How old is too old to breed a mare?
A mare is too old to breed when she is unable to carry a pregnancy to term. Seems like an obvious answer, but it gets fuzzy when you throw in the fact that every mare ages at a different rate. Answering this question with a particular age would be writing many mares off when they have many fertile years ahead of them and over extending the fertile years of others. Some mares can carry foals well into their twenties, while others begin experiencing difficulties before their teens. Sub-fertility can be caused by several factors. Damage to the cervix, damage to the endometrium (uterine lining), damage to or non-patency of the vestibulovaginal seal, pneumovagina (wind sucking), and urine pooling are the most common age related physical changes. Some of these conditions can be surgically repaired to extend the reproductive years of your mare. Then, there are the frustrating mares that seem to have no apparent reason for their sub-fertility. Age related changes in their endocrinology such as
Related Questions
- I have a thoroughbred mare that I would like to breed to one of the Warmblood stallions in the Payback program. Am I allowed to buy a breeding through SHN Payback if the mare is not an Arabian?
- I have 2 mares that I may want to breed to Couleur Rubin. Do I need to fill in the mare information sheet right now or can it wait until I am ready to use the semen?
- What colour would you get if you breed a knabstrupper stallion with a piebald mare?
