How many foals is acceptable?

[Eve]

If you read that a mare had just had her 21st foal would you like me hoik those judgy pants right up and think ...what???!!!!

Poor mare, 21 foals, year after year!!!

[Flexiblefriend]

That does seem like an awful lot. I am not sure what is normal for a brood mare though.

[Booboostoo]

That does sound like a lot. Even if you wanted a foal from a particular mare every other year it would be tough to fit in 21 foals!

[Butkin]

That is quite a lot - extraordinary. Starting at 4 and going on to 25 (for example) that would mean she'd produced a foal every year - that is a real achievement in itself and presumably she was allowed to miss a year every few years so she could be covered early the following year. What breed is she?

[Butkin]

Just been thumbing through some thoroughbred pedigrees and most top mares seem to have, on average, about 12 foals. The high class Aim for the Top had 13 winners from 16 foals of racing age. She'd be quite unusual.

[PitchSlapped]

Woah thats a lot of foals. Id be judging away

[Millie2013]

I hope she'll now be allowed a very well deserved retirement!

[Mitchy1nge]

I didn't know it was possible. It's like imagining a 70 yr old human being pregnant. What was the reason? Can it be done without compromising her health, and that of her foals?

[Booboostoo]

Well in the wild it wouldn't be unusual for a mare to be covered as soon as she was able to after giving birht but you'd expect a lot of foals to be lost (MCs or deaths in the early years) plus the mare would only live 6-8 years anyway so she'd had to try to get as many off-spring in as possible.

[frostyfingers]

That does sound a lot. