Is this insane??? Stallion v Mare size question.

[DivaRosa]

Hi all,

I have just been talking to an aquaintance who has some dubious breeding practices to say the least. She has just told me she is going to put her welsh section B mare in foal to a warmblood stallion who although only 2 at the mo, is likely to make 17hh at maturity.

I think she must be crazy and is asking for trouble but is that just me?? She says the foal wont grow bigger than the mare can cope with.

What do you guys think???

 

[3Beasties]

I can't comment on the foaling side of things as I don't breed or know much about breeding but.......

Who on earth would want to buy a Section B x Warmblood!!

 

[Enfys]

I am cringing at the thought of the possible internal damage a covering like that could cause, especially using a novice stallion.

 

[DivaRosa]

Yeah, I know! She does random stuff like that all time! She never uses graded stallions, just the cheapest she can find! Never has her mares swabbed beforehand, or scanned after covering. She just breeds for the sake of it! None of them have a useful future. She has some random cobs due foals this year to another random heavy cob stallion that a pal of hers owns. It looks like a cross between a highland cow and a mule!! It drives me nuts and the amazing thing is that folk seem to buy these animals!

 

[Rosehip]

I am cringing at the thought of the possible internal damage a covering like that could cause, especially using a novice stallion.

That too would be my concern, more than the size of the resulting foal... I *think* (dont quote me on this) that the foal will only grow to what the mare can cope with, but surely such as size difference would mean a large foal??
Im going down the "insane" route!

 

[RuthnMeg]

I, too think this is insane and verging on the side of cruelty IMHO. I dislike people who breed for the 'sake of breeding', as there are so many horses and ponies who need homes and so many 'ordinary' ones who get passed by.
I think she needs some lessons from 'real' breeders and vets so she can see where she is going wrong.
As for the size, Iam sure the mare will carry foal ok, but the birth might be tricky and soon the foal will eat more off the mare than the mare can provide for the foal, resulting in poor condition and possible supplementing the foals feed.

 

[volatis]

having seen for myself and heard numerous times from experienced breeder friends, of the horrors of a mare trying to deliver a foal that is too large for her, often resulting in loss of mare and foal, then no I would never ever take a risk like this.
She might be lucky and the mare might be fine, I hope the ponies sake that she is.

 

[Billsmam]

As far as i am led to belive the foal will only grow to the size the mare can cope with? To be honest i looked at breeding my section B with a Homozygous coloured warmblood to make a nice sports pony but he was only standing 15.2 and she was full up 13.2hh so not quite as bad.

 

[Durham]

While 17hh is certainly larger than I would use, a high proportion of top modern sports ponies are Welsh B or C x warmblood. Obviously the quality of both sire and dam are crucial but Welsh and New Forest ponies were the foundation for top German and Dutch sports pony lines and you can see similar breeding in winning SPSS ponies.

 

[volatis]

I dont have a problem with warmblood onto good deep barrelled roomy pony mares, but not one that is going to be 17.0hh plus, thats just stupid

 

[kerilli]

foals can grow bigger than the mare can deliver safely.
a friend (very experienced breeder) had a good mare (big roomy mare, had lots of foals already) in foal to an event stallion (not huge) she'd used before, mare couldn't deliver (foal was in correct position too), 2 JCBs (ropes to hold mare still) and 5 strong men couldn't get the foal out, it had to be cut up in utero by the vet and taken out piece by piece. she very very nearly lost the mare too.
this is serious.
you friend is mad. if what you say is true, and she puts **** on top of ****, it is people like that who are contributing hugely to the horse overpopulation problem in this country. we need FEWER horses, then their value will rise and they will be treated better. simple.

 

[DivaRosa]

She is definately not a friend! Just someone I know thru someone else. It really upsets me 2 as she just seems oblivious to what could happen and the fact that the horses she breeds are utter rubbish. Last year she ended up taking 7 youngsters she had bred to the sales and they sold for a pittance. She can't help herself! She does the same with dogs too! Even her vet has disowned her as he thinks she's a nutcase!

 

[kerilli]

She is definately not a friend! Just someone I know thru someone else. It really upsets me 2 as she just seems oblivious to what could happen and the fact that the horses she breeds are utter rubbish. Last year she ended up taking 7 youngsters she had bred to the sales and they sold for a pittance. She can't help herself! She does the same with dogs too! Even her vet has disowned her as he thinks she's a nutcase!

Cripes, just how stupid is she? poor horses, poor dogs.