Study urges breeders to rethink how and when foals are weaned

A study from the University of Nottingham, led by researcher Joanne Dwyer and published in ScienceDirect, has concluded there is an "urgent need" to change long-standing attitudes towards weaning foals. The research surveyed professionals at equine welfare charities who reviewed footage of common weaning practices, and found a shared frustration: horses continue to arrive at their organisations, sometimes as adults, showing separation anxiety that traces back to how they were weaned as foals.

Abrupt weaning, where mare and foal are separated suddenly and the foal is often housed alone, remains widespread despite evidence that it causes lasting behavioural problems, including stereotypical behaviours linked to isolation. By contrast, research cited in the study found that foals weaned later and more gradually, more in line with how wild and semi-feral populations naturally separate at around nine to ten months, showed less stress, better growth and skeletal development, and improved social development. Rebecca Mounsey of the Royal Veterinary College, discussing related work at the British Equine Veterinary Association congress, pointed to the first six months of a foal's life as a particularly sensitive growth window.

For breeders, the practical recommendation is to move towards progressive weaning: starting with brief separations and lengthening them gradually, rather than parting mare and foal all at once, with Dwyer suggesting a window of around seven to twelve months as healthier for most foals depending on their circumstances. The study's authors encourage breeders to treat weaning as something to tailor to the individual mare and foal, and to track and share outcomes, such as reduced stress responses or improved long-term temperament, as the evidence base continues to grow.