Weaning Colts Part 2: The Wilson Ranch
- September 21, 2017
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- Lynn Kohr
Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Uncategorized
In my first post on weaning colts, I interviewed Dr. Marshall Kohr. He talked of his recommendations on vaccinations and deworming your babies. Clara Wilson of The Wilson Ranch, founded in 1908, Newcastle WY, shares with us her knowledge from many years of raising and weaning colts.
- We feed the mares some grain while the colts are still on their sides, so the colts already know what oats are, and they have a round bale available all of the time. We wean them at about 4 months, or before hunting season starts Oct. 1.
- We might worm colts prior to weaning if their hair doesn’t look good, and maybe trim feet if needed. Worm them twice, first with Safe Guard and later with Ivermectin. Give them sleeping sickness and tetanus and West Nile after they are weaned unless one gets a wire cut.
- Fred pulls the colts around with his old saddle horse in the round pen to start them leading. We turn them together in a big pen as soon as they are leading and eating good.
- After a couple days of straight oats I add Moormans mineral pellets and some junior feed, but keep it at half oats, and feed them twice a day. They have an alfalfa round bale in their pen and a feeder with loose salt at all times.
- We usually wean them 2 at a time. We take the mare and colt into a stall and get a halter on the colt. Lead the mares out of the stall and put them across the river, and the mares usually leave. Being on the other side of the river and away from the barns, the colts can’t hear them. Some colts are pretty gentle so they don’t need much handling, some aren’t, so they need a little more time. After we wean 2, we turn them into a big pen and catch 2 more. We do this until we have all the babies leading and with the other colts that they have grown up with.
Thanks to Clara Wilson for giving us “The Wilson Way”.
Next week we will continue on with our interviews with Cheri Wardell, of Half Fast Race Horses, Wardell Quarter Horses, Moorcroft, WY.
Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Uncategorized
About Lynn Kohr
I am a barrel and pole horse trainer, giving springtime barrel racing and pole bending clinics and workshops, competing in barrel racing and pole bending futurities while marketing our horses for sale. I am a Mom of 3: Sage, Cedar, and Stratton. And wife of...