We're now successfully weaned our little blind foal, Brynn, and it went without a hitch. Regular blog readers may recall that baby Brynn has several medical problems, including a hole in her heart, an ectopic ureter (one kidney is sending urine to her uterus and not her bladder), and malformed vertebrae in her neck. But so far she is doing just fine, and growing ... and growing!
Because her neck is so short -- she literally can't reach the ground with her mouth -- we have to pile up hay so she can reach it. For the past couple of months this meant feeding her separately from her momma during the day, or the mare would have eaten all that hay instead. (And her Mom was quite the pig!) So Brynn spent her days in a pen next to her momma, happily munching away, and then we'd put her back with momma at night to nurse. Thus the weaning process started early and gradually.
So when the time came to say goodbye to her momma, Brynn wasn't upset at all. We expected at least a little crying and vocalizing, but she didn't make a sound. Nor was the mare upset, either! When the folks came to pick up the mare, Alayne and I walked her out to the trailer and calmly loaded her. She didn't even look back towards Brynn's pen (okay, so putting some grain in the feed manger in the trailer kept her focused!).
With the mare in the trailer, I slipped a halter on Brynn and walked her through the corrals to her new stall in Lena's Barn. It was an adventure for her, and before long, Brynn was inquisitively exploring her stall, smelling the new smells and feeling her way along.
As the trailer left with momma on board, Brynn had her head buried in a new pile of hay. This may have been the most stress-free weaning ever!
(Click on photo for larger image.)
Baby Brynn certainly has grown since the last photos you posted. I'm so glad to hear she had an easy parting from her Mama. You all did a great job with that situation. My hat's off to all of you for making it so easy for both of them.
Hugs,
ginger & Tobias
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | October 31, 2006 at 01:11 AM
Love and continued healing to baby Brynn and love to her momma as she returns home.
Posted by: Roz | October 30, 2006 at 11:34 AM
Brynn has certainly grown since I last saw a picture of her!
I'm so glad she and her Momma had an easy parting. Brynn probably feels quite grown up in the barn with full grown horses.
Good luck to her in her new surroundings!
Posted by: Leilani | October 30, 2006 at 10:07 AM