breeding of a bad mare

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dizzydoo

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my friend has a mare which has bad behaviour problems, now she said is going to put her in foal, is it just me but any mare with problems as such, I would not want to breed from, to pass down to the foal, I would only want to breed from a very good mare. do people just breed coz they can't find any think else to do with the mare I really think there is sooo many unwanted neds why breed ??
 
Plenty of good horses out there. No need to breed from a bad one. However if the behaviour issues are caused by bad handling as a youngster and not tempramant then it should be ok.
 
I agree with you. Breeding is irresponsible unless there's a really good reason for doing so (spectacularly quality mare, preserving bloodlines, guaranteed home for foal etc). There are so many unwanted horses, why add to it?

I've never bred a foal but I know enough to know there's usually little or no financial gain involved. I think people do it for the experience and I can see it would be exciting, but that's a rather selfish reason isn't it?

I feel the same about dogs and most other animals. We should be making sure existing ones have homes and are well cared for, not indiscriminatedly adding more!
 
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dizzydoo said:
my friend has a mare which has bad behaviour problems, now she said is going to put her in foal, is it just me but any mare with problems as such, I would not want to breed from, to pass down to the foal, I would only want to breed from a very good mare. do people just breed coz they can't find any think else to do with the mare I really think there is sooo many unwanted neds why breed ??
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I think you have summed it up, yes why breed rubbish when the sales are full of horses and ponies looking for homes and for meat money or less!!!! ..sadly it sounds like you are dealing with muppets...
 
Agree with the above, and even if the behaviour problems were caused by bad handling I would still be concerned about the foal learning from the mare. My daughters old pony had a bad past, she was a superb jumping pony but was (and still is) quite difficult to handle on the ground, though not in the least nasty. She is also petrified of anything "different" . When she was outgrown people suggested having a foal from her, but in my experience of breeding dogs, her nervous behaviour would have been passed on to the foal, not inherited but just as a learned behaviour. A shame but not worth it imo, so she is just slobbing round the field happily retired.
 
I don't agree with breeding full stop at this current climate the way it is , whether you are a top produced horse breeder or a hobby breeder
, but I have to disagree with people say about temperament being passed on
I had worked in a stud farm where they had a bad tempered broodmare who was bred every year , not one of the foals turned out to have a bad temperament
, all very much loveable foals and have turned out to be fantastic horses
. I also had a mare who was the most evil horse you could meet
Charging , biteing , kicking etc
She was infoal when I brought her , she went on to produce a such as fantasic , loving horse you could ever meet , who to this present day still got , and wouldn't sell for the world
I do believe horses don't inherdit it, they learn from mothers
Which mine are turned out with other youngsters and other mums
So half of the time the youngsters learn from each other more then they do there mothers
 
FionaM12 said:
I agree with you. Breeding is irresponsible unless there's a really good reason for doing so (spectacularly quality mare, preserving bloodlines, guaranteed home for foal etc). There are so many unwanted horses, why add to it?

I've never bred a foal but I know enough to know there's usually little or no financial gain involved. I think people do it for the experience and I can see it would be exciting, but that's a rather selfish reason isn't it?

I feel the same about dogs and most other animals. We should be making sure existing ones have homes and are well cared for, not indiscriminatedly adding more!
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totally agree. this is actually a topic which makes me more than a little cross. too many irressponisble people out there and far too many unwanted, neglected, mistreated horses why add to it
 
HorseySam:) said:
Personally, I do not think the personality of the mare would be passed to the foal. It's hardley genetic it is more how it has been brought up.
However, There are plenty of unwanted horses out there anyway, why bring more to the world?
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and who does the foal learn its manners/behaviour from? Exactly the reason not to breed a foal from a mare with a bad temperament.
 
Not wanting to be too rude about the owner of the mare, but they haven't been able to resolve her issues, so maybe they might just lack the skills and experience to do justice to the foal either?
 
HorseySam:) said:
Personally, I do not think the personality of the mare would be passed to the foal. It's hardley genetic it is more how it has been brought up./QUOTE]

General personality of course is (or at least can be) genetic. It's one of the reasons why you'd avoid a 'nasty' stallion at all costs.
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Not a good idea, I have seen many a temperament issue passed down through the sire. Breeding from a mare with "problems" is only going to exacerbate the potential issues said foal inherits.
 
Agree with Fiona.
Personally I'd never breed from a bad tempered mare as foals do learn by watching their dam. I would also never breed from a bad tempered stallion either, and don't know many who will, so why should it be any different for the mare? And as others have said there are far too many horses out there, and alot of good ones, so why breed from something that isn't the full package?
It can also be dangerous for the person handling the mare, even the quietest mares can be very foal proud so why run the risk of one that is nutty to start with as it is more likely to get worse with a foal at foot!
I've refused to cover nutty mares and sent them home, they can be the most stunning animal in the world, but if it is a shite bag then I'm not risking myself, my stallion or the chance of a nutty foal as it is usually the stallys reputation that will get the blame if they throw a nutty youngster!!!
 
General personality of course is (or at least can be) genetic. It's one of the reasons why you'd avoid a 'nasty' stallion at all costs.[/QUOTE]

Agree 100%, i would never breed from an agressive stallion BUT i would use a mare that had "issues", i find that if they are at stud their "issues" normally sort themselves out when in the herd enviroment. Also when the foal is born and raised it has lots of other role models, especially when left with a herd of youngsters untill it is time for work,
 
wizbit said:
totally agree. this is actually a topic which makes me more than a little cross. too many irressponisble people out there and far too many unwanted, neglected, mistreated horses why add to it
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Took the words right out of my mouth . . . an acquaintance of mine bought a grey mare - very pretty, but unfortunately had a screw loose. Result? They put her in foal. I just didn't understand why . . .

Far too many unwanted horses - why breed from something with questionable temperament . . . why breed at all if you're not a professional producer (and even then I have questions about breeding practices).

P
 
HorseySam:) said:
Personally, I do not think the personality of the mare would be passed to the foal. It's hardley genetic it is more how it has been brought up.
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I completely disagree with this! Temerament would be my number one consideration for breeding even above athletic ability. It always has been when I have bought horses too. Though personally, I would never breed a foal that I wasn't intending to keep myself.
 
Cant understand why people put any mare into foal. The mare is as important as the stallion. As other people have said on this thread. Temperament is passed on just like you dont breed from a snappy dog. Doh!
 
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