Showing a mare while in foal

[1miniluvr]

Hi, I am fairly new to minis and thought this would be the place to ask a question. I have a wonderful 10 yr old mare who I would like to breed this April/May. My question is do people still show their minis while in foal? I know you don't want to the last stages of pregnancy, but what about early on? I plan on having a busy show season this summer doing local club shows, AMHR shows, pleasure shows and hopefully CDE's. I have always had big horses and I know people show them thru their pregnancy, but are minis different? A little backrgound on her: she had a foal about 4 yrs ago and she had no problems at all, she has a stocky build and she is 32.5 tall.

Any thoughts, info and opinions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Magic]

I've shown mares while they were pregnant, in all kinds of different classes including Halter, Driving, Jumping, Versatility. If they are accustomed to showing and have no problems with their pregnancy, AND they are used to exercising as they will be while showing, it is generally no problem at all. Each mare will be different, of course, and you may be showing a "chubby" mare if she is the kind that puts weight on easily, especially while pregnant, since you don't want to restrict her feed too much or overdo the exercise (especially if she isn't used to heavy exercise) but it definitely CAN be done. Two of my mares were shown at Nationals while pregnant and one received a National Championship in Versatility and the other a Reserve Championship in Country Pleasure Driving, plus many Top Tens for both.

So I say "go for it"!

 

[normajeanbaker]

The year I bred my mare(2004), I showed her that whole summer. She was bred in May and was shown through October. She continued her undefeated run in halter that whole year and was either 1st or 2nd in all her driving classes. She didn't start to look preggy until about late December, so no one even realized she was in foal. That was her 2nd foal. When I bought her, I had no idea she was in foal and showed her through October and she delivered less then 4 months later. The foal didn't make it, but it had NOTHING to do with her being shown.

I wouldn't hesitate to show any of the mares we breed. I'd think twice if the mare gets really stressed about going new places or riding on the trailer, but otherwise, I say go for it!!! My mare loves to show and is 100% showhorse, so I was better off showing her and doing what she loves other then making her sit home and getting into more trouble then she would at a horseshow

:

Jen

 

[Relic]

My mare l've used for 4 years will be 5 months in foal and driving and jumping as usual this July. Asked the track vet l work with who's a real good vet wish he also did minis and he says if the mare is in shape and used all year for those things then being in foal won't harm her or the baby. We also showed one 4 months in foal before she retired in everything and she was fine no one knew she was in foal at the shows. But there are some mares that are not okay with the showing/stress that goes with it in performance.

 

[Kim]

I also showed a mare in foal, only at the very early stages of pregnancy though - at Nationals she was not quite 2 months pregnant. She was in shape, though, and very used to showing. She loves going to shows, so the risk of stressing her was not great. I certainly would not start a show career with a pregnant horse, but if your horse is a seasoned show horse, go for it!