pregnant mare good or bad thing

Question
hello i bought a 4yr old NSH mare last november. i bought her bred and she is due to foal in june and now im getting told by many people that it is bad for and i am getting told by many people that she will be fine and that this will help her body. what is your opinion on this situation and what should i do about it.
thanx isaac
silver touch arabians

Answer
Hi Isaac,

Four years old is fine to be foaling for the first time.  That means she was 3 years old when she was bred, which is definitely the youngest you would want to breed a mare, but she should be fine.

I've never heard that being pregnant will "help her body", but I guess it depends on who you talk to.  I'm sure a lot of "old timers" might believe that.  Every time a mare gets pregnant and carries a foal to term, it breaks down their abdominal (stomach) muscles.  That's why you will see older broodmares who look like they are pregnant constantly, even when they are not.  Being pregnant takes a lot from a mare, that's why you don't want to be breeding them prior to three years of age.  Most breeds of horses are not considered fully mature until the age of five.

You definitely want to make sure that she gets plenty of the correct nutrition when she is nursing the foal, because be prepared, a mare can drop a lot of weight really fast when they are nursing a foal.

If she has been fed well during the pregnancy and you feed her well while she is nursing, your mare should do just fine.  But don't expect that having a foal will improve her body condition!