Broodmares: when do you decide she's done enough?

[Kyzteke]

Regarding the thread on oldest broodmare.

When do you decide to retire a broodie? Assuming she has been a pretty good producer and you are not culling her for quality reasons, when do you decide she’s done enough?

There are theories that it is not really the age of the mare, but the number of foals she has produced that (eventually) render her retirement well advised if not mandatory.

But some people figure that at a certain age, it’s time to retire.

I would love to hear what other MOs think and their reasoning behind it. I would also like to hear of the numbers of foals (small or large) a single mare produced, provided efforts were made to produce it.

For instance, I leased a mare who, at age 10 had had six foals. She was always a super easy breeder.

I never got ONE foal o/o her, despite various vet work. I did get one pregnancy (by Londonderry – I was over the moon!), but it was gone by 45 days. After 2-3 yrs I finally returned her. She went back to be being a riding horse…here body was just apparently done with foaling.

Share your stories.

[Dressagelvr]

I would never breed a mare over 20 and would never breed more than 2 years in a row.

[Mistysmom]

Not all mares are fertile. Some only take every other year and some take reliably every time. I know of many that produce a foal every year until 11 or 12 then become “every other year” mares. That said, most mares do slow down by 14 years but assuming they are in excellent health and condition etc., they can still be safely managed broodmares. They will tell you as they will stop getting in foal or just won’t carry the pregnancy. I personally would not breed a mare over 20 either. I think by that time, even earlier if they have been fertile and having foals regularly, they have well earned their retirement

[stripes]

Having grown up a on Morgan breeding farm I have seen many mares… one of our foundation mares foaled her last of 9 foals at the age of 23, her first foal was at age 9 and on her off years she was my show horse. She may have been able to carry another, but I didn’t want to jinx anything as everything had been perfect all nine times. Great mare! On the other hand I have a 17 yr. Hanovarian that has been deemed an embryo transfer candidate only, as she gets in foal easily but can’t carry to term and she’s only had 4 foals so we’ve retired her from breeding. I really think it depends on the individual.

[CHT]

I don’t think there is a magic number. A lot of it depends on how the mare reacts physically to being a broodmare, how she is aging, and if she has had any foaling issues that may have caused damage.

I have read that (barring an incident that requires healing time) that it is better to rebred each year, and that skipping years can reduce their fertility. I think people are thinking in human terms when they think of skipping years.

[Laurierace]

Assuming there are no issues the mare will stop having foals when she is ready to stop having foals. I retired my last mare at 14 because she kept having ever worsening shoulder lock by throwing massive foals. Maybe she was an over achiever but it was too much risk for me to handle.

[danskbreeder]

My mare, Maggie Skovgaard RDH, is now 25 years old. She produced 7 foals, all of whom were first premium, all of her fillies are in the Elite Mare Book and her youngest foal is now 7. I retired her to hang out and be a grandmother which she adores. No one can believe she’s 25 which for a warmblood is an old horse. She still looks great and is very happy with her pasture mate being the grandmother babysitters.

[2foals]

I don’t think there is a magic age. It depends on the health, vigor and fertility of the mare. If a mare is having trouble getting in foal, for most mares it isn’t worth the risk/expense to continue. If a mare is having soundness problems where it is difficult for her to get up/down and move around late in pregnancy, it’s probably time to retire. If a mare is unthrifty and having issues keeping weight on during pregnancy or lactation, might be time to start thinking about not putting the demands of pregnancy on her any further. If she has complications during foaling that could result in increased risk for her or her foals with future pregnancies, it’s probably time to consider retirement. I have retired mares for all of the above reasons, not so much simply because of age.

[epowers]

My mare is ten this year. She had foals at four, five, and seven for her previous owner, and foaled out with me for the first time at 9 (I bought her bred). She is back in foal and due very soon, and is a very happy pregnant mare. She is actually holding her body condition/general vigor more easily this year than last. If she has an easy foaling I fully plan to rebreed her to carry for the third year in a row. If she catches easily, she can spend another year being a happy, spoiled pregnant mare, if she doesn’t, she’ll get a year off mother duties and I will ride her and breed her again in 2016. This is basically my plan for as long as she is physically and reproductively sound. If she is fat and sassy, has easy pregnancies and foalings, and loves being a mother, she can keep doing so. When that changes, regardless of age, she will have time off or be fully retired from motherhood duties.

[Sugarbrook]

One of my large ponies just had her #7 foal May 2014. This year she is 26. She is in perfect health, never had any problem getting in foal nor during the foaling process. She looks like she is 14 but I will not breed her again. She paid her dues and will just live the good life at Sugarbrook. Got to love those easy mares, and maybe its just me, but I think ponies may be a bit easier than the WB or TB when they get older. Even in her older years, one foal is just fancier than the previous one. Tons of show ponies for her and one is even my wonderful breeding stallion, Sugarbrook Blue Pacific.

[Kadenz]

My horse’s dam (Hanoverian in Germany) produced 14 foals in 18 breeding years.

I knew two of those resulting foals as adults; I think my gelding was her last baby.

The breeder is now on their 3rd generation of family members breeding Hanoverians. Over the years, they have developed two marelines from 2 state premium mares: my gelding’s dam was one of their foundation mares and the other foundation mare produced 16 foals in 19 breeding years.

Obviously I can’t speak to how they achieved this but I’ve seen photos of their older mares with foals at the side and the mares always look fabulously healthy. IMO, that’s a pretty high number of pregnancies for a mare, and yet they have several who have had that sort of breeding record.