Getting late in the year?

[Flowers187]

Bit of a newbie to the whole breeding lark! After my mare needing a few weeks off from a kick last month I decided to put her in foal this year rather than next year as planned, scanned 2 weeks ago and was literally just ovulated so have had to wait again for another scan today to check she has 2 big follicles to be short cycled next week, just getting worried its all getting abit late in the year? Had complications with blood tests aswell and needing to be re tested today to check the strangles antibodies in her blood are stable before the stud will have her to ai! Its not too late in the year with this weather is it? Thanks in advance!!

 

[gadetra]

It is late. I have a yearling born on the 17th of August, the mare would not take AI, she is an older maiden, and took to the younger stallion natural in September, far too late. To be honest I would never do it again. He is s lovely foal, all present and correct, but he is 6 months behind his contemporaries, so I won't be able to sell him until he is 3 min. This is a consideration if you breeding to sell on, also if you want to show, the foal will be considerably smaller in all age classes until it is mature. I was lucky with my chap in that he is a mature sort, but he will not be rushed to finish for commercial reasons, and this is also something you have to think about.

I would also say it is a young foal going into winter, and it will not be as robust as an older foal. My foal did fine, but he did get abscesses on his front feet which took a long time to heal due to extremely wet winter and I think he was more delicate age, his tissues etc. He is as tough as old boots thankfully, was never sick or even rugged over winter (he had a mammoth coat) but I do think his immaturity led him to get those abscesses, I have never in ten years had a youngster with them (although it was an exceptionally wet year).

If you leave it until next year, you will have a stronger foal, you can have more options with. If you had to sell him for whatever reason it will be more commercial as an April/May foal than anything else.

Also, if your mare is a maiden she can go 12 months so that is another thing to think about.

In short I would caution against it. What are you thinking of breeding by the way? Sj, eventer, allrounder? What type/breeding is your mare?

 

[Alexart]

If I were you I'd forget this year and wait till april next year as you had planned, it's not that long to wait, and if she doesn't take you'll have more chances to try again, plus her fertility will be better earlier in the season and you'll have good grazing to turn her and the foal out onto! Also if we have a repeat of last years wet weather the foal could be stuck in with poor mum for a long time!!

 

[Flowers187]

Shes at a very good ai stud who are pretty hopefully she should take this year so will have a try as ive already paid the fees! Shes a 15hh warmblood mare, going for a showjumper, foal will be a keeper so not fussed about age classes or selling, my only worry with earlier on in the year was the horrible april may and even june we had until it warmed up so dont really want a newborn foal to be born into that weather either

 

[Cluny]

Im a first time breeder to and due to complications my mare only came into season a few days ago (had to have an op in May). Despite having paid for an AI package at my vets and the stud fee for my chosen stallion, I've decided to put a hold on things and start again next year. We live on the edge of the moor and the weather, despite living in Cornwall, can be frankly horrible here, so I don't want my foal having to contend with that at a young age (hopefully you live in a nicer climate). Also I find breeding stressful enough without having to worry about running out of time!

Hope you have a stress free experience though!

 

[gadetra]

Shes at a very good ai stud who are pretty hopefully she should take this year so will have a try as ive already paid the fees! Shes a 15hh warmblood mare, going for a showjumper, foal will be a keeper so not fussed about age classes or selling, my only worry with earlier on in the year was the horrible april may and even june we had until it warmed up so dont really want a newborn foal to be born into that weather either

Well good luck with her. The only thing I would say is an advantage of an april/may foal is that it will be on the mare, getting all the nourishment it needs. Later on in the year you are looking at weaning a foal in November, instead of a warm August/September, and they always drop a bit at weaning, I wouldn't want that to happen of a bad winter.
But good luck with it, sounds like you are going for a pocket rocket!

 

[CBFan]

I have a 5, well almost 6 year old who was born in October and he was always very much behind his contemporaries. He spent much of his first and second winter inside due to the weather, which is not healthy in body or mind for a baby and at least with an early foal, they don't have to contend with the bad weather until they are 6 months plus.

May / June is not early. Many are born from february / march onwards and do very well as they hit the ground just as the grass is shooting through, making life far easier for mum. At this time of year, chances are it will be burnt off / eaten up.

I wouldn't put a mare in foal this late in the year.

 

[Flowers187]

Going to give it this last shot this year, we are still looking at a july foal here so I dont see that as being late, mare is a very good doer and holds weight well. Live in the midlands so dont get too much extreme weather hehe!

 

[Spring Feather]

A July foal is a late foal and I've done it once, never again! July is a horrible time to be foaling out, it's a horrible time for very young foals with all the bugs and flies around and the fluctuating temperatures like you have in England. The worst thing is foaling out in July. It's awful for the foals and it's horrible for the lactating mares. You've obviously decided to still go for it, you'll most likely regret it, as other posters and I have already said. I shut down my breeding programme at the end of June/occasionally I'll got as late as first week in July but that's rare, as I do not want any foals after June at the very latest.

 

[elijahasgal]

I usually aim for late april/may, which is late to a lot of breeders, but to be honest with how quirky the weather was at the beginning of this year, I had bitten my nails to the quick worrying coming up to foaling this year.
One of my best was an august foal, which worked that way for me quite well that winter, though it was harder, but it was nice for the foal to have her mum with her through the cold months of her first winter.
Would I aim for that, probably not!

 

[paulineh]

I would go with what you want to do. I have a gelding born in August and there has never been a problem. If she takes straight away then you will have an early July foal.

We can never know what the weather is gong to be , we could have a hot summer or a mild one.

As you say you are not going to sell and will have all the time in the world to wait with the youngster.

 

[mybutterfly]

A close friend of mine has a 6yo August foal. Yes he was late to first age classes but is now caught up with peers as competitive at novices (eventing) so qualifying for 6yo champs not out of the question this yr. As others have said with the weather we've been having who knows what will be going on next autumn. Good luck!