Weaning A Future Champion
Weaning a thoroughbred racehorse is necessary for the journey to the winner's circle. Mill Ridge Farm has a team of experts dedicated to raising winning racehorses for sale, starting from birth. When buying a thoroughbred racehorse, it is important to understand the weaning process and how it impacts the development of a champion.
Mill Ridge is a trusted partner when it comes to raising horses. As a thoroughbred racehorse nursery, the horse's well-being is the top priority and the heart of what we do. Mill Ridge provides excellent care for mares throughout their pregnancies and during the delivery of their foals, who remain by their mothers' sides until they are ready to be weaned.
Thoroughbred racehorses require specific care to develop their full champion potential. Breeding from certain mares and stallions delivers the best chance for the horse to become a future race winner. To achieve success, these thoroughbred horses follow a timeline from birth. The weaning process begins earlier for thoroughbred horses and is a critical stage when preparing a future racehorse for sale.
What Is Weaning?
Thoroughbreds up to one year in age are called foals and reside with their mothers until they become weanlings. The weaning process happens when you separate a baby from its mother around five months of age. While it can be stressful for both mother and foal, it is a natural process of maturation. During weaning, the foal grows to be independent, socialize with other horses, and interact with humans. Exercise and proper nutrition are also vital in preparing future racehorses for sale.
When Is The Foal Ready For The Weaning Process
Mill Ridge considers several factors in determining when the foal is ready to begin the weaning process. The foal should be around five months old, current on all vaccinations, and in good overall health. The horse should have a good appetite for eating grass and forage designed for growing foals.
The foal also needs to demonstrate independence from the mother and show interest in playing and socializing with other foals. If the foal has an unfavorable disposition, it may be a good idea to wean early. Foals should be comfortable and relaxed around humans before weaning. Haltering, brushing, and leading the foal while still by the mare's side will be helpful for later training.
Weather
Weather also plays a role in the weaning process. Foals are turned out when it isn't too hot and humid and there is no stormy weather on the horizon to cause more stress for the foal. Foals born in the spring tend to be a little older and stronger when it is time to be weaned. Recent studies show that foals born during January and February have a different growth pattern than horses born in the spring, presumably due to the seasonal shortage of green grass.
Peak nutrition is essential in developing young athletes, and Mill Ridge takes these factors into account when evaluating a foal for weaning. If necessary, the farm staff will create a complete food plan, prepared ahead of time to incorporate supplemental feeding into the foal's diet.
Weaning Systems
There are several different types of weaning methods. At Mill Ridge, we follow the least stressful approach for mother and baby. In the horse industry, the breeding farm determines the weaning method and the number of mares and foals to be weaned.
Mill Ridge uses a gradual method where mares and foals are separated two at a time generally from a herd of twelve mares. The weaning process begins in the morning during the regular feed time and two mares are removed. The foals have grown a friendship and bond with other foals in the herd and this provides comfort when the mares are removed from the herd. This field of mares and foals, referred to as a herd, stays together until there is only one remaining mare with the foals. This mare acts as a babysitter and allows the foals to grow a stronger bond among themselves. We refer to these foals as weanlings once they have been separated from their mothers.
Growing With The Herd
Weanlings remain at Mill Ridge Farm for boarding services and are given a generous amount of turnout time to exercise and socialize with the herd. Mill Ridge observes them for the characteristics of a future champion as their personalities develop and they become comfortable with people. Running and playing with the herd is natural for them in this early stage of life. Over the generations of the thoroughbred, the competitive spirit has continued to evolve.
Growing up in the rolling hills and open spaces—where weanlings develop and play—promotes bone development and competitiveness. The farm provides the foundation for horses to thrive through its healthy grasses and ample turnout space on the leg-strengthening hills. These time-tested methods of raising foals continue to produce the expected results—strong and healthy racehorses for sale.
Mill Ridge Farm has nurtured racehorses on the same land for six generations. Hal Price Headley saw the potential for horses in the fertile ground where Mill Ridge—formerly Beaumont Farm—operates today.
Buying a Weanling
Many paths may lead to owning a thoroughbred racehorse. Potential investors can get started in the industry by purchasing a weanling, yearling, or two-year-old. Racehorses are for sale at any time during their life. Weanlings can be acquired generally at a lower price than a yearling because they are younger and have more unknown characteristics. A buyer considers a weanling knowing it has potential and likely better value. Buying a weanling also means making decisions about boarding and upbringing. Thoroughbred weanlings get the optimal benefits from large grassy pastures with other weanlings, paired with the best care and training possible.
A History of Producing Champions
The Mill Ridge Way works and has a long track record of success. At Mill Ridge Farm, we see ourselves as a nursery for young horses because we don't train horses to race on our farm. Our goal is to prepare young horses to race by giving them the environment they need to thrive and develop, starting with the weaning process and, in an ever-growing number of cases, resulting in the advent of future champions. "The Mill Ridge Way" has created many success stories, including Kentucky Derby winners, Horses of the Year, and raising or selling 36 Grade 1 winners since 2000.
Interested in learning more about broodmares, foals, weanlings, and two-year olds? Want to see how they are raised for yourself? Schedule a tour of Mill Ridge Farm today through Visit Horse Country.