hi all, one more question about my clyde, she throws her had a lot just when she is out walking in the pasture she will throw her head back, up and down alot. not sure if it is just bugs or the heat (we live in FL) or what i have had her teeth done but that hasnt helped. she seems to go through times when it is worse ut i cant figure out what it is.

i also was wondering about breeding horses, we recently got 2 spotted drafts they are both 10 months old one filly one stud colt. how long before a filly can get pregnant and how old do they need to be to be a good breeding age. in the same aspect how old before a colt can get another horse pregnant. we kind of would like to breed the colt to my clyde one day and then geld him but i also dont want him to breed the filly because i know she would be to young and i believe they had the same sire, so am not sure when i have to separate them if i decide to wait before gelding him. Thank you again, all the info is a huge help!!

I don't like to breed the mare's before 3 and even 4 is better. Draft's mature at a slower rate than the light horses do. And as far as the Stud colt. They can easily get a horse pregnant at 2. So, I would star thinking about separating at a 1/12. You sure don't want to take any chances. Your filly can get pregnant very early. Your Stud should be ready no sooner than 3. You can at two but I would wait.

Also, about the head tossing. My Belgian does a lot of it. She is mostly bothered by flies but I find a lot of Draft's do this. Most all mine did.

Kelly;
You said that you had her teeth done , did a vet do them ,or an equine denist ? Reason I ask is ,we always used an equine denist , very nice person,always on time and at a good price ,55.00, he'd spend 15 - 20 minutes per horse and we never had any real problems, we thought . But, during a vet visit, I inquired about doing the incisors, my vet, who does dental, checked my horse and had me feel his back teeth , there was a 3/4 inch difference from one side to the other on the same tooth, and there were hooks in the back that were long , and , I just had his teeth done 8 weeks prior.
What I'm saying is , get a second opinion from a vet that does teeth and make them show you what they are to look and feel like . Even at 55.00 per horse , my first guy was high , because he didn't do the job and to do the front teeth you must sedate, so learn from my mistake and have someone actually show you how your horses teeth are. An educated customer is a good customer / horse owner . Horses shouldn't be tossing their heads like you describe , there's got to be something wrong . Good luck .

Gotta jump in on the age to separate colts and fillies...I have known 12 month old fillies that became impregnated by 12 month old colts, so I would separate them ASAP and not take any chances.

You bring up a major pet peeve of mine and that is "we would like to breed the colt to my clyde one day and then geld him".. You are already convinced your colt is not stallion material, why breed him in the first place?

One of the biggest issues addressed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners in the last couple of years is the major problem in the country with "UNWANTED HORSES". There have been closings of all US slaughter plants resulting in an overabundance of abandoned and neglected horses. Many of the horses are being transported to Mexico for slaughter were conditions and methods are anything but humane. Before you make the decision to breed more horses, I think we, as horse owners, have the responsibility to seriously consider the consequences of that action. What do you plan on doing with the product? Are you in the position to finacially and responsibly take care of the resulting end product? While you might think this doesn't impact you, there are very active,vocal groups (PETA for one) whose agenda is to stop any and all animal ownership, which they classify as abuse. These groups capitalize on the abandoned, starved horses that make it into the news, further fueling their agendas. Any decision to breed a mare to produce a foal should be well thought out and a planned decision. I will climb down off my soap box.

On the question of the mare shaking her head while walking out in the pasture in Florida, having lived in Ocala for 30+ years, I would imagine her headshaking is associated with the billions of gnats and noseeums that drive horses and people crazy there.

Dr. Jim, I can appreciate your soap box however I would like the chance to explain. First of all 4 out of our 5 horses were rescue horses. we took in 2 belgian that people couldnt take care of and the 2 babies are pmu babies that were all moved to fl to a local ranch here. they were selling them and we decided to buy 2 of the babies because we wanted to give them a good home and because I always loved spotted horses and especially spotted drafts now that i am aware of them. I also worked hard to try to help this ranch find homes for these pmu mares that had uncertain lives. I do NOT breed animals irresponsibly and I have never bred horses. The reason I say to geld him after breeding is because I am not equipped to handle a big full grown stallion and do not want to run into any problems. It has nothing to do with whether or not he is breeding material, to me is a beautiful horse and would be a great stallion but I am not a breeder!! Our clyde mare is our baby we got her as a baby now she is 9) and she is wonderful, my husband always wanted to breed her to a clyde and since he has let me take in all these horses I wanted to breed her like we always agreed to. We do not plan on selling her baby I could not do that we are way to attached to her and I know we would be extremely attached if she had a foal. We also have 4 young kids and they say we are short one horse now to have one for each of us so we can all ride when the kids and the horses are all old enough to ride. We figured it would be wonderful as a family to have and raise a foal for our own. Since we really like our colt my husband said he would like to breed him to her and I agreed that would be a great idea depending on how long we would have to not geld him so that we were responsible in what we were doing. I can assure you I am the first one looking to take in a horse and I know better than to just breed to put out more horses. This wass something special to do as a family and since we love our horses so much we wanted to breed them so we know both parents and their temperments. That is all it is about Please do not jump to conclusions so quickly, If you still do not agree I apologize but that is my feeling on that subject, thanks for your help.

Thank you, Dr. Jim... I so agree with you on the breeding issue. I live in a very Rural area in Tennessee. I see backyard breeding going on everyday and abuse and neglect constantly. So many times I have wanted to stop at houses and get on my soap box but not sure how well I would be recieved. We don't have any groups here in this County that can intervene and it is sad. People are going as far as to take their horses out in the woods and drop them off, leaving them to wonder around and half starve and become a danger to traffic. So, please think really hard before breeding. I bred my last mare 2 years ago and kept the baby for myself. I no longer need any more horses, so breeding is no longer a need for me. Thanks again-

I too agree 100% with Dr. Jim and Becki. There are already way too many unwanted horses (not to mention cats and dogs) and it angers me when people decide to breed their animals just because they want to, with no thought for the larger impact of their choice. Like Dr. Jim said, why would you breed a horse that you do not think is stud material except for sentimental reasons? (Not to attack you personally, Kelly, I apologize if it sounds that way, you sound very responsible) My vet actually suggested breeding Tink, my severe EPSM mare, when it looked like she would not recover from an injury enough to be rideable--how irresponsible would THAT have been??? Great idea, pump out ANOTHER impaired horse. Sheesh.

On another note though I must defend PETA, an wonderful organization that is absolutely NOT against the keeping of companion animals. Too many people spread that untruth. PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and they are staunch advocates of responsible animal ownership but are against animal activities that they feel are inherently abusive, such as factory farming, lab experiments, circuses, rodeos, dog and cock fighting, and horse and dog racing. I've never known them to take a stand against horse shows or other equine sports except against specific cruel practices like soring, for example. You may disagree with their positions and tactics but please don't continue spreading falsehoods about them wanting to ban all animal ownership. It's simply not true.

Dr. Jim's words may sound harsh, but they ring true in many cases. Kelly, it does sound like you have a very valid reason for breeding your mare to this colt, so I don't think it at all qualifies for the "irresponsible horse breeding" tag. I think your plan for one breeding and then gelding is reasonable and purposeful. That is not always the case with breeding horses.