does having a foal calm mares down ?

my last horse was a tb and was put in foal which did calm her temperament down yes, how true this is as a reality for all horses i don't know. she had two foals.
 
My Arab had two foals and I can't say it calmed her down at all! When I got her she was 8 and a bit daft. She has calmed down with a good environment and lots of patience :D. However, she has a real issue with other horses coming near her when in a confined space, and we do think this is something to do with her being a broodmare young and having to be protective in a herd (obviously it doesn't happen to all of them!). She also still has her broodmare belly, so watch out because their shape doesn't always come back :D.
 
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Sometimes foals can calm mares down, certainly whilst they are pregnant. I have a fairly hot mare who was a chronic fencewalker and worrier and since she had her foal she tends not to be so over the top as she was before, was this down to having a foal or down to her finding her niche in life is debateable. I personally would say if you have a mare that is hot don't put her in foal in the hope that she will turn into a doe eyed gentle mare:)

Well I have known of maiden mares as old as 15 and a couple of mares older than that. It all depends on the mares health etc. I personally have a cut off age of 15 for maiden mares - just my preference as I won't breed a 3 yr old either.

As to what to put your mare to will depend on many factors. Firstly ask why do you want a foal? What discipline are you aiming to achieve? Re-sale value and can you buy a similar horse already on the ground? Then you must look at your mare very critically - just because she has a uterus doesn't mean she should be bred from. Is her conformation very good, what is her termperament like, what are her conformational faults. what is her movement like. Make a list of what you want to improve and also what you think she will improve in the stallion. Then spend time looking at potential stallions, go and see them personally. Make a short list and re-visit those stallions. Ask the stud owner as many questions as you can, how are the mares served, what do they require you to do to the mares before bringing them to stud - most will want a vet certificate to indicate the mare is clean. Even maiden mares can have a sexually transmitted infection. Ask about live foal garuntees, stud fees, livery fees handling fees etc etc.

I have had a couple of maiden mares foaling down. I have not had any problems with mine, they have been great once the foal was on the ground. You have to take care that they dont reject the foal, maybe a little confused about the milk bar, a little paitence can go a long way. Nature is a wonderful thing and instinct pretty soon helps them.
 
Most likely (from what i have read) that the mare can calm down when in foal - but if this is so then it is hormonal and therefore likely that the mare will return to her "usual" self.

There are various options including implanting a marble to imitate a feotus (sp).

R.E. maiden mares, it depends how fit the mare is. one with a hard life/poor health may not cope after 13 but there are many maidens in their late teens/early 20's.

i dont think a TB would have a problem carrying an ID - although maidens usually are put to a slightly smaller stallion, nature should dictate how big the foal gets in the uterous.

please note i only know this from my own research;) HHO has a really good breeders board
 
Does having a foal calm mares down?
If some of the behaviour is hormonally related they can be easier when pregnant. If it is that then once foal is on the ground, generally no. Peri is pretty calm to handle anyway, and was no different after she had Belle. She is quite sharp to ride but a lot of that is her training and her natural forwardness.

how old is too old to be a maiden mare ?

How long is a piece of string? :D It's variable as it does depend on the mare. An older but fit mare will have no more problems foaling than a younger mare. After their early teens fertility does start to decline. A baggy unfit older mare may struggle with a pregancy purely from the fitness POV and will probably be harder to get in foal. Peri was very fit when she went to stud as a 16yo maiden - she was competing at PSG champioships just a month before going to stud. She was easy to get in foal, I kept her fairly fit through the pregnancy and she had an easy delivery. She is now 20yo and currently almost 5 months in foal with her second and is having no bother this time, not quite as fit as she retired from competition last year but still up for a bouncy hack

what would you put a 16h fine TB with ? Peri is that height, she is a quite refined 7/8 TB. For a maiden I would go for a max of 2" taller. I used Mooiman (KWPN) who is 16.2hh but not exceptionally heavy. He crosses really well onto TB mares (ClaireUKGo on here has a lovely yearling by him from her TB mare) for a good moving sport horse type. He is marketed for dressage but my 3yo by him has a huge natural pop (she cleared a 3'9" electric fence as a weanling :eek: )

your experiences with maiden mares ? As above - peri was easy but there are no guarantees. My other mare will be going to stud next spring as a 15yo maiden, again going fit as she is still competing.

