Ten year old maiden conceives

[Barcaldine]

Several months ago I picked up the TB mare Beyond Paradise not long after her brother won a G1 stakes. She had been turned out with a bunch of riding horses for a number of years after finishing her race career and had never been bred. I didnt know what to expect when I put her under lights on Dec 1 along with the other maiden and barren mares and have to say that of the eight her progress was the least.

But she came around enough to breed on March 13, to Haynesfield, and sure enough the bugger got in foal on one cover! Her winter coat was still long and she wasnt the prettiest mare in the shed but when she saw that big stud coming at her she broke down and bred like a pro.

Wish they all had happy endings like this!

[Tappiano]

I bet she had a lot to say to her paddock mates when she got back

[Zahrah]

I know of a mare that was bred for the first time at 12 last year and produced a healthy colt this year. She was placed as a pasture ornament at 3 before her half-brother won multiple graded stakes. Took years to get her back from this place, but the breeder finally succeeded.

Nice to see stories like this when so often mares with any kind of age are often looked upon with prejudice.

[griff]

Now your challenge is to keep her in-foal.

Suggest you google "breeding older equine maidens, or somehig like that.

My 14 YO was imported at age 4 and ran 64 races in the next 6 years. We could not get her in foal the firt year [something about water in the uterus] and the second year she aborted..

Last February 12 she doped a very nice "grey" colt after about 300 days on Regumate.

Talk to a decent repro Vet.

griff

[freshman]

So a 10-year old maiden mare is successfully bred? Thrilled for you that she conceived so easily, but it happens every day. I'm probably missing something, buy I don't understand what you mean by "not knowing what to expect" when you put her under lights or "lack of progress" compared to the other mares in your program or not being the "prettiest in the shed." Is/was something wrong with her that made your expect problems with her fertility?

...when she saw that big stud coming at her she broke down and bred like a pro.

Anyone else creeped out by this particular description? Weird. What did you expect?

[camohn]

glad she got in foal for you but 10 isn't that old. For me 16+ is "old". My broodmares typically quit getting in/holding pregnancies at an average of 21. My oldest mares foaled at 23.

[Jeff]

Several months ago I picked up the TB mare Beyond Paradise not long after her brother won a G1 stakes. She had been turned out with a bunch of riding horses for a number of years after finishing her race career and had never been bred. I didnt know what to expect when I put her under lights on Dec 1 along with the other maiden and barren mares and have to say that of the eight her progress was the least.

But she came around enough to breed on March 13, to Haynesfield, and sure enough the bugger got in foal on one cover! Her winter coat was still long and she wasnt the prettiest mare in the shed but when she saw that big stud coming at her she broke down and bred like a pro.

Wish they all had happy endings like this!

" she wasn't the prettiest mare in the shed". ? Wha'd you have to do, put a sack over her head for the stallion?

[camohn]

" she wasn't the prettiest mare in the shed". ? Wha'd you have to do, put a sack over her head for the stallion?

sputter snort. that is too funny.