older orphan horses

Question
I have a 3yr old mare that was orphaned at 2 mths and I was wanting to know about how she would do if i breed her she is spoiled and picks on the other horses and i have noticed that she doesnt really care any other babies i have had around her. Is it a good idea to breed her

Answer
Hi Katherine,

You ask a very interesting question, and I'm not sure I have an answer.  But I do have some points/questions you might want to consider.

Since your mare was never "mothered", she may not know what being a mom means.  It will be hard to tell how she'd react to a foal of her own until she actually has one, since when a horse gives birth, there's a lot of mothering behavior that is purely instinctive.

You may want to wait until she's 4 or 5 to breed her because she's not fully mature yet at 3.  Horses finish growing from the ground up - in other words, even though her knees are closed, her back hasn't finished growing yet.  My mare didn't reach her full growth until the beginning of year 5.  

Another thing to consider is her developmental stage.  Around the age of 3-4, horses go through the "terrible teens", in much the same way that human children do.  Breeding her before she's been through this stage might stunt her social development, which would mean you'd have a petulant, spoiled brat horse forever.  When you mentioned that she's a spoiled brat and picks on other horses, it sounded to me like she's in the middle of the "terrible teens" right now.  I'd wait a year to breed her until she's a little more settled.  I think you'll see that she'll be a better mother at that point.

Those are just my thoughts...  Obviously, you'll want to check with your vet before doing anything.  I hope this helps!  Please don't hesitate to contact me again with other questions.  Good luck with your mare.

--Susan