Re: Pregnant mares

[Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

Rayna5 wrote:
> 
> I dont understand all the reluctance to use bred mares.  I have had several
> bred mares over the years and used all of them almost to the last minute.
> So IMHO, I think it is MUCH better to use a pregnat mare, with common sense,
> than to let her get so out of shape. I think they are better for it all the
> way around.
> Julie Lindeman
> Brush Prairie Wa


The key word there is "common sense".  There's a big difference between
a six mile jaunt down the trail and competing on a heavily pregnant or
lactating mare on a fifty-mile endurance race.  I'm not a DVM, but I
would certainly imagine the potential stresses of blood glucose
depletions, rises in core temperature, dehydration etc could be
potentially damaging to a fetus as well as the mare.  

Something else to keep in mind is endurance's public image---for an
awful long time, we've all had to listen to how cruel we all are to our
horses making the poor dears go all that way (like as not pulling like a
train).  We're just now starting to get some grudging validation from at
least some of the rest of the equestrian world.  Can you imagine the
uproar from the activists if a pregnant mare decided to foal out on the
trail, or got into trouble and died or lost the foal?  Yikes.

I ride my mares right through their pregnancy too, and congratulate you
for keeping your mares in shape as well, but I think AERC's rules about
pregnant (at least *obviously* pregnant) mares in competition are good
ones in helping keep the lions from the door.

Just my .o2.

Susan Garlinghouse