How long should you wait between pregnancies for a horse?

Question

I am looking at purchasing a mare that is in foal. My concern is she is only 7 years old and is already on her 3rd pregnancy. In fact, her current owner and breeder only waited a month after her baby was born before breeding her again. Now the poor thing is pregnant and still nursing her 08 baby. Is this safe for horses and if not what kind of health risks is the mare facing having been bread so close together? PLEASE only serious answers, if you are only guessing and don't know what you are talking about then don't answer this question. Thank you.

Answer 1

its fine to breed her a month after her baby was born, it happens in the wild. but i wouldnt recommend it... i would say if you want another baby right away, wait at least until the first baby is weaned from the mother so she's not nursing two at once (i mean you could wait just a month.. but i wouldnt)

and you can ride a mare while she's pregnant. some ppl say you can ride up to the day they give birth.. but i wouldnt. if it were me, and this is my opinion.. i would stop a couple months before her due date. to give her time to relax

Answer 2

A lot of people do this and I guess it is a "safe" practice, but I think it is unfortunate for the horses.  I think it is wrong to put their bodies through this year after year but money is usually considered more important than blood or what is a decent thing to do.  There are too many "thrown away" horses because they are the wrong color, or too short, or narrow in the chest, or some other really important breeder's reason.  Hopefully, now that you have her, she will have a good life and her body will have time to recover and be normal.  You can ride during pregnancy if she is healthy and good condition.  Has she been ridden or just a brood mare?  It all depends.  You sound like a kind and insightful person that will do what is best for her.   Hope things go well for you both.

Answer 3

She was bred back on her foal heat. It's nothing serious, my mom and own miniature horses, we have bred horses on there foal heat before. Lots of people breed Mares on there foal heat. Also it is very common for a 7 year old horse to have 3 foals already. The ideal age to begin breeding horses is 3. Any younger than that is too young. I'm surprised she doesn't have more foals.  

Answer 4

Breeding in the foal heat is fine so long as the mare is healthy - but really, no unhealthy mare should be being bred!  I usually send my girls back to the stallion on the foal heat, or the one after.  Having a lot of pregnancies year after year can be a strain though - I tend to have them foal at 5 for their first, 7 for the second, and 9 or 10 for the third.  If the first two have been problem-free we have foals most years after the third.

I don't ride my mares when they're being used for breeding.  I know some people do - but I don't think it's fair.  I think they work hard enough raising their foals, and a mare with a foal at foot isn't going to be very keen on being ridden!  The very best you will do is bug the h**l out of her.  When my mares are being brood mares, they don't have a ridden job.

Answer 5

Many breeders re-breed the mare within a month of foaling.  When you consider that it takes 11 months to get a foal and that most breeders want foals born early in the year (Feb or March) for show purposes, it's necessary to return the mare to a stallion asap.  That's normal procedure for a broodmare.  If we're talking about riding it's a different situation as you'll want to space the breeding to accommodate riding time once the foal is weaned.  Yes, you can ride a mare who is in good physical shape late into pregnancy, and soon after foaling (it's a great way to train baby).  Personally, I used to do the "every other year" breeding, giving the mare and baby plenty of time to grow, heal, and mature.  But that's just my preference.  Keep in mind that for some strange reason as yet unknown, mares who are left many years without breeding are harder to get "in foal".  If the mare's place is as a broodmare, it's best to keep her bred.  

Answer 6

Yeah your mare should be fine. I bought mine preggers too and she was 6 and had 4 foals, so its normal. I think someone said this already, but a horse can be bred fairly soon after they give birth. It's actually pretty natural, it happens in the wild all the time.

As for riding, its totally safe to ride all throughout the mare's pregnancy. The foal is farther back from the girth, so you won't hurt her or the baby at all. When it gets close, (like 8 or 9 months) your saddle might not fit, so just go for bareback rides. =]

Answer 7

It is fairly normal for horses to be bred one month + after they have given birth. A third foal at 7 is nothing to worry about. Pregnancies in horses always have some risks but this is a mature mare.

A horse can be ridden while pregnant, many people think it is actually better for them to have the activity. Talk to your vet and ask at what point you should start reducing the rides. You will probably eventually have to stop as she becomes really really pregnant (and plus, the saddle might not fit lol) but the activity of riding keeps the mares fit and in shape which is better for them in the long run.  

Answer 8

A horse's gestation period is 11 months long. In the wild, a mare will drop a foal, have a month to come back into heat, and become pregnant while still nursing the foal. They'll continue this for up to ten years, until they become infertile due to illness or bacteria.

For horses in domestication, this type of cycle is even more maintainable because of the way we immunize and can feed.

There's not really any health risks, just behave as if it's a normal pregnancy.  Any more questions on what that entails? Send me an email, I'm more than willing to help.  

Answer 9

Our mare is having her 3rd foal. We breed them when they come into foal heat, which is usually up to a week after giving birth. She is getting time off after the next foal. But we wouldnt have done it if we thought at all that it would cause problems. Always consult your vet before rebreeding a mare.

Answer 10

This kind of breeding is done all the time and is safe provided that the mare is given proper nutrition and care throughout her pregnancy.  Many breeders will be breed a mare back on her foal heat - the first heat cycle after the mare foals - about 9-12 days post foaling.  I have heard you get better conception on the following heat cycle but it has not made a difference for us.

Regardless, if your mare is in good condition, it should not be a problem.

Her third foal at age 7 is not that uncommon for career broodmares - most are bred at either 3-4 to foal at 4-5 so that is not really suspect either.

Edit:

We let our mares be ridden until the 9th month of their gestation.  Post foaling, we wait 6 weeks before getting on board again but it's probably safe to ride a bit earlier.  (We wait probably longer than most after having seen a seemingly normal, healthy mare develop a uterine hemorrhage six weeks after foaling).