[SLicks&Sweets]

Howdy Ya'll

I have been presented with a great opportunity to breed My 23 year old foundation Black & White Paint mare to a foundation breed Sorrel an White Stud.

I Have consulted my Vet who assures me that she is in great health an would have no problems at all... ( after her having a through exam.)

The Stud has been known to Throw only B&W paints.. Which I would truely want .. As to start training a horse that will be ready to take over for my Mare when she becomes too old or sickly to ride. At this point we ride everyday and I am a realist knowin she wont last forever.

My Question is this.. How many of you have bred a mare over the age of 20 an how did it go? And were there any complications idicative to her age?

Thank you
Bobi

[horse_crazy]

A problem that you may have is that the mare is older, and not being bred constantly(year after year) she probably has

a. never had a baby(if this is the case I would not breed the mare...you could try but you'd be taking a risk)
or
b. has had babies...however she has not been bred for a while...and for some people when they have an older mare like this, they have trouble settling the her.

Its all up to you. Do you want to put your mare in this position? Is she healthy enough? Can you take on the responsibility of the foal? Can you pay for the breeding fee, care of the mare during her pregnancy, and after she has foaled? What if a problem arises(spelling?) can you afford that? Shots, worming, ect, ect. Thats everything that you have to take into consideration when breeding ANY age mare...more so with older ones...as they are older and might be a little bit more prone to having problems than say a 11 year old broodmare.

Good luck! If you do decide to breed, good lukc I hope that you recieve a beautiful and healthy foal. If you do not choose to breed her, Im sure that you willfind a nice black/white Paint to train and "play around" with!

[SyntheticTrust]

breeding a 23 year old mare is like a 70 year old women having a baby.. i wouldnt do it.. just because she's in good health doesnt mean things can't go wrong during delivery and she doesnt have youth on her side anymore.

[horse_crazy]

I agree and disagree with you SyntheticTrust. Comparing a horse to a human isnt correct. I know you are trying to make a connection, and that the mare shouldnt be bred. However, the way you state it, that would be like saying its wrong to breed a mare year after year, you dont see women having kid after kid. When in all actuality, horses can be bred year after year, with little to no complications. You see what I am saying? Yes, breeding an older mare is risky(our 24 year old mare has been bred for the past 3 years, thsi years foal is her last. Her health is great other than her arthritis. But she has been bred before...so her body can handle it, ect) but weather to breed a horse or not is all up to the owner. If you/or the owner takes a look at what I stated...all the $ involved,a nd what care you have to take...also taking into consideration...that the mare could have complications...or she might not. You never know until you try...and thats up to the owner, do you the mare owner want to risk that?

[SyntheticTrust]

i said it was wrong to breed year after year?

[SyntheticTrust]

my statement was just basically saying that since shes old if something were to happen the long term effects would be worse because she doesnt have youth on her side

[horse_crazy]

No, I never stated that you said that...if you re-read what I did say.......(Here I copied and pasted it for you)
"I agree and disagree with you SyntheticTrust. Comparing a horse to a human isnt correct. I know you are trying to make a connection, and that the mare shouldnt be bred. However, the way you state it, that would be like saying its wrong to breed a mare year after year, you dont see women having kid after kid. When in all actuality, horses can be bred year after year, with little to no complications........"

I said with the way that you stated your reply...you were making it sound like horses and humans are they same as far as reproducing offspring. So I made the comment to go along with yours....to give you an example of how humans and horses are not the same. Im not trying to start a fight or anything like that. You just have a different way of looking at things than I do. No problem, and as I stated I know that you were trying to make a connection....that was your way of telling the mare owner that it is dangerous, (in your opinion) to breed at the age.
I hope I straightened all that up! (If you would like to further the conversation, please PM me..lets not ruin this persons post...I think that would be unfair to them.)

[SyntheticTrust]

yeah thats a big problem of mine, i interpret things in the 100% opposite way. sorry

[Blistering Winds]

Settling an older mare is harder. The chances of her catching is slim if she has never had a foal in the near past.

Best bet, IF you go through this, is to drop her off, and use hormonal therapy to bring her in and help settle her. Costs more, but you'll have a better chance of a foal.

Also, do some research. If she is a maiden mare, AND old, she has HIGH chance of having complications. So be ready and expect the worse! I hate to say that, but it is true.

I personally wouldn't do it if she's never had a foal in the past.

Why do you want a foal out of her? Is she conformationally sound? Does she have anything considered not good in her conformation? How is the stallions? Reason I ask is I personally don't like random breedings. So I want to make sure you are making a good decision all around. Not only for the mare, but for the foal as well.

[arabianlvr87]

Didnt Cool Time84 want to breed Coolie as well? (Coolie's 20 years) There is some difference, but she said there was a small chance of bad things happening.