could he be a daddy at 1 year old

[irishmini]

just a quick question to see what people think......

i have a yearling colt who was doing what little colts do when introduced to two in season mares....... the thing is , that was about six weeks ago and neither mare has come into season again......do you think he

has put the mares in foal already, surely he is too young???. but what else could be going on?

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

It is a possibility.

 

[Becky]

Yearling colts can and do get mares pregnant, so yes it is entirely possible! I won't run colts past 6 months of age with my mares or fillies. They can be pretty sneaky! If you have a vet who can ultrasound your mares, you might want to do that.

 

[Ashley]

Yes they can, but I dont beleive there offspring can be registured. I also highly recommend not useing a yearling as a stallion.

 

[Pepipony]

Hope the mares werent related

:

 

[HJF]

Yes, it could definately happen. Our two yearling colts have been seperated from the other horses since they were about 5 months old.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

It is possible like others have said not necessarily probable but yes possible

 

[Cathy_H]

We had a yearling get a two year old pregnant before we realized they were old enough!

 

[irishmini]

in my stupidity... i didn't think the colt was old enough to "perform". luckily, non are related, but one reason i bought a yearling was to give myself a year with my new horses to get to know them well so when foals were born( i thought in about two years time). we would all be well aquainted and the mares and foals would be fabulous to handle and manage....anyway, i will not be dissapointed if there were foals next year as long as everyone is ok.....after reading some things in this forum i am scared to breed foals, lots of things seem to go wrong.

anyway, you live and learn....don't you ? and in future if i have anymore colts, i'll know to keep them away from the ladies.....!!!!!

one more thing.....

are there any pottential problems if the mares are in foal???? god i hope not!!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

There are so many potential problems with mares in foal I do wonder how anyone ever gets any good at breeding horses

Doing it as you have done is not a good idea as I am assuming you are not set up yet for foals, nor do you appear to have the experience necessary. I would talk to your Vet about terminating them- believe me, I do not say that lightly, I hate the idea, bit it might be the better option for you.

I am pretty sure you cannot register the foals, so there would be little point in breeding from him at this point- how old are the mares??

If you do decide to go ahead, stick with this forum, as it will be a huge help to you.

 

[irishmini]

just to reply to rabbitsfizz

i would never terminate a life.

what is wrong with just getting good advice and assistance from a good vet?

my mares are 3 and 4 years old, which is a fine age to start having foals.

i don't really understand why you suggested terminations....is there some reason that a 1yr old stallion covering the foals would carry a greater risk for the mares and foals.

i am very lucky to have a wonderful set up here. infact we are building a block of stables as we speak, and to answer another point you made, i am a qualified riding instructor and worked on many yards ,including a stud farm. anyway, how else does one gain experience than getting hands on??

my intention was always to have a couple of foals, its just happened sooner than expected, if at all!!!!

the matter of registration<..why would i not be able to register, if both parents are????????

anyway....thanks or your opinion..

irishmini

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Most, in fact all, registries I know of will not register a foal when either parent is under two years old.

I think this is a very good idea.

I am sorry you are so closed to termination, sometimes it is the best, in fact only , thing to do.

I am not sure how your being a riding instructor has any bearing on you breeding foals- I am not trying to be horrid, here, it is just that breeding a colt this young is never a good thing and, well, you said yourself that you had not intended to start till next year and you were completely new and knew nothing about foaling/breeding- I think it would be a good idea to wait and see if the colt is any good, as well, which is hard to judge at one year old.

Still, it has happened and, if you are set to go ahead, I wish you the very, very best of luck.

:

 

[irishmini]

thanks for your reply. rabbitsfizz

i will be asking for help and advice as time goes on.

the riding instructor thing was just to tell you that i do know some things about horses, but i know there is no substitute for experience in these matters.

i will go ahead and try to do the best possible for my mares and colts.

i am not breeding as a business, but just for a bit of pleasure for myself and my children.

can you just explain to me better what you mean by " it's never a good thing to breed from a young colt".

what exactly are the added problems?

is there anyone else out there who has had successful foals from a young colt. give me a bit of support here!!!!

i know you were not trying to be horrible and i will keep you posted.......

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Normally you would never breed a colt until it is two years old, just as you would never breed from a mare before she is three years old- some people feel happy breeding form a two year old filly, and I have done it on occasion, but the only time I have ever bred a yearling colt was back when we were no more than kids and we had a bet on with the farrier.

It just is not good breeding practise to breed from any animal too young, and two is the generally accepted age in the horse world for breeding a colt.

A lot of people believe three or four is young enough.

 

[Joyce]

It's very much a possibility I've heard, never had the experience myself as I never ran yearling colts with mares.

 

[Jennie_07]

I also thought the same exact thing as you.....I ended up gelding him but it was to late, she was old enoff but the colt was a still birth, I am not sure why it was but I felt horrible, because it was my fault she got bred in the first place. I was so lucky that my mare lived (and yes she was checked out by a vet afterwords).

sorry for such a sad story but I just thought I would mention it.

-Jennie

 

[shane]

......

 

[irishmini]

thankyou shane and colagirl for your comments,

its nice to feel a little bit of support. .after all, surely this is what the forum is all about?? helping and supporting....and thanks shane, my colt is a fabulous little boy, i am very lucky to have got him...........hopefully next year i will be posting piccies of his gorgeous foals :aktion033:

 

[rabbitsfizz]

That was NOT what I said, would you please, for goodness sakes, stop twisting my words to suit yourself.

You just make up your mind about something and you run with it, don't you??

Could you just do me the courtesy of actually reading what I write, instead of just coming on with a preformed opinion??

Could you please tell me why everywhere I go on this forum it is not long before you two are along to tear everything I say to shreds or attempt to twist my words into something that you can belittle??

I'm sorry, Irishmini, this is NOT the sort of help that you can expect nest year,if your mares do foal, there are people on here who will actually try to help you .

 

[Relic]

Wow sounds like a bloody cat fight with some of you on here..hope you have a nice day.