HorseMaid
Well-Known Member
My friend has a beautiful little Connie x TB mare who is, I think, 11 or 12 this year. She has had her for 4 years now, and was bought dirt cheap with the knowledge that she had a diagnosis of hock arthritis. This has been managed with injections, and an x-ray last year showed that the offending joint had just about fused, but that the other hock had signs of arthritis too. Throughout this time mare has been used as a happy hacker and has been great for this job. Apart from her random biting habit she has been a great horse to have and she literally owes my friend nothing, she has had lots of fun with her.
Last year she came up slightly lame, seemingly from a shoulder. Seen by vet and friend made decision to rest and see, mare has had the winter off and just coming gently back into work now. Friend thinks the lameness might just be showing again and is planning a vet visit for a full workup. If the worst happens, friend is wondering if it would be viable to breed from this mare. She is well put together and a desirable type.
Now I would always say that you shouldn't breed from an unsound mare in case any issues are hereditary, BUT what we know about this mare's history leads me to wonder whether she was pushed too far too young which would have led to her issues. For example, her previous owner told my friend that she did a full seasons hunting in Galway as a 3 year old (!), and that they had plans for her to be a showjumper. It seems to me that she was trained and schooled very hard as a 4/5 year old which had led to these later issues, being diagnosed with arthritis at age 6 ish? After which she was basically written off and came to my friend. If you take her into a school she objects immediately and starts bucking, she clearly doesn't like it so we have never done it. She has got signs of a hard life with various scars and patches of white from ill fitting tack which were there when she came to us.
So pending vet visit, what would you do? Obviously friend would go with vet advice but if she is likely to remain unsound for riding, is a foal a viable option?
Last year she came up slightly lame, seemingly from a shoulder. Seen by vet and friend made decision to rest and see, mare has had the winter off and just coming gently back into work now. Friend thinks the lameness might just be showing again and is planning a vet visit for a full workup. If the worst happens, friend is wondering if it would be viable to breed from this mare. She is well put together and a desirable type.
Now I would always say that you shouldn't breed from an unsound mare in case any issues are hereditary, BUT what we know about this mare's history leads me to wonder whether she was pushed too far too young which would have led to her issues. For example, her previous owner told my friend that she did a full seasons hunting in Galway as a 3 year old (!), and that they had plans for her to be a showjumper. It seems to me that she was trained and schooled very hard as a 4/5 year old which had led to these later issues, being diagnosed with arthritis at age 6 ish? After which she was basically written off and came to my friend. If you take her into a school she objects immediately and starts bucking, she clearly doesn't like it so we have never done it. She has got signs of a hard life with various scars and patches of white from ill fitting tack which were there when she came to us.
So pending vet visit, what would you do? Obviously friend would go with vet advice but if she is likely to remain unsound for riding, is a foal a viable option?
