# what age do horses reach sexual maturity?



## skye123 (2 May 2008)

i keep getting told different things so if any one can help please!


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## YorkshireLass (2 May 2008)

Just like with humans... it can vary depending upon the individual.

A six month old colt is capable of impregnating a mare.... my friend colt did just this... she thought it was safe to graze it with mares Duuuuuuuhhhhh! . Just goes to show, where theres a willy theres a way!


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## Lill (2 May 2008)

See i'd quite like to know the answer to this too!! We have a yearling colt and filly, and have separated them from the mares as i was worried about this even though my friend is a vet nurse and she reckons the colt won't be any 'harm' until he is 2yo!


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## Lordy100 (2 May 2008)

Yearlings are quite capable of doing the job.


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## peanut (2 May 2008)

At what age does a filly start her seasons?


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## BigRed (2 May 2008)

We went to a vet lecture about breeding recently.  My vet said that Travellers often put their 2 year old fillies in foal.  He said it dounds harsh, but they are fully capable of getting pregnant at that age and they rarely seem to come to any harm.  

Re colts.  A couple of years ago a rampant colt foal climbed over a large 5 bar gate to get to my mare and had to be literally beaten off her by the farm labourer.


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## Tia (2 May 2008)

Most fillies will start their seasons in their first spring the year after their birth, so around 9 - 11 months old.

Young colts are capable of impregnating at under a year old; most colts wouldn't have the skills to do this, but a number do!  My colts are 10 months old right now and are going for the chop in a couple of weeks time.  I would, of course, fast forward this if any of them became amourous, but they aren't, they are very quiet and non-sexy.


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## Tia (2 May 2008)

And under normal circumstances she is probably right, the chances of it happening are fairly slim (at 12 - 18 months.  There is a much greater risk at 2) - however it isn't really worth taking the chance.


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## jewel (2 May 2008)

i know a 6 month old colt that covered a mare


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## vennessa (3 May 2008)

We had a yearling in that produced a foal the next year - would have been caught as a yearling.


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## amycov (16 April 2009)

My farrier said that colts don't generally do much harm until they're about 18months ish but they're all different so you never know.


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## Shazzababs (16 April 2009)

I bought my boy at 18 months, his owner hadn't had him done as she had been in hospital for a year.

The lady whose field he had been grazing in subsequently discovered he had covered 7 of her mares.  Unfortunately 2 of the mares died giving birth, and all but one of the foals died too. 

The Vet said it was because he wasn't really mature enough to be covering mares, but entirely capable of doing it.  He still thinks he's a stallion now, and he hasn't had the equipment for almost 10 years!


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