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  Discussion on 20 year old mare never had a foal
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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 11:17 am:

I rescued a 20 year old registered Appaloosa mare last weekend. She is in misserable shape right now but I think she will be fine with the care she will get here.
I took her because I felt sorry for her. Once she is healthy (in a year or so), does it make sense to think about breeding here? I don't think she ever had a foal but she has great blood lines. If it is not a good thing to do then I won't. She is in heat right now (big time) interested in my geldings.
I would appreciate any advice and oppinion.

Thanks!

Posted on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 4:29 pm:

I am not an expert, by any means, and I know the vet is the best one for this question, but from a few years experience with horses, breeding and caring for them, and witnessing the experience of others,I have to say I believe the risk is far greater than the reward might be. Being in poor shape and with no prior foaling at this age is always, taking a chance..If you desire to have another horse, why not rescue another needy one. There are so many that need a loving home, so many that need a little comfort in their last few years.. You could also look into the premarin foals, if you want a baby..and save a life...

Posted on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 9:22 pm:

Lynne, thank you for your post. See the thing is I have 3 rescue horses (including the new one). The first two (12 & 2 yrs old) have some sort of health problem. I was just hoping to maybe own a healthy horse and also do the imprint training. I always try to fix the problems other people did to the horses. I had already checked into PMU babies but by the time I can get one, I will have to spend a lot of money on travel and don't know how they have been treated.
But anyway, it is not written in stone that I will breed this mare, it is just an idea and I definitely don't want to do any harm to her.

Thanks again!

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 1:40 am:

Hi Monika, I am so glad you are doing such wonderful things! I am sorry I wasn't more encouraging in my possst, because I do understand where you are coming from. To raise a foal is a joyfully rewarding experience and I treasure the moments when mine were born and the irreplaceable pleasure of watching them grow. It was not without worry, concern and sleepless nights, but out of thirteen babies , we lost one to a congenital problem and it took me years to breed just one more time. That was only because my stallion was getting older.. I had no idea the way horses were being treated , abandoned and sent to places unspeakable, until I joined a rescue society, and my perspective changed.. I bought back two of the horses I had sold to friends and I have all the rest, whom I might add , range in age from 10 to 20.. This is what I have committed to do to keep them safe . So you now know why I am a little on the anti-breeding side, only for the horses sake. I also had a friend who bred her older mare, (who had foaled 3 years prior) and she lost both of them. I think it is great you have rescued these horses and if I hadn't been ignorant to horses plight a few years ago, my horses would be rescuees also. But, the best I can do now is take care of them and help other horses whenever I can. You are doing a good thing and Thank you for writing back to me..I am sure your horses are in caring hands and whatever you decide will turn out right. By the way, why does it take so long to get foals from the PMU farms. I might be able to help you through my horse sanctuary, who I know rescues babies whenever they can.. Best of luck Lynne

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 7:57 am:

Hi!
I think it's great what you both are doing.
IMO breeding any horse is a risk, but breeding a 20 yr old maiden seems like a very big risk to me.
It is heart wrenching to lose a mare &/or foal.
After losing a foal last year I adopted a 6 week old foal and it has been an awesome experience.
Monika you may be interested in this rescue it is in KY. My foal was not handled until I got him, except to be loaded. But he was beat up by other horses. He trusted us explicity right from the first day we brought him back from KY. He had never felt so much love and he thought we were the best thing since powdered milk! Our other foal was imprinted and I see no difference in them.
Anyway if you look at my website I have a link to them or you can run a search on Casey Creek Horse Rescue. (the foal we adopted is on my website, his name is Kabub) On our application we said we prefered a male draft/tb cross and that's what we got, he is going to be quite a nice horse.
Good luck!
~Barbara

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 10:15 am:

The plight of unloved, neglected,and mistreated horses should be publicized. We all know about spaying and neutering cats and dogs to keep down the population.Does the average (not HA members!) horse owner think of the future of their horses? I have a two month old filly and was going to breed the mom again, mainly because "that's the thing to do". Of course, I don't sell my horses. Couldn't stand the thought of a "Black Beauty" scenario. But now I wonder if one should breed just to be breeding?

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 2:09 pm:

Hi Barbara and Maureen, Whenever I get discouraged and frustrated about the lack of compassion that exists within the animal kingdom , I come across people like you who brighten the day with their own storiesof love and caring and I know there is hope..I do believe also, there should be more publicizing of the horses plight. Ignorance is bliss, but it not an excuse , anymore, with all the rescue programs and Horse sanctuaries pleading for indiscriminate breeding to end. And for people to realize horses aare a huge responsiblity and they deserve far better a return for a life of service than way too many ever receive. I want to share a bit of wisdom sent to me by Redwings Horse Sanctuary written by Dr. Albert Schweitzer. ..."Whenever an animal is forced into service of men, every one of us must be concerned for any suffering it bears on that account. No one of us may permit any preventable, pain to be inflicted, even though the responsibility for that pain is not ours.No one may appease his conscience by thinking that he would be interfering in something that does not concern him. No one may shut his eyes and think the pain, which is therefore not visible to him, is nonexistent.

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 2:51 pm:

First of all: Thank You!!! I am glad you all responded to my post. It really makes me feel good to hear about other people and their rescue successes.
My priority is always the horses interest, it always was and always will be. (When I had to move to Europe for 4 years, I flew my rescue horse to Europe too. When I came back, I brought him back with me again. And now I'm broke, lol)

Thanks again!

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 4:00 pm:

Since you have the mare's registration, you could check with the registry to determine if any foals out of her had been registered - this would at least tell you if she was maiden and when her last foal was if she isn't.

Personally, I tend to leave the breeding up to the professionals - let them take the risk and then you can buy a baby if you'd like.

The cost of breeding your own is surprisingly high if you lay out all the details on paper. Between stud fees, vet checks, semen shipping, registration, etc. it will surprise you how much you'll spend. Producing your own foal can really add up.

My yearling was bred by someone I know well who is a small breeder, but experienced and knowledgeable. I also know the stallion well. I saw the foal when she was 3 days old and often since then. I bought her when she was a month old. I board her at the breeders. This, to me, was the best of both worlds - the breeder had the risk to her mare, I got to evaluate the baby on the ground and decide whether to buy her and then I get to work with her from an early age.

Being fairly active with purebrd dog rescue, it has become increasingly clear to me that breeding an animal just because one can is not necessarily the right thing to do.

As far as imprinting, the benefits of it are well documented - but just because a foal is not imprinted at birth doesn't mean that it is set for a life of problems. Likewise, a problem horse isn't one because it wasn't imprinted. They are only foals for what seems like a few minutes - you could easily buy a 2-3 year old that is ready to start and will connect with you nicely.

I think it would be a great kindness to let your rescue mare get healthy and enjoy her later years in comfort and worry free.

Cheers.
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