How old?

[Trewsers]

Hi there, how old is too old to put a mare in foal? I am just curious - as somebody I know reckons they know somebody how is breeding from a 27 years old :eek: I don't know but that sounds a tad old to me??!

[baxter]

depends on whether the mare has been used as a brood mare....
i personally would not put a "maiden" mare in foal after the age of around 14/15.

[eventerbabe]

i'm no breeding expert but i've always been told that a mare should be reasonably young, particularly if its a first foal as there can be complications. my friend lost her mare when she foaled. she was about 17 and it was her first foal, there were some complications and mum didn't survive. baby did though :) i believe its also harder to get them into foal as they get older. suppose its a bit like pregnancy in humans, the older the mum, the greater the risks.

[Trewsers]

Hmm, thanks for the replies! So, if I wanted to put Storm in foal (don't at the moment its only a thought ;) ) she wouldn't be too old in a couple of years? She's 7 ish at the moment. Well, its something to think about :)

[Mehitabel]

mid-teens is about as old as i'd like to breed from a maiden mare. while vet technology improves al lthe time, it is riskier for an older first-time mum, both to get pregnant and to carry baby to term and give birth with no trouble.

once she has had some though, she can carry on for much longer - our 2 broodmares are both mid-20s.