# What is the youngest you can put a mare in foal?



## Blue-bear (22 February 2009)

As title really!


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## clair (22 February 2009)

Can or should???

A mare can concive very early, year- 18 months on wards. 

Vets would advise not until her third year to allow to mature though.


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## henryhorn (22 February 2009)

3 is the earliest.
I was once persuaded by my husband to put a two year old in foal, it stunted it's growth and I was so cross, they are still growing fast themselves so ideally 4 is even better.


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## competitiondiva (22 February 2009)

My mare was conceived by a 2 year old colt and 2 year old filly in neighbouring fields, not planned!!!  But I wouldn't like to recommend it until a filly is a least 3 years though.


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## Aredis (22 February 2009)

Not until they are ready and this varies greatly depending on the breed and type. 

I have French and Belgium warmbloods that I will not consider mature enough until 4 but then again will be putting a 2 year old Cleveland Bay in foal this summer to foal down at 3, she will be 26 months at conception.  She is very well grown and will receive correct feeding and supplements throughout the term.


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## madmare22 (22 February 2009)

an interesting debate but i went to a talk last year, the talk was by a regarded stud vet and he had no qualms with covering 2 year old mares providing they were mature enough and correctly fed


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## JanetGeorge (23 February 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
3 is the earliest.
I was once persuaded by my husband to put a two year old in foal, it stunted it's growth and I was so cross, they are still growing fast themselves so ideally 4 is even better. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I was very tempted to put a 2 year old ID filly in foal last year in an attempt to 'stunt' her growth (she was on target to be 17hh plus!!)  I resisted, purely because I wanted to grade her first (lunging for the vetting is a bit strenuous, I think, for an in-foal mare - and there was always a small risk she wouldn't grade as a 2 year old due to a big frame that hadn't quite furnished out.)

I'm glad I didn't now as she hasn't got TOO big and looks terrific now after living out through an awful winter.


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## Angela_Wise (23 February 2009)

We do put our 2yo's in foal if they are mature enough and cycle naturally and find they are far easier to get in foal than 3yo's.  I have never found that growth rates have been stunted, with either the young mare or its progeny.  The young mares will go straight into work after weaning and are then competed at 4.  

We have been breeding from 2yo's for a number of years one of the first was Morning Cloud in 1997 who produced Dalcotes Cotehele.  Morning Cloud is now a retired Grade A (in foal) and her daugher is also Grade A.  Morning Cloud is by the TB Almoojid (Sadlers Wells) out of a part bred 15.1 mare and stands 16.1 and a bit and Dalcotes Cotehele is by Kings Composer and also stands just over the 16.1!

The irish filly we had a foal from last year has just started competing and stands 16.2 (Sire 17 and dam 15.3)  If anything IMO it helps them to mature physically and mentally.


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## cruiseline (23 February 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
an interesting debate but i went to a talk last year, the talk was by a regarded stud vet and he had no qualms with covering 2 year old mares providing they were mature enough and correctly fed 

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree and have put a couple of 2 year old in foal.


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## TrueColours (23 February 2009)

Texas A&amp;M University have a repro course that they give and one of the questions is about breeding 2 year olds and in every single case, 99% of the students say:

NO! You shouldnt breed 2 year olds! Its like letting 12 year old girls get pregnant! Its awful! Its wrong! It stunts their growth!

And he simply smiles and says okay - prove all of those allegations, and they all mumble and say well - thats what they HEARD. They havent actually seen it for themselves ... 
	
	
		
		
	


	





And he goes on to say there is NO physiological reason why healthy 2 year olds cannot conceive and cannot carry a foal to term. The most important thing is that you HAVE to remember that the 2 year olds need a specific nutrition plane themselves to continue to grow and develop AND they now have a growing fetus to support as well so you have to feed them for these very specific and demanding criteria's

he also went on to say that if the mare wasnt mature enough to conceive and/or carry, she wouldnt do so and it didnt matter how good your vet was, how well she was being fed, how super the semen was - if she wasnt ready, she wasnt ready and it was really that simple ...  
	
	
		
		
	


	





My now 3 year old perlino TB mare is in foal to my stallion and will foal out as a 3 year old mare. She conceived off the 2nd cover, as a 2 year old, she stands a SOLID 16.2hh now as a just turned 3 year old and most people looking at her think she is a full hanoverian mare or something. She is huge and VERY substantial, so "stunted growth" wasnt a concern at all. Heck - she can stop growing anytime she wants - she is quite large enough!

A friend of mine who routinely breeds her 2 year old TB and WB cross mares (and she has had 40-50 foals out of bred 2 year olds) said the biggest thing they encountered was when the foal was born. If they put the mares back out in the herd too early, the mares seemed to forget they were leaving a screaming and hungry little one behind, so they put them in their own paddocks for 5-7 days so they can bond fully before turning them out with the other mares and that cured the problem in 100% of the cases. They also encountered no difficult foalings with the younger mares, nor did they encounter even one case of the mare rejecting the foal either

I have "0" qualms about breeding 2 year olds ***IF*** they are mature enough to do so. I would never even consider breeding one that was compromised in any way or under developed, but if that was not a factor, they would be bred


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## magic104 (23 February 2009)

Do you know just because you can, does not make it right &amp; what is going on the outside bares not relation to what is happening on the inside.  There are 100's of mares put in-foal at 2yo with no outward ill effects, for me this does not make it right.  There is no right or wrong but for me morally horses have a short enough child hood.  They may well come into season at 12mths but if left to their own devices if nature does not think they will survive the foal will be lost.  My daughter (if she was sexually active) could of conceived at 13yrs, outwardly she was mature enough, mentally, no I dont think so.  I admit you cant liken a horse to a human, except as I said the thought of my rising 3yo 10/11mths in-foal then going through the process of foaling does not sit well with me.


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## ischa (23 February 2009)

i would say age 4 would be ideal but may of people seem to put them in at a 2yr


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## shirleyno2 (23 February 2009)

2 yrs if mature enough and cycling, go for a july covering/AI.


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## Fleur100 (23 February 2009)

If the filly is mature enough the earliest I will put in foal is 3yrs.


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## volatis (23 February 2009)

I've been having a debate with myself about covering one of my 2yos. I normally always leave them till 3 to cover, and covering them at 2 doesnt sit comfortably with me. But then I keep looking at this filly and thinking......


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## cruiseline (24 February 2009)

[ QUOTE ]

A friend of mine who routinely breeds her 2 year old TB and WB cross mares (and she has had 40-50 foals out of bred 2 year olds) said the biggest thing they encountered was when the foal was born. If they put the mares back out in the herd too early, the mares seemed to forget they were leaving a screaming and hungry little one behind, so they put them in their own paddocks for 5-7 days so they can bond fully before turning them out with the other mares and that cured the problem in 100% of the cases. 

[/ QUOTE ]

A VERY good point to make, as I have witnessed this too. I have found that the mares are so pleased to be out with friends, that they can whizz around and forget a baby is in tow.


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## ColourFan (26 February 2009)

What is the youngest you can put a mare in foal?

I suppose it depends on whether you are considering the mare's welfare or if you are considering how soon you can make money out of her!

If the first is of paramount importance then most professional and proper breeders will tell you not before the third year.
If the second aspect has priority then you can start making money out of a 2 year old filly ... that is if you believe in child-labour!


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