[myhorsies]

• I have a question about breeding. I was wondering about this because my neighbor has a stallion and he is in the pasture with his yearling and two other mares. One being the yearling's dam. Since she is old enough to have heat cycles, if the stallion was to get after the yearling (his own offspring) and she gets pregnant, will this have problems for the foal or the yearling? They think the yearling has been taken by the stallion too. From what I get this is called close breeding...am I right? I have a yearling also by that stallion and I don't want her to get near the stallion. We were thinking about putting the horses together for the winter. The neighbors have a huge pasture. I just want to make sure that if this happens to our yearling that it won't cause any problems to her or the foal. I don't think there is anything our neighbors can do know about their yearling. Any advice would be helpful. We are still learning about breeding. Thanks so much!

[cassidy]

yes the foal could end up being deformed from doing this!!

i new of a horse like that that ended up accidently having her sons foal an luckily the foal was fine but its features were a bit strange i.e it had a long nose ect

i would suggest yu maybe try an talk to the owners if you want to put your horse next to them an maybe then also you could voice your concerns about her horses breeding closely an see what she has to say for herself

[hay burner]

ooo.... not a good idea. I know if it happens in goats they sometimes can get too heads. LOL they dont surive of course. lol.

[DefinitelyADreamer]

I have a yearling also by that stallion and I don't want her to get near the stallion.

I just want to make sure that if this happens to our yearling that it won't cause any problems to her or the foal.

You should NOT have the stallions offspring in with him at all especially since they are of the opposite sex. It is very very wrong to breed yearlings, they are simply to young and not developed enough to carry a foal it is a very dangerous and extremely irresponsible on the owners behalf!!!!

Do not put your yearling in with her sire or any stallion!!!! You should wait to breed until the mare is AT LEAST 3 YRS. OLD, NO EARLIER!!!!!! 4 years is even better.

In my opinion that is way to close of a breeding, and yes the foal could have minor to major deformities. The is "line" breeding when you are breeding for a certain physical trait that only one line shows, but even then I don't believe breeders breed that close. I think they breed at leat two generations back, but I'm not 100% on that.

[myhorsies]

Thanks everyone for answering my posting. I wasn't sure whether that was a good idea to even let a yearling get near her sire. Whether it is our neighbors or our yearling. I think it is pretty careless on my neighbors part. I figured that it would cause some deformities because that can happen in so many different animals. I decided we are definately going to keep our yearling away. I know that she is too young because she is still growing herself!!! I do have another question though..... how long do mares heat cycles last and is it all year long? Thanks!

[DefinitelyADreamer]

The normal estrus cycle of the mare is about 21 days in length. Mares usually remain in heat (estrus) for 4 to 7 days and are out of heat for the other 15 days. Heat cycles often vary individually but mares tend to be consistent in the number of days in and out of heat from cycle to cycle and year to year.

Here is the link to the site: http://www.alaskahorsejournal.com/Breeding.htm

Oh, and just to clairify, even when your yearling is older you still should not place her in the same pasture as her sire, or with any stallion, unless she is of breeding age, and you are prepared to hold financial responsibility, and have the knowledge, time, commitment (meaning this is what you want, and if the foal is not able to be sold you are prepared to keep it for life)....(the list goes on and on) to raise a foal.

[4hhorsegirl6307]

that baby will most likely have some problems. the term for breeding related horses is called crossbreeding. not many horses turn out right if they are a product of crossbreeding. also if the dam of the baby will have problems also because you should NEVER breed a mare until she is at least three years old. also a stallion should never be put with other horses because they can get agressive and maybe even hurt the other horses especially if they are planning on keeping the new baby in the new pasture. if it turns out to be a colt he might be killed. i would strongly advise you not to put your filly in with the stallion because you might loose her if she becomes pregnant.

[timberline]

the term for breeding related horses is called crossbreeding

Really??
I, and everyone I know, have always used this term to refer to breeding two purebreds of different breeds; and a "crossbred" horse would be the resulting foal.

[Cierra]

That's the reason I won't adopt a mustang. I live near a BLM and we see the foals of inbreeding all the time. Some of the foals are considered "crazy", hard to handle. In the "band" there is usually just one stallion and many mares. The stallion will then take on one of the fillies to impregnate. I see too many foals that are not "right".....inbreeding is what I call it.

[harli36]

It is terribly irresponsible to do something like that. But I thought I could add something interesting here. I just recently learned about it while observing a free roaming herd of ponies. Horses in the wild don't inbreed. The stallion won't try to breed his offspring now I'm sure that it does happen occasionally but in general horses are non-incestual. Sorry to be off topic, just thought it was neat.