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[RC] Breeding the older mare - Karen Bratcher

Title: Breeding the older mare

I will ask my local vet too, but would like input from others as well.  I have an older (22 this year) CMK mare I would love to get a foal from, but she has not had a foal for 14 years.  The two foals she had, 14 and 15 years ago, there were no problems with.  She conceived right away both times.  She was pasture-bred for three heats last spring -- April, May and June -- but did not get pregnant.  (The stallion is fertile, other mares bred to him conceived.)  She was cultured before the last breeding and was clean.  She still comes in heat regularly and shows to our geldings.

Should I request any tests from my vet to see what could be preventing her getting pregnant, or is it even worth bothering with because her ova may not be viable anymore?  I can't afford to spend thousands of dollars in vet work, and especially not just to find out it's hopeless.  This mare is "small but mighty", has a huge trot which is the second smoothest I've ever ridden, big feet and bone, and her 15 year old gelded son by Ben Nasrif is my main riding horse (with her as a backup).  She's by an obscure *Mirage grandson who only bred a few mares and her bottom line is straight CMK.

Thanks for any advice,

Karen Bratcher in northern Idaho