I'm another who won't breed from young mares as they are still growing and also don't have any competition record. Peri is also evidence of the old wives tales that competition horses don't produce good foals - Belle was reserve champion at her foal inspection and graded elite! When I had Peri inspected in the advisory class as a 19yo the inspectors said she would have graded elite on her inspection and performance if she had been eligible for their studbook.
 
my tb is going to an RID next year, some people like the cross to be that way round rather than ID mare tb stallion, i do

my tb/id has not calmed down in the least from having foals, she still has her days.
but in her case, her suspect temperament isnt hereditary, its from something that happened to her when she was younger, so ive no worries about her offspring inheriting a bad temper.
her 4 yr old son is a sweetheart
 
I have found that some pregnant mares can become witches, and then baggages with the foal at foot then become nicer as a yeld mare.
 
A temperamental highly strung horse is not going to calm down with a foal - it is an old wives tail, they will be calmer when in foal as they are carrying so much weight and the hormones are flowing! But after they are still the same mare and can often be far more dangerous for the owner/handler as they now have something to protect, also you are far more likely to have 2 highly strung frooties as the foal will learn behavior from mum!!:rolleyes:
I wouldn't personally bother, unless time and money are no option, with maidens older than 16 - providing they have had a breeding soundness exam and they are really worth breeding from and are in perfect health. Technically after a mare has had a year off from foaling she has as much chance of getting in foal as a maiden mare - that is why many studs don't give their older mares time off near the end of their breeding life as there is no guarantee they will take again.
As to what to put a 16Hh fine TB to - need pics of mare to see her conformational faults and weaknesses, what are you aiming to produce, and has the mare got a good competition/show/race career? If none of those then I wouldn't put her in foal or at least until we are out of a recession - the market is full of really good horses that are not selling.
Good books to read are From Foal to Full Grown by Janet Lorch and there are a few others on Amazon - read as much as you can and start saving as breeding is by far the more expensive way to get another horse than buying a youngster and it may not turn out as you want or if the worst happens you could end up with no mare and no foal.
 
We have a very nervous mare, she is not the easiest to catch and she can be a bit of a drama queen. But every foal she has had with us has been a bold, in your face little person who is the first up to see what you are doing.
 
I think your questions have been answered sufficiently by others (hopefully)

IME there are no guarantees and so breeding a foal to calm down a mare is IMO a risk I wouldn't bother with as there are too many varients out of your control i.e

What if the mare calms down but the foal inherits the temperment traits you want calmed ? Especially if the foal is a stockier version of Mum ?

Do you really think Ruby is breeding stock ?

What if the foal (as crosses of the kind you have described can) does not turn out conformationally the way you want ? Then you have a foal from an unproven mare to care for, pay for, educate and sell (and hopefully find a good home for) ..

If the foal turns out to be exactly, conformationally and temperment-wise what you want then can you care, pay for and educate it properly until it is old enough to make a riding horse (and do you want to ? You are having a few problems with Ruby and - no offence - would you be happy dealing with a boisterous, opinionated, weighty, IDx youngster ?)

I know it's not what you asked in your OP but if I were you, I'd sell the mare (who you haven't seemed to be getting on with terribly well with from the start) and buy yourself a nice, sane IDx which it seems, to me, what you have always hankered for since loosing your lovely Jester.

There is no shame in the realisation that perhaps you are just not ideal for each other - she's a nice mare but I don't think that you two have ever really been that happy with each other.
 
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I am going on the assumption that you're asking because you'd like Ruby to be calmer. If that is not the case then just ignore all of this !!

Like people, all horses are different. No matter how many mares have become more relaxed in certain ways after having had a foal, you mustn't assume that it'll happen with Ruby if you put her in foal. What if she is one of the ones who becomes a nightmare?

And that is putting aside all the questions about whether she's "good enough" to breed from.

Sorry if I have misinterpreted your question. If so, I consider myself told off now !
 
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