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Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed - Rae CallawayTo me, it depends on the mare. Some 3 year olds are mature in both mind and body and will have no problem with being bred at 3. My girl, Scarlet was one of these. You can look at her 2 year old picture and compare it to her now picture and there's not much difference. On the other hand, I have another 3 year old filly right now that is in no way ready for anything - breeding or saddle training. She's still got a very awkwardly built, still growing body and I can't see either breeding or training her until 4 or maybe even 5 as she's obviously still got some growing to do. As far as waiting to see what you've got in a mare before breeding - I feel that if you've raised that mare, by 3 you have a pretty good idea of what she's got potential for and ANY first time breeding is a crap shoot. Breeding your mare for a replacement riding horse down the line isn't a bad idea. I have a 5 year old gelding right now that I'm riding from my best mare and he is everything that I love about my mare, but without her bad habits. She's presented me with an awesome filly this year too, that I just cannot wait to be bopping down the trail on. My only advice is to choose the stallion carefully - don't be swept up by emotion. Make sure his faults aren't doubled up on the mare. Scarlet doesn't have the greatest legs, so I'm extra picky on the legs of her mates. Rae Tall C Arabians - Central Region ----- Original Message ----- From: "Karen Sullivan" <greymare56@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: <jody.buttram@xxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 2:16 PM Subject: Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed Please Reply to: Jody jody.buttram@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== . When they turn 3 I bred them. That way the 3 to 4 year old year is productive. They aren't old enough to race, but you still get some use out of them while they are growing up. *Hi Jody, I have a few opinions on this, and I hope some other folks can comment too....I feel that breeding at age 3 is NOT a good idea for some various reasons..... 1. You really have no idea what you have! Until this mare is trained under saddle, conditioned and fit, you have really no idea what the gaits are like, how the horse holds up under hard riding and miles, how the metabolics are...what the "riding" disposition will be (lazy under saddle, loves to go, or maniac), in other words...you are dealing with a pretty blank slate based only on the bone and conformation you see at age 3...and whatevery disposition the horse has BEFORE it has gone out in the world and done anything.....things like, is this a horse that is steady in an emergency situation...or will tend to panic??? 2. Many 3 year olds are not finished growing.... 3. ....and the problem with THAT, is that they still maybe rump high, unbalanced......and so...should they be carrying a baby that young? Also....I still think our 13 year old Arab mare has a slightly dropped back...becuase she was bred when she was 4, as an unfit horse. I think a mare should have good, fit muscle tone and a very strong back before being asked to carry a baby. Now, maybe it doesn't matter if a horse is destined to run in the wild forever, or be a broodmare for life....but for a potential mare with a good riding career ahead of her...I would NOT chose one that had been bred as a youngster.... 4. Makes more sense to breed a mare that has proven, through a lot of miles, at whatever discipline you deisre, that they are manageable and sound and somehow superior in some way. I am sorry, but I have seen far too many extremely poor quality mares bred just because the owners were so emotionally attatched to them! Including a Kahahty sister, who I felt had extremely bad conformation. karen ============================================================ It is how we "feel" deep inside that matters, cause each of us knows the truth, regardless of how we try make it complicated. It just isn't. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================ ============================================================ There are 2 ways to win at this sport. You take a horse and race him for a short time and then find a new horse or you can take one horse , do the homework and spend many miles and years enjoying that horse. ~ Paddi Sprecher ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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