11 replies to this topic

[Penny Lane Arabians]

I own a mare who is about 14h to 14.1 h ishhhh. She is very correct in her conformation, very nice legs a good shoulder and good breeding. I was think of breeding her at some point, but is her being to small a bad thing for her?? Could she tare as she pushes the foal out?? Or something else go wrong because of her size??

Also its not the mare in my avatar, I dont have any Picture of her right now but, i will get some soon!!

[IDL Arabians]

I have a mare that is probably 14.1 or 14.2. She's had 3 foals and all of them have been huge. She only had a bit of trouble with the first foal but after that, she's had no issues.

[Katwright]

You know those Mini's are able to have a foal OK.

Kathy

[Rumonek]

Miniature horses and Ponies reproduce all of the time
I have a mare that is 14 hands currently in foal. The mare controls the size of her foal to "fit" her. Of course there are times that this just doesn't work out, but it can happen with any sized mare- big or small.

[MMC]

All good points!

[Copper Leaf]

If 14hh horses had too many difficulties delivering healthy foals... we wouldn't have a breed

Generally speaking (with some exceptions I'm sure) mother nature keeps the foal from becoming too large for the mare to carry and deliver.... After delivering the foal will usually develop at a normal rate. There have been studies where pony mares were bred to much larger stallions and were able to carry and foal out successfully.

[ponygirl]

I just took this picture of a colt born to a 14 hand mare. this mare is very short in the back and not much room for a big foal. Here is a picture. the foals ligaments where over streached in utero because of lack of room. He has to be wrapped for the next 16 weeks.

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[Metallic36]

I believe it would depend on what she is bred to. You wouldn't want to breed her to a stallion much larger than her, just my opinion though.

[Rumonek]

I just took this picture of a colt born to a 14 hand mare. this mare is very short in the back and not much room for a big foal. Here is a picture. the foals ligaments where over streached in utero because of lack of room. He has to be wrapped for the next 16 weeks.

I rescued a colt with the same issue- he required leg casts, then splints, then special plastic shoes... Dam was over 16 hands, and sire was smaller than her.

Things like this can and will happen reguardless of mare size unfortunately

[Oak Lawn Arabians]

Most of our foundation mare are 13.3-14.2 HH. All have had foals and all have been healthy. We have one mare who is 14HH and anything stallion we breed her to, she has a foal that is as tall as she is when they are a yearling. Her first foal is 15.1HH and her second foal (by a 13.3HH stallion) is 14.2HH as a 2 year old! She has not had any problems foaling and her foals have been beautiful.

Here is a picture of her and her foal (that is 2 now) as a yearling.



Go ahead and breed your mare!!

Carrie

I just took this picture of a colt born to a 14 hand mare. this mare is very short in the back and not much room for a big foal. Here is a picture. the foals ligaments where over streached in utero because of lack of room. He has to be wrapped for the next 16 weeks.

Most vets I have spoken to about ligament issues say it is a lack of selenium or other vitamin issues in utero. They also say that almost all mares will only carry a foal that they can handle regardless of the ultimate size of the foal.