaning, coped better with weaning than the foals not fed con- centrates. Stress increases the body’s need for miner- als. All the foals in these studies were of good body condition, indicating that they received sufficient nu- trition with their pasture and hay. Once weaned, their needs increased and that could only be met with the pelleted feed addition to the


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The Science behind Weaning Foals and the Mistakes Commonly Made


diet. A fat and fibre based feed added to their diet was most beneficial. Foals fed a corn or starch/sugar based diet had more stress. Colts vs Fillies. Who is more


stressed? There was no indication that stress was higher for one sex over the other. Colts did however spend more time eating than fillies did. The practice of pairing weaned


foals in stalls was previously believed to reduce stress but that was based solely on the reduction in vocalization. Upon studying the behaviour of paired foals, the reduction in vocalization was the result of the weanlings being engaged in agnostic and even aggres- sive behaviour with one another. Therefore, pairing weanlings in


stalls has shown to have no advantage in the reduction of weaning stress. So what is the least stressful


method to wean foals? • Do not imprint them or interfere in the neonatal bonding • Provide at least one other mare and foal pair to allow bonding with a peer • Supplement feeding an appropriate concentrated pellet diet (fat and fibre based) in addition to hay and pasture prior to weaning


Sierra Acres Equine Assisted Learning Centre Setting Healthy Boundaries for your Mental Health


By Anne Porteous The topic of how to


set boundaries seems to arise with increasing fre- quency. I think this is re- lated to the amount of stress many of us face, and the sense of being overwhelmed with the uncertainty that lies ahead. It is natural for us to want to help others, but we must also take care of our- selves.


Just yesterday, a


client said to me “what a week, everywhere I turned I was faced with negativity. By Thursday I felt like I just wanted to hide away by my- self!”. We cannot always be in the right headspace to help others and there may be times when instead of push- ing through, you need to take a step back. It is up to you who


you invite into your circle


and how close- boundaries can be flexible depending on the person and the envi- ronment or occasion. You need to choose who and when they are to be in your circle of comfort. If setting boundaries is a new concept for you, and it is for many, you may have to do repeat- edly. Key here is that you must believe in your bound- ary and mean it. The inten- tion behind your action is especially important and it takes practice. Clients who come to


my facility and work with the herd can experience es- tablishing and maintaining their boundary. First, they establish how large or small the boundary needs to be for their comfort. I then ask the person to keep the horses outside of their boundary. I am amazed how some of the horses will respect and stay clear of the person, but I do have one horse who is the “do you mean it?” character. This exercise demonstrates that you can expect people to test your boundary; friends and acquaintances may push on your ‘new boundary’ testing you to de- termine if you really mean it. Know in your heart that this is the boundary you have established; practice seeing the person outside your circle and stand firm. If people will not take no for an answer, do not get meaner, rather get firmer by increasing your energy. See the result you want, feel that result and then work to that result. Now if you can pro- tect and maintain a healthy boundary with a horse, you


can certainly accomplish this goal with people. U n d e r s t a n d i n g


healthy boundaries can help you to make good choices in your personal and work-re- lated relationships. Forget about trying to control other people; setting boundaries is about YOU. It is about set- ting limits on what you can tolerate and what you need to protect your mental health. Keep in mind when others do not respect you saying “No” they are telling you that you do not matter; your feelings do not matter to them. I believe everyone matters! Perhaps if you have people in your circle who will not respect your boundaries, you need to consider how far you let them in to your circle. No-


respect”; “you are not re- quired to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm”. Be clear and concise


and remember you do not need to justify your reasons for setting your boundary. Remember the Golden rule? Do on to others as you would like them to do to you- this is a two-way street, meaning others respect your boundaries and you respect theirs. Check in with your- self which will help keep your relationships healthy from both ends. Anne Porteous,


owner of Sierra Acres Equine Assisted Learning Program can be contacted on Facebook, or anneporte- ous@sympatico.ca


For


more information about services go to www.sier-


• Allow natural weaning to occur at one year of age or when the next foal arrives OR • If that is not possible, introduce short term separations from the mare, grad- ually increasing in time and distance • If in a group, only removing 1 or 2 mares at a time for short periods vs. all at once • Be sure to introduce being in a stall


prior to weaning • Do not pair a weanling in a stall with another weanling • Allowing wean- lings to be together in a familiar pas- ture was less stressful than housing alone in a stall but being alone in a stall is less stressful than being paired in a stall. The traditional abrupt weaning


of foals is the most stressful method and should be avoided if possible.


tice I am not saying ‘un- friend’ them rather keep them at arms length. Some


comments


about boundaries from my clients: “You can be a good person, with a kind heart, and still say no”; “a lack of boundaries invites a lack of


racres.ca Anne Porteous, owner


of Sierra Acres Equine As- sisted Learning Program can be contacted on Facebook, or anneporteous@sympa- tico.ca. For more informa- tion about services go to www.sierracres.ca


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