Suggestions needed...

[Bonny]

I have a pintaloosa pony mare, she is 9 yrs old, maiden. I dont seem to be able to get her in foal to my stallion. She started showing in January, which I didnt expect her to. She bred in feb, March and now again in April. Her cycles are between 21 & 23 days apart. But she only will breed 2 days then she will skip 5-7 days and breed again for one day. not return to breed again for 21-23 days.

I am not sure if she is still just transitional, or if something else might be going on. My stallion has already settled my other mare and one outside mare, so I know its not him. She is very difficult to dectect heat in.

Maybe I just need to give her a few more months? Then if she doesnt settle, get her re evaluated? Maybe let her just run with him?

 

[Riverdance]

I would run her with him. You get better results when they are able to pasture breed.

 

[Bonny]

Ive never pasture bred before, Ive always hand bred. After the first pony I got that was bred who knows when I didnt want to even be in the when is she due situation...

So If I do pasture breed, would I just pull her out and have her checked at the end of summer for pregnancy? Not really sure how to do this.

 

[HGFarm]

You can have your vet draw blood to check her hormone level or check to see if she is even producing an egg. Sounds like her hormones are just messed up perhaps. They can kind of tell you where she is in her cycle and when I good time to breed her is. Since you probably live in a fairly mild climate, I am not surprized that she started cycling in January. We have some that cycle year round because of the climate here.......

 

[Riverdance]

I pasture breed most of my mares. You can tell by their bags about when they are due. Since there can be over a month spread in acceptable foaling time, it does not matter if you know to the day, as your going to go by bag and body looks anyway.

 

[Mona]

This sounds just like the reproductive problems I had with one of my mares many years ago. She wopuld do the same thing...she seemed she was in heat more often than not. Would breed, then stop, then days later would stand again. My vet palpated her to make sure she was not in foal, then gave her a couple shots. They were prostgrandulin (not sure of the spelling) and HCG. The first one was to have her release her egg and "clear" things out, and the next one I had to give so many days later that was used to bring her into heat. I may be wrong on the names and times and exact reasons, but your vet will know. I only had to do this once through all my years of raising mins, and was so many years ago I really don;t remember the exact details of it all. I do know she had that foal, and another after that.

 

[Bonny]

Thanks yall.

She is the lowest on the ranking in our pasture and when she shows to the stallion its very mild. I am torn between timing and submissive breeding . I didnt take her to the stallion in between the 21-23 days, so possibly I missed the true heat and she was just letting him cover her, from submission.?

This quiet heats are new to me, typically when my mares are in , they will show to him when he nickers from his pen, they dont even have to be close.

Your right riverdance, on breeding due dates, I watch any way.... So maybe the best solution would be to let her stay with him for a few months, then check her to see if she is in foal. If not then at that time the vet can do the shots That Mona has suggested.??

I appreciate your replies.

 

[Mona]

Keep in mind though, that even if you do see the stallion cover her several times, she could keep coming back into heat almost non-stop. That could possibly cause you to lose an entire foaling season. Getting her checked now, would help increase your chances of a foal for next yearn if it is a reproductive problem. Also keep in mind that pasture breeding makes it VERY difficult to pinpoint precise foaling dates for the following year.