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Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed - Rae Callaway

To 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
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.  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/

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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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Replies
[RC] To breed or not to Breed, Ridecamp Guest
Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed, Karen Sullivan