[Caterina]

Someone who was interested in my filly wants her to breed as a 4 year old...

My school of thought is she isnt even going to be finished growing and breeding her at that age isnt a good idea....

4 is a bit young isnt it....

[lil nicky]

uhh...depening on the breed of the horse it may or may not be ok. What breed is she ?

[Caterina]

She is a AndalusianX (Her momma was a twhXarab).
I dont think breed wise will make a difference... 4 is still 4...

[lil nicky]

yeah but for example warmbloods mature slower and I wouldnt breed them at four at all. But other breeds like tb's and qh's mature faster and I would consider it. IMO I dont see why anyone would want to breed a mare that early. My bo bred a few arabs one year when they were that age because her stud was leaving. If I had a situation where it was now or never I would consider it but I wouldn't breed just to do it.

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by lil nicky

yeah but for example warmbloods mature slower and I wouldnt breed them at four at all. But other breeds like tb's and qh's mature faster and I would consider it. IMO I dont see why anyone would want to breed a mare that early. My bo bred a few arabs one year when they were that age because her stud was leaving. If I had a situation where it was now or never I would consider it but I wouldn't breed just to do it.

on the outside they may seem like theyre maturing slower... andys are a prime example... they appear that they are maturing at a slower rate compared to like a QH... but on the inside, im sure their isnt much of a difference, give or take 6 months or so...
But either way 4 is still too young IMO, the stud she will be using is only a yearling now, so either way she will also be breeding two unproven horses...

[Little Red Dun]

Four is a common age to breed and most mares do fine. However, I certainly don't see the harm in waiting until five or six myself.

And especially if the stallion is young and unproven. Why not give him a few years to really mature and show his potential before jumping to breed him? A lot of very nice yearling colts mature into mediocre stallions.

[lil nicky]

Originally Posted by Caterina

on the outside they may seem like theyre maturing slower... andys are a prime example... they appear that they are maturing at a slower rate compared to like a QH... but on the inside, im sure their isnt much of a difference, give or take 6 months or so...
But either way 4 is still too young IMO, the stud she will be using is only a yearling now, so either way she will also be breeding two unproven horses...

I have a question...don't tb's bones grow faster? I'm NOT sayong you are wrong but i'm wondering can a horse mature faster on teh outside and not the inside...Like when u say on the inside there is not much differance it doesnt make sense to say that anything would mature slower in the outside then inside does it ? Can someone clarify

[Blistering Winds]

Originally Posted by lil nicky

I have a question...don't tb's bones grow faster? I'm NOT sayong you are wrong but i'm wondering can a horse mature faster on teh outside and not the inside...Like when u say on the inside there is not much differance it doesnt make sense to say that anything would mature slower in the outside then inside does it ? Can someone clarify

No, what you are seeing is that TB's and Qh's and other stock horses are fed to literally reach 80% of their height by the time they are 18 months to 2 years old.

They will then continue their growth (usually out)....and their joints will continue to mature.

their bones are no older, but they are longer and have reached most of their LENGTH in that time due to feeding programs.

Breeding the successful horses is leading to a more "solid" and "able" horses to withstand the feeding regimines. But they aren't "maturing" as a whole any different than a warmblood, which traditionally, warmblood owners arent' feeding them to get maximum growth. They let them grow at their pace without much interference.

[buddiebreeze]

not to mention mental maturity! It aint a good idea for a 14 yr old girl to have a baby, her body may be ready, but her mind aint. Same principle

[JBandRio]

Horse bones are horse bones - they grow at roughly the same rate. In general, the whole skeletal structure isn't done growing until at least age 6. Individual results may vary

Some lines mature faster than others, some breeds mature faster than others, and some individuals mature faster than full siblings.

Breeding at 4 is fine. The huge vast majority of growing is done, and the mare won't foal until 5. Carrying the weight isn't an issue. The foal isn't even going to demand much nutritional changes to the mare until the last trimester or so, and by then she's 5 or close to it. Feeding her appropriately takes care of that.