Mare's foaling history or fertility issues...

[targetsmom]

With the goal in mind of reducing the chances of producing a foal, I have a couple of hypothetical questions. 1. If I have a mare (or see one for sale) that has had 14 registered foals over her lifetime, bred to different stallions, is it a fairly safe bet that she is not a dwarf carrier? Or was she just lucky?

2. On the other hand, if I see a mare that has had only one or two foals over 10 years (or a history of abortions) and she has a known dwarf in her pedigree, is that an indication tha she might be carrying a dwarf gene (maybe for type 4)??

Or is this just wishful thinking that you can tell anything from foaling history?

Thank you so much!!

Mary

 

[Arion Mgmt]

No, too many variables.

The breed in and of its self is very problematic when you try to correlate something like that. We already know there are higher rates of dystocia than a large horse breed, irregardless of dwarfism present in the foal. We know that Miniatures have a higher incidence of subfertility, and lower conception rates in mares than large horse breeds, irregardless of dwarfism. Nutrition and feeding management alone could cause a decrease in conception rates in mares, that is known already when comparing heavy or thin mares to ideal weights.

Not to mention previous owner's equine knowledge and management skills could have been nil at best, who knows.

All I can say is good luck.

John