Mares

[TTF]

[SIZE=12pt]I know there are multiple threads going on about how old a horse should be for this and that right now, but I have been wondering how old you would breed a mare for this first time. Or does it not matter? I've heard that if you plan to keep a mare for breeding you should breed her at least once before she reaches age 10. Just curious - is this a fact or an opinion? [/SIZE]

How old was the oldest maiden mare YOU had/have?

 

[kingminihorses]

Good question, I was wondering the same thing too. Also, what is the youngest age you would breed your mare? ...4 years old? or is that too young?

Also...this is kinda beside the topic but when is a miniature finished growing? at age 3?

TIA guys!

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Most breeders will not breed until 3 or 4 at the earliest.. I think what is more important to consider than age is the maturity of the filly, both mentally and physically..

 

[Joanne]

I would certainly hope they had a first foal by 10 years old. Also, if there has been a long time between foals it can be harder to get them in foal again.

As to the age at which we beed a mare it depends on their height, stature, and maturity.

Some of the smaller mares that are under 30 inches we have waited until they are 5 to breed them.

The earliest we breed a taller mare is three years old, but only if they have an ample hip and have filled out. Some three year olds will not get pregnant which I guess is nature's way of saying they are not ready yet.

 

[anita]

We have 25 broodmares between 3- and 20 years

We breed our mares not under 3-4 years it depends on the horse some are not bred with 4 years.

For me the Miniature horse is finish with 5 years.

Hope I could answer your question

A

 

[eagles ring farm]

We have a mare that had her first foal when she was 12 in 05'

and had a filly this year (07) at 14 and she has gotten in foal on the first breeding both times and is the best mom you could ask for she was just shown for many years before that and the owner didn't own a stallion

so she just enjoyed her as a show horse

 

[Becky]

I have a mare that I purchased for a bargain price likely because she had not had a foal that I am aware of. She had her first foal this year at 13 years of age.

I prefer to wait until a mare is 3 years of age before breeding.

I would purchase an older maiden mare (as I have) if they have passed a thorough reproductive examination.

 

[chandab]

Granted she was a full-size, but my AQHA mare had her first foal at 8 and her second at 15 (only two times bred). Her daughter had her first at 7, and I have no plans of breeding her again.

Many saddle horses don't have their first foal til after they are 10, as they have been busy with under saddle work or other training, etc.

 

[maestoso]

One barn I boarded at bred their 18 yr old arab, she was a maiden mare. They owned the stallion, and the two spent the summer together in a paddock. She foaled with no problems. This is not the norm, but it is possible, but they had their vet OK the breeding efforts before they started.

A farm down the road bred a 2 yr old mini mare this year. This is also not the norm. But this mare was very mature, looked and acted like a mature mare, and she was certainly more "ready" for the breeding than any mare I have ever seen. She was not ultra-sounded, and she was only bred twice. She appeared to show some signs of being in heat but nothing too tell-tale, so it will become a bit more obvious in the next few months.

NOTE: I believe(AMHR people correct me if I am wrong) that AMHR requires the mare to be a 3 year old to be bred, if the foal is to be registered. AMHA requires that the mare be 3 when the foal is born for it to be registered. Which means if you breed them as an older 2 year old, the foal will be legal(this is how I understood the rules, again, if somebody knows otherwise feel free to chime in). IMO, most 2 year olds would not be mature enough to breed anyway, but there is always an exception.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Yearlings can will and do get in foal, as the "norm" as it were, when people are daft enough to run fillies out with colts- it happens all too regularly, as we all know.

Many years ago we had an Andalusian mare, a maiden, come in bred at 21- she had been a circus horse, we were sure it was her first foal (it was also her only foal!!)

She foaled out OK- it was not a risk I would have taken if I had had a choice but she was alright, she needed no more than the normal midwifery and we did wean the foal early (by our standards then- ie three months) as the mare was just not holding her ground.

If everything is taken care of, if the mare is already bred or her genes are important to the breed, older maidens can and do have foals with no problems.

I believe all sorts of studies have been done about the optimum age to breed first foals etc but at the end of the day it is purely a judgement call on the owners behalf- the mare may or may not get in foal, she may or may not be OK.

 

[Margaret]

I know that in order for a AMHR foal to be registered, the registered dam and sire must be at least 3 years old. So if an R- mare had a foal eariler than the age of 3 the foal would need to wait til the dam or sire turned 3 to be registered.

I once bred a mare just before her 3rd birthday and she was well into her 3rd year by the time she foaled.. so this was not a problem when the foal was born.