Young horse having foal

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pink_princess

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Can anyone help me please, I'm looking at a mare that seems ideal only 5 but she had a foal at 2 years, she would be for riding club events. Haven't seen her yet as concerned about how young she was when had a foal. Has anyone ever come across this and is it likely to have any long term effects - sorry totally out of my depth with foals / breeding.
 
It is not unheard of however confusion may occur over wether she foaled at two or was covered at two. I have no issue with young mares being covered at two but would only do it with a filly that had important bloodlines .
Whichever It will have had no detrimental effect on the mare and I would contend it may even be an advantage!
 
Thanks, I understood she had the foal at 2 which is what i was really concerned about - unless current owners have it wrong. Can it cause any joint problems?
 
I would be put off and would certainly be concerned at what else she might have done young. I do like youngsters to be allowed time to be youngsters. It wouldn't matter if she was by the local farmer's bog pony stallion or Marwan Al Shaqab - a two year old is too immature IMO to be foaling.
 
Faracat said:
I would be put off and would certainly be concerned at what else she might have done young. I do like youngsters to be allowed time to be youngsters. It wouldn't matter if she was by the local farmer's bog pony stallion or Marwan Al Shaqab - a two year old is too immature IMO to be foaling.
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Explain why?
Yes it is to young but it happened !!! In a way though it means she wont have been pushed to early it wont have damaged her. I have a 2yo cob mare that foaled last week( not known in foal when arrived) she is fine physically it wont damage her!
 
I did explain why - I like youngsters to be allowed to be youngsters and just grow.

Having had my own youngstock, my eyes were opened to just how immature both physically and mentally a two year old is and just how much growing they still have to do. Just as I would pass over the ads of the yearling/two year old that's ridden or the yearling that's been lunged daily (all real ads), I would pass over the ad of a filly that foaled so young. It's my prerogative to do so.
 
Faracat said:
[snip] It wouldn't matter if she was by the local farmer's bog pony stallion or Marwan Al Shaqab - a two year old is too immature IMO to be foaling.
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Faracat said:
I did explain why - I like youngsters to be allowed to be youngsters and just grow.

Having had my own youngstock, my eyes were opened to just how immature both physically and mentally a two year old is and just how much growing they still have to do. Just as I would pass over the ads of the yearling/two year old that's ridden or the yearling that's been lunged daily (all real ads), I would pass over the ad of a filly that foaled so young. It's my prerogative to do so.
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Agreeing with Faracat. I don't care who it's parents are, a yearling/2 year old is still growing and doesn't imo need the stress of building another body alongside finishing it's own growing. Of course it can damage them. Any pregnancy with any animal can be damaging, then add to that an animal that's immature both physically and mentally.

Not something I would do to a 1/2 year old, and like Faracat I'd skim quickly over an ad for a horse bred as a yearling, and I don't care what reputable sources go ahead and breed their animals at that age, to me it's not something I find acceptable or desirable.
 
It happens especially at dealer yards or places where they don't segregate the colts thinking they're too young to manage the job but it's not normally what an experienced breeder would do.
I had one here once that came the day after she had been weaned from her foal; she wasn't yet two then! That mare is still going strong some 23 years later and not had a day of illness or lameness in her busy life as a teenager's do it all type.
It wouldn't worry me if another came my way like that and I don't see any problems providing the filly is given enough time to grow and recuperate at her own speed; I'd want her turned away for another two years before wanting to start breaking her for example so that her body has had time to catch up from the stress of foaling and rearing a foal; providing the basic good manners are in place so she's good for the farrier and vet, the extended rest won't do her any harm..
 
I am not saying that I would or that anybody would do it on purpose but accidents happen .
My question is why would you avoid the horse even though in every other way it may be exactly what you want. I dont see any legitimate reason apart from what you think is morally right! We are talking about a 5yo now who obviously is what the OP wants so what is the downside it obviously has not affected her up to now! I take it she is not an explosive,stunted ,cripple!!
 
popsdosh said:
I am not saying that I would or that anybody would do it on purpose but accidents happen .
My question is why would you avoid the horse even though in every other way it may be exactly what you want. I dont see any legitimate reason apart from what you think is morally right! We are talking about a 5yo now who obviously is what the OP wants so what is the downside it obviously has not affected her up to now! I take it she is not an explosive,stunted ,cripple!!
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Lol, exactly.
 
popsdosh said:
We are talking about a 5yo now who obviously is what the OP wants so what is the downside it obviously has not affected her up to now! I take it she is not an explosive,stunted ,cripple!!
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And you know this how? Is it your horse? Or are you perhaps a vet that can examine a horse over the internet without seeing it? Or are you just speculating about a horse you don't know and have never seen?

You don't know this horse any better than I do, I'm speculating, so don't try pretending you know what state the horse is in as you've no better idea than I have about it, we are both just guessing. Or rather I am guessing, you appear to know 'facts'. lol.

You asked a question and Faracat and I answered it already.
 
abracadabra said:
And you know this how? Is it your horse? Or are you perhaps a vet that can examine a horse over the internet without seeing it? Or are you just speculating about a horse you don't know and have never seen?

You don't know this horse any better than I do, I'm speculating, so don't try pretending you know what state the horse is in as you've no better idea than I have about it, we are both just guessing. Or rather I am guessing, you appear to know 'facts'. lol.

You asked a question and Faracat and I answered it already.
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I dont know facts as you quite rightly say you dont so the question is if the OP is keen on this horse which I assume she is from the first post( I assume you read it!) Everything else being equal why would you not look at it, because I assume that it will be vetted etc. Look at it this way a vendor with something to hide would not have even mentioned it in the first place .
The OP asked a question about any issues that may arise from this mare having foaled at a young age and I tried to answer that .However you would pass her over because you do not agree with her having a foal at 2 .Let me tell youi clearly neither do I !!!! however that does not make her unsuitable for the OP to buy . Or are you assuming that without seeing her!!!!
 
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Sorry OP to answer your original question. As long as everything else is OK with the mare you are looking at, the same as any other horse you may purchase. There would be no reason in my experience to hold her teenage pregnancy against her!!
 
Many Thanks for all info and all input, I will go see her, Also will try to find out a little more about how old she was - I agree with all really not ideal the age, hence why I asked question - I was just worried if having a foal so long had any proven effect on joints and growth etc.
 
So in the wild do the young ladies go off to nursery until they are of foal bearing age, i dont think the stallion is that polite.

I think we all forget that in humans years she would have been 2 but in actual horse years she would have been 6, but in maturity compared to humans she would have been 13
 
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I do love the 'in the wild' comparisons that are rolled out every nown and again.

P_P - I hope the horse is everything that you want.
 
Which human values am I misappropriating? I don't mind if people don't agree with me, but I stand by my thoughts on this matter.
 
STRIKER said:
So in the wild do the young ladies go off to nursery until they are of foal bearing age, i dont think the stallion is that polite.

I think we all forget that in humans years she would have been 2 but in actual horse years she would have been 6, but in maturity compared to humans she would have been 13
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'In the wild' yearlings are normally still part of the birth herd. They are generally not kicked out of that herd until they are 2 years old. Therefore, 'in the wild' this yearling would most likely not have been bred at one year old.
 
OP you could always hve x-rays done to assess if there has been any abnormalities to growth plates. Though I would be more concerned about a 2yo being ridden than having a foal.

In the new forest not many forest run yearlings or 2yo's get in foal.
 
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