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Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed - heidiYour points are well taken and a lot of logic and common sense, however, I feel you are probably not the "norm" as far as people breeding. For example.....you have a number of things going for you than many others do not, professional background as vet (giving you an advantage in understanding conformation, bone and development) ; years of experience in a sport where you are seeing a lot of athletic horses; years of experience with bloodlines, and the terrain to breed and develop horses. While that may well be true, I would submit that in many cases the problem lies not in breeding mares at 3, but in breeding mares without first educating one's self about conformation, nutrition, bloodlines, etc. And that is a problem regardless of what age mares are bred, alas... Our mare that was bred at age 4......was on flat pasture, and had only been green broke to ride when she was bred. She had very impressive bloodlines and was a halter winner. But she was NOT fit to be bred or carry a baby. If I dare make a rash comment here, I would submit that perhaps it is the "impressive bloodlines" that may well be at fault, since you follow that comment with the mare being a halter winner. Although occasionally good horses get pinned, the norm that is winning at halter these days is NOT representative of good conformation--and in fact, is representative of conformation that is not apt to hold up to riding OR pregnancy. More often than not, when people tell me that a horse has "impressive bloodlines" (or any number of other superlative adjectives) I run as fast as I can in the other direction. These comments may not apply to your mare, but they apply more often than not to mares who fit the description you just gave. I would submit that by far the majority of Arabian halter winners of today are not "fit to be bred or carry a baby" at ANY age. I'll hazard a guess that far too many horses being bred at a young age are "paddock": raised..... Far too many horses of all ages being bred today are being bred because they have a "famous name" in the pedigree--one where the fame has been bought by a well-padded training, showing, and advertising budget, not by any particular merit. Unfortunately, that sort of fame is not genetic, and is not passed on to foals... Heidi ============================================================ They're athletes! This is a partnership between horse and rider - we don't have any jockeys out there, just pals and partners. We'd allow a rider with a broken foot, a sore back and a nasty cold to compete - but we would never let a horse in a similiar condition hit the trail. ~ Dr. Barney Flemming DVM ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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