Backing my broodmare?

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izigummidgeapril

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Helloo, I'm new to the forums :)
In August/September last year I started backing a 4 year old mare - but due to circumstances I only got to the point of join up, putting the bridle and saddle on and teaching her to be lunged. These circumstances meant that from October/November until February I had no contact with the mare and her education wasn't continued... Then I bought her - before we realised she wasn't just fat.. she was unexpectedly pregnant! She had her gorgeous foal a day ago and now I have two beautiful girls! As happy as I am to have a foal - the plan was to back my horse over the summer so that when I go to university in October, I can have a loan/share. By October the foal will be 6 months old and hopefully be starting to become weaned (leaving this up to my mare, I don't want to interfere!) I am wondering whether anyone else has backed a horse earlier than 6 months after having a foal? I know it seems extreme and impatient - but I'm worried noone will want to share them if they can't ride my mare?! Any help? Ideas? Plus, I would quite like to ride my mare over the summer!
 
Don't expect to leave it to the mare to wean herself off, you will probably have to intervene.

I've known people to ride their mares with foal at feet at home quietly, after at least 3 months from foaling and after back check and gradual long lining/building up the muscles again as everything will be slack and weakened. You an do more damage from rushing a broodmare back into ridden work than you realise.

If it was me, I'd let her be a mum for 6 months, wean her, give her a few weeks and then start her off from scratch again. If she's completely green still, I'd rather not have a foal at foot around! Plus, it will only be harder to keep her attention as she'll have a lot of it keeping a check on foalie still. When it's at such a crucial point in her career ridden wise, I'd want to be taking no uneccessary risks.
I know it wasn't your plan, but what's happened has happened so need to do what's right to suit it as can't change it now. I personally think it unfair to expect the mare to work, and put everything into her foal, they're so easy to get run down at the best of times if not kept up with and weaned when ready.

Find a share yourself maybe over the summer to get your riding fix.
 
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Thank you ChristmasSparkles :) I don't want to rush her, but we've always had such a good bond I guess I just had a spark of hope that it could be done early! What would you suggest to the possibility of carrying on lunging her maybe? Just for a bit of strength? Once the foal is about 3/4 months? She's a wonderful horse and always been willing :) also - how come mares don't wean them off themselves? I'd like her to do it as naturally as possible! As this foal wasn't planned, I really wasn't prepared - but also didn't want to lose the opportunity to have my mare again! Thank you for your original response :)
 
izigummidgeapril said:
Thank you ChristmasSparkles :) I don't want to rush her, but we've always had such a good bond I guess I just had a spark of hope that it could be done early! What would you suggest to the possibility of carrying on lunging her maybe? Just for a bit of strength? Once the foal is about 3/4 months? She's a wonderful horse and always been willing :) also - how come mares don't wean them off themselves? I'd like her to do it as naturally as possible! As this foal wasn't planned, I really wasn't prepared - but also didn't want to lose the opportunity to have my mare again! Thank you for your original response :)
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For me, I'd personally hold off any work as my feelings are it being unfair to expect the mare to work as well as carry on feeding the foal. But again, that is just my own personal feelings, not fact. :)

If you wanted to carry on doing stuff with her, do all sorts of inhand work with her, there is loads you can do - do some bombproofing with her, get the foal to see things with her etc. Remember, you'll have your hands full handling and halter breaking the filly over the summer which will be more than time consuming for you! My personaly worry lunging or long lining with foal at foot would be her getting tangled up in it as they can be awkward little ******s for either getting in the way - or the complete opposite and venturing off where they shouldn't when you get a bold one and stressing mum out with where they are!

For weaning, most mares you will have to wean them yourself, done gradually. It's the most horrible part for me that I hate doing! Again, depends on the mare, but most will need weaning. Do you have plans where to keep the filly after? Have another field with youngster to keep company with etc? She can eventually go back in with mum, but have to be careful and wait till mum is completely dried up - even I've known some broodies after 2 months away from their foals, started up with milk again when reintroduced and had to be weaned all over again. Not many granted - but a few.
 
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Agree totally with CS.

TBH, if she was already broken it wouldn't be so bad but asking to break her in now she has a foal at foot is quite selfish and risking far more than it would if she hadn't got a foal. IMHO, it's an accident waiting to happen to either mare, her foal or yourself if you do this before foal is weaned; even then she'll need a good month off to recuperate, dry up and get her strength back (remember, you can't really feed her then as you need her to dry up before she starts work otherwise she'll just be uncomfortable and won't be listening to you).
If you can't wait then either sell them now (as a pair of course) and buy something else which you can ride all summer then loan out in autumn or share/ride something else in the meantime, give your mare the winter off after weaning (she's young, it will do her good TBH) and start her again next spring.
 
Thank you both :) I appreciate your advice greatly! I can totally live without riding her - I have done so far! It would just have been nice to have her ready you know? :) although my little baby wasn't planned she's gorgeous and I'm so happy to have her too! I think ChristmasSparkles, your suggestion of bomb proofing them is an excellent one! They're on a working farm and although my mare is already quite good with tractors etc - livestock reactions could greatly be improved! I didn't mean to come off selfish or impatient in the original post - just generally concerned that noone will want to help out with an un-rideable mare when I go to university (even though I'm coming hope at weekends and midweek!) thank you for your advice :)
 
I have often ridden mares with a foal at foot; it's actually good for them to be doing some fittening work after foaling. The foals usually learn quickly not to follow mum around when they are schooling, and the mare soon just focusses on the rider (most of my foals have gone to sleep in the arena while mum does her little bit of "gym" work). If you want to get cracking with your mare's schooling I see no harm in a bit of light schooling.
 
Cortez said:
I have often ridden mares with a foal at foot; it's actually good for them to be doing some fittening work after foaling. The foals usually learn quickly not to follow mum around when they are schooling, and the mare soon just focusses on the rider (most of my foals have gone to sleep in the arena while mum does her little bit of "gym" work). If you want to get cracking with your mare's schooling I see no harm in a bit of light schooling.
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I had read on another thread somewhere that in mainland Europe many work horses are still pulling along with foals at foot and obviously years and years ago when there weren't cars, I'm sure mares would have had babies at foot whilst still working! I think what I will probably do is start with just walking them both and bombproofing.. then maybe when baby is 4/5 months try to get my mare lunging again and climb on later on in life. I don't want to rush her, but I also don't want her to be a field ornament for much longer! She's a very active, intelligent horse and I reckon she won't take too badly to it all. If she does seem to be struggling - I will definitely stop :)
 
As long as you are sensible then there is no harm in just getting on with it. People on here are always keen on "not rushing", but you could be old and grey before the horses actually progress at that rate.
 
Haha :) No worries about that, I'm only 18, my mare is only 5! So hopefully it won't be too long! I look after my horses well, and I study animal welfare, behaviour and management - going onto zoology - i would never intentionally put any animal under strain/pressure - but I also have a very hardy native type pony with a strong bond - and at the end of the day, a horse is a horse - the amount of exercise wild mustangs and brumby's do has got to be the equivalent if not more than a couple of hacks/schooling sessions a week! :) I just don't want to ruin either of my girls, so wanted advice from people with more mature years and experience than i do :)
 
Cortez said:
I have often ridden mares with a foal at foot; it's actually good for them to be doing some fittening work after foaling. The foals usually learn quickly not to follow mum around when they are schooling, and the mare soon just focusses on the rider (most of my foals have gone to sleep in the arena while mum does her little bit of "gym" work). If you want to get cracking with your mare's schooling I see no harm in a bit of light schooling.
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Mare in question hasn't ever been ridden though, so not just schooling but the whole backing process she's asking about.

For a first time foal and broodmare owner, I'd advise getting one thing sorted one at a time. For now, letting mum and foal be...then work on halter breaking and handling baby and/or Mum....then start weaning process...then after then I'd wait to back the mare. No point adding extra stress and risks to an already less than ideal situation she has ended up with.
 
I usually break all my mares at three (well, I did when I ran a stud farm), at the same time they are carrying their first foal, or shortly after they have foaled. Proper breaking doesn't involve any "stress".
 
I rode my mare in the field when she had her foal on her. However she was already used to being ridden.
I wouldn't start training a horse when she had her foal on her because half her attention will be on the foal, not on what you are asking her.
I'd just keep up with her basic handling and groundwork and wait until after the foal has been weaned to ride her.
 
It would be ok to ride her but not until her foal was sensible enough to be held by a third person and calm while you do so. We rode our mare when her foal was 4 months old but the foal had been taught to lead and be away from its mum first. You do of course need three people to do it and this isnt always possible. one to hold foal one to hold and prepare mum and a crash dummy or first rider what ever you want to call the first person on board
 
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