How much bigger can the stallion be than the mare?

[healinghoovesfarm]

Hello. We have a miniature mare, Minnie Pearl who is 27.5inches tall. We have been looking to breed her. She has been bred and had a foal once before we got her. However, the owner had never bred and had no idea she was pregnant until she went to feed in the morning and found the foal dead. It had been a 29 degree night and the sac was to thick. I just wish we could of gotten her a little bit earlier than we did and we would have been able to save it. So, how much bigger can the stallion be than the mare? We have been looking to purchase a stud, but the smallest we have been finding are around 33-34inches. Is that to much bigger then Minnie who is 27.5inches? Will it cause anything to go wrong? Thanks in advance.

 

[chandab]

While many will say the stallion can be "x" inches bigger than the mare (the number depends on who you talk to), the build is also very important. A slight build stallion is a better choice for small mares. Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable, at all, with a 33" stallion covering a 27.5" mare; I wouldn't go bigger than a 30" stallion for a mare as small as Minnie Pearl (and he better very slight build, and well put together), so many things can go wrong, including loss of mare (happens even with larger mares).

 

[Miniv]

Ditto to what Chanda said......It's the BONE of the stallion that also needs to be considered, ie. REFINEMENT. Plus, the build of the mare.....ie. her length of body and the width of her pelvis. I also think that a 27.5 inch mare versus a 33 to 34 inch stallion is a major difference. The smaller the mare, the more cautious I'd be because from personal experience, the more can go wrong.

 

[healinghoovesfarm]

Thank you. We too have thought that that is way to big.

 

[Magic Marker Miniatures]

Also look into parents of mare and stallion.

We have a stocky 30" mare that was bred to a refined 29" stallion. Her first filly was small and refined. As a yearling she is still very tiny and refined. Her foal this year was big. Do to the foal havibg contracted stifles, it was a very difficult birth. Mare is fine but we lost the foal 24 hours later.

Looking back at the parents of the two horses, the stallions parents were no taller than 31". The mare, on the other hand, had taller parents. Dam was 32" and sire was 33.5". The foals size reverted back to his grandsire and granddam. Foal would have matured close to 32".

We also bred two mares several years ago. One mare was 32" bred to a 30 1/4" stallion. Other mare was 30", bred to a 30 1/4" stallion. Both foals were huge and matured close to 35-36" tall.

 

[Jean_B]

I agree with the others. I don't care how many inches difference. If the stallion is somewhat taller but very fine-boned (and being skinny does NOT constitute fine-boned), and has a history of producing very fine-boned babies, even out of heavier boned mares, I would consider using him.