Riverdance
Well-Known Member
At 2 years old the mares are just too imature to be able to foal correctly. Especially if they are on the smaller side.
I am ashamed to say I too bred some 2 year olds,(I was told by some big time breeders that in Minis it was OK to do that.) plus I bought a 28" 2 year old who was bred (now I would never have bred her at 2 myself, being she was so small). The following winter I ended up with 5 miscarrigages and two distocias. All were two year olds and the two distocias were two smaller mares, one being the 28" mare and the other being a 31" mare.
After that horrible winter I did a lot of reasearch and found that no matter what type of horse, be it big or small, breeding a two years old is like having a 13 year old human child getting pregnant. Everything could be just fine, but they are at a higher risk for complications and/or misscarriage.
I have not bred a 2 year old since and the two that had distocias, one got a full year off before I bred her again, the smaller one got 2 years off before she was bred again. Both got pregnant again, one foaled a nice colt last year, the other is due to foal this year.
To me it is not worth loosing a good mare either by death or scar tissue from complications of distocia just so that I can get a foal by her a year early.
I am ashamed to say I too bred some 2 year olds,(I was told by some big time breeders that in Minis it was OK to do that.) plus I bought a 28" 2 year old who was bred (now I would never have bred her at 2 myself, being she was so small). The following winter I ended up with 5 miscarrigages and two distocias. All were two year olds and the two distocias were two smaller mares, one being the 28" mare and the other being a 31" mare.
After that horrible winter I did a lot of reasearch and found that no matter what type of horse, be it big or small, breeding a two years old is like having a 13 year old human child getting pregnant. Everything could be just fine, but they are at a higher risk for complications and/or misscarriage.
I have not bred a 2 year old since and the two that had distocias, one got a full year off before I bred her again, the smaller one got 2 years off before she was bred again. Both got pregnant again, one foaled a nice colt last year, the other is due to foal this year.
To me it is not worth loosing a good mare either by death or scar tissue from complications of distocia just so that I can get a foal by her a year early.