how young

[karol ramsden]

hi just wondering if horse breeding was like dogs where they are preferencially left to have 2 seasons before they would be bred from. how young would people say was recomended as a first mating

[ShariN]

I won't breed a horse until it is mature... so 4 to 5 years old.
Breed a horse too young and you can stunt their growth, as a foal to be takes a lot out of them. Seen that too many times sadly.

[vimto92]

I didn't think a horse was fully mature untill 6/7?

[ShariN]

Depends on the breed but the soonest I would breed is 4 years old.

[blackhorses]

4 for a lighter type horses but preferably 5 certainly for draught types as they are slower growing and their joints aren't designed to take the excess weight - under 4 and the pelvis isn't mature and foals are far more likely to get stuck and experience far more problems as the horse is still a baby itself. I know some people seem to think that a younger horse means the pelvis is more flexible but that is not true at all, it is smaller simple as that, the pelvis is not a flexible thing no matter what age!! Also when a horse is still growing putting it in foal means it will put all that it was meant to put into its own body growth now goes on the foal so will end up stunting it permanently - there is also the argument from people trying to justify breeding young of there is no proof as you don't know what height it would have got to anyway but if you do it to any other animal - sheep say that have very little height difference within a breed you can always tell the ones bred early as they are far smaller and shorter than the rest of their flock and they never do as well they look weedier and are hard to keep weight on - it does stunt them no matter what the species.
Also if you leave it till they are 4 or 5 you can see wether they are worth breeding from and maybe have got them out showing etc to increase the value of the resultant foal.

[Innocence]

I'm hoping to put my filly in foal to a Friesian but not until she is at least 5 yrs.

[NuttyElk]

Just curious, but would you say there is an age a mare had have had her first foal by, if you want to breed from her?
And what age rules apply to stallions?