Breeding???????????

[Horse Feathers]

Do larger mares (33- 35) inches has less foaling problems than smaller mares (30-32.5) inches? I know with tiny mares you must be extra careful even when bred to tiny refined studs. My stud will probley be 30-31 inches.

 

[Songcatcher]

ANY mare can have problems if the foal is turned wrong. If a foal is turned wrong in a larger mare, there may be more room for a person to work to straighten it out. The only problems I have had foaling was with my larger mares, but I do not have as much experience as some others do. My smallest mares have all foaled without incident, but that doesn't mean it will always happen that way.

 

[Charlotte]

I would repeat what Songcatcher says. We've been foaling out minis since 1993. Almost all of our problems have been in 31" to 34" mares. Our most problem free foalers have been in the 28" to 30" range.

The two small mares that required help were a 28" maiden that I found out after I bought her had been bred to a 32" 2 year old stallion. That mare required a C section. The foal was WAY big!

this year our 28 1/4" Honey who is a very refined little thing had a late term abortion (300 days). the foal had been dead a while and was sideways. No way could she deliver that. Our vet (not a small man) got the foal out easily and said if it had been alive she would have had no problem at all.

I will say that many of our 27 1/2" to 30" mares are of our breeding and their dams were easy foalers. I do think ease of foaling can be inherited. I will be breeding 4 maidens this year that are all under 30" so ask this question again after foaling season next year. We'll see what I have to say then!

I do take care to breed Maidens to small refined stallions with either a history of producing refined babies, or if they have no get record, with a small refined pedigree.

Charlotte

 

[Becky]

Songcatcher is right. I don't think the smaller mares have any more problems foaling than their larger counterparts. It's just when they do, there is less room to manipulate. My only dystocia of the year, was a big bodied 33" mare. She's had multiple foals with no problems, but this years foal was big and he presented with one leg folded back at the knee and the head down. Fortunately, the vet was able to get here in time, reposition and get him out alive.

 

[Katiean]

Thinking a bigger mare would have less problems foaling is like thinking a bigger woman has an easier time having a baby. It all depends on the size of the opening of the pelvis.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

I'll second the others. I always have my vet palpate any new mares I get, as I have seen some 34"+ mares that she has said were much smaller internally than my smaller mares. My 28.5" mare that had her first foal this year was only bred after my vet said she was very roomy, yet I saw a friend's 35" mare get palpated and the vet said she was so small internally that she wouldn't recommend breeding her.

You cannot tell by looking at the outside of the mare!!

 

[disneyhorse]

Technically, any size mare can have difficulties foaling.

A friend of mine bred her 18 hand percheron mare to a light boned 16 hand Andalusian stallion. So with both size and body type, you would think it would be okay but nope, had trouble foaling and lost both the foal and then the mare shortly after.

The smaller the animal, though, the less room you have to "go in" and move things around...

Andrea

 

[Jill]

Any size mare can have problems foaling. When it comes to choosing stallions, along with all the conformational and type things you may want, I would focus much more on bone refinement than on height. There are some very short stallions that are built like tanks and I'd not consider breeding anything to one of them.

 

[Horse Feathers]

Thanks for all the info. So far my boy looks like he will be refined, but he may change between now and first breeding in a year or two.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I agree, but I also no longer breed anything that is under 29" to the withers.

Last year Mouse, at 32" to the withers (30 " US) had a late term abortion but the Vet was able to manipulate and get the foal out.

Mia, three years previously and Mouses sister, was not so lucky.

At 28 1/2" to the wither (27" US) there was just no room for manipulation, it was a tiny, tiny foal, just dead and it's head folded back over it's shoulder.

I lost the mare as well as the foal.

Mia had had two foals previously with no problems whatsoever.

It's OK till it goes wrong!

 

[Deb E]

I agree, but I also no longer breed anything that is under 29" to the withers.Last year Mouse, at 32" to the withers (30 " US) had a late term abortion but the Vet was able to manipulate and get the foal out.

Mia, three years previously and Mouses sister, was not so lucky.

At 28 1/2" to the wither (27" US) there was just no room for manipulation, it was a tiny, tiny foal, just dead and it's head folded back over it's shoulder.

I lost the mare as well as the foal.

Mia had had two foals previously with no problems whatsoever.

It's OK till it goes wrong!

I had a late term abortion due to a twisted cord with a 34" mare. The head and legs were back presenting neck first as well. I can't imagine that situation with a 28" mare. It took the vet a good 15 minutes working as hard as he could to get that foal out. Hope we never have that again!

 

[JWC sr.]

Each year we foal out 25 - 50 babies (68 in 2008 alone) for ourselves and others in our area. They of course run the range of size and all I can tell you is what we experience.

What everyone has said about the skeletal make up of each mare is exactly correct, also the comments about when you have problems with a smaller mare there is not much room to work with in most cases is dead on. But with that said we do see more problems with the smaller mares (less than 30") than we do with the 32" and up minis and shetlands.

Most smaller mares are bulit smaller in the pevic region and also they tend to have a lot more of the sculpted domed heads we all want for the show ring. Those two things are a recipe for problems. We get a lot of tucked heads and one leg when we do have a problem with them. Caught early those problems are the easiest to correct as long as you are there to help just a little.

The advice about using a small refined stallion on smaller and/or maiden mares is good advice also. We use a little guy that was a 30 and under reserve world champion named "La Vista Roses first" on the majority of the maiden mares as he is very refined and also throws small babies. He is worth his weight in gold at foaling time for them.

Personally I would not shy away from a good small brood mare(as we dearly love our little girls), but when you are buying one just remember the additional attention needed and prepare for them and you should be fine.

 

[HGFarm]

I have to say NO mare is safe from foaling problems, but yes, the amount of room in there can decide how quickly you are going to save your mare. I have had a couple of dystocias in the past and my mares are on the larger side. My friends have been breeding for almost 30 years and have all sizes of A and R and no one has noticed less problems in the bigger ones than the smaller ones. Size doesnt matter.