How late in the year would you cover your mare?

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caro618

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Just out of interest what is the latest time of the year would you put your mare in foal, and the pros and cons of late foals. Cant decide whether to cover my two now or to leave it til next year. I have always aimed for early foals as they were produced for the show ring but now I breed for competition so I suppose its not so important, just cant quite get my head around it!! Many thanks
 
I wouldnt want to cover my mare any later than now - basically because we live in the north of Scotland and the colder weather will be starting when foal will be due. Would rather foal to have some summer weather before winter sets in.
 
Middle of June is the latest I'd cover really for my own horses, so the foal has the chance to grow well and get the grass when it has some nutrients in it, and then it's ready to wean with its buddies before christmas and doesn't have to be stabled with mum for months when winter does arrive.
 
If the foaling is going to be a one off thing for the mare and she isnt a broodmare then it really doesnt matter so much especially if the foal is not going to be shown. If the mare is a broodmare then it makes a difference as if you breed late in the season of one year then that determines when you can breed her each year after. I wouldnt want to breed beyond June.
 
If the foal was for keeping rather than selling then I'd keep going till the end if August providing I had the facilities to keep a slightly younger foal through the winter.
 
I am going through the same dilemma. Just found THE stallion I want to use. I think I am going to wait now till next year as I would like both mum and baby to get full benefit of living out and having some nice grass before coming in but this is based on my facilities where I am as well. Frustrating - I wish I had got my A into G earlier. good luck with your decision :)
 
my mare was last covered mid august last year and that was gonna be my last try as i felt it was getting too late. Consequently i am now on foal watch waiting for my mare to foal. Main reason i continued into august is that my mare is getting older now and is a maiden and i didn't want to wait another year and have her another year older so it was now or never really.
 
MardyMare2 said:
I am going through the same dilemma. Just found THE stallion I want to use. I think I am going to wait now till next year as I would like both mum and baby to get full benefit of living out and having some nice grass before coming in but this is based on my facilities where I am as well. Frustrating - I wish I had got my A into G earlier. good luck with your decision :)
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Same prob here! Have finally def decided on a stallion for my mare and have her at her ideal weight now (she has a slight hip injury so needs to be as light as poss to carry) but for me now i feel it's def too late. Stallions stud advised her to be AI'd in end of april 2011,so that's what we're doing.
 
For me personally, it's a bit late in the season now, but I know lots of people who do cover this late (and later). In fact I'm off down the road this morning to do a bit of covering with my friends stallion for her.
 
I Am in the same boat as you lorna on foal watch after very late coverings last year , I must say as a rule I would prefer earlier foals but I am glad this season that we did have late mares as the weather was awful then it was really hot and now it is just right. However I have drawn a line under this season with my mares now and I am going to spend the winter baffling my brains on what stallions to use next year other than my own.
 
jaypeebee said:
If the foaling is going to be a one off thing for the mare and she isnt a broodmare then it really doesnt matter so much especially if the foal is not going to be shown. If the mare is a broodmare then it makes a difference as if you breed late in the season of one year then that determines when you can breed her each year after. I wouldnt want to breed beyond June.
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Ditto this, except I wouldn't breed beyond end of May/beginning of June, but then I show my babies and where I work they are racehorses, intended for a career in Flat racing, so the closer the DOB to Jan 1st the better.
 
If it's for you to keep i don't really think it matters, if you want to sell it then it's better to be older for its year really. IMO there are advantages to foals being born in summer rather than spring as the weather should be less changable. If you can keep the mare and foal suitably through the winter, then you shouldn't have any problems. I also think there's an advantage to leaving the foal on the mare until coming out of winter, rather than weaning going into winter, as the foal will do better on the milk in the cold weather.

Having said that, now is really as late as you want to go i'd have thought, then you'll get a July foal.

My mare whent to stud in 2009 and didn't take till the 3rd season, so whereas i had been expecting a May foal i got a July one - best laid plans and all that! It does mean if you're mare didn't take 1st time you'd have run out of time unless you wanted a very late foal..
 
For me I dont want a foal on the floor any later than mid June.

If a foal is not on the floor until July, then the following seasons foal is going to be even later than that, which may not suit you or the mare for that matter.

if you are breeding a one off foal, then it does not really matter, especially if you have the facilities to keep them together through the winter, however, of you like to get you foal out for the summer, & need it weaned before the thick of winter for stabling, then dont risk risk a late covering for the sake of it.

I prefer the mare's last 3 months of pregnency to be on controlled diet to ensure she does not get too fat, and the foal not too big (so Feb/Mar/Apr is perfect for me) and then when the foal arrives I like the foal to benefit from the summer grass with long hot evenings to mature & grow in the field. Weaning before the dead of winter & before the fields are a sea of mud ;)
 
Thank you everybody, you have helped me make up my mind so I am going to stop worrying about it and start planning for early coverings next year. Now where is that Stallion Directory ............?
 
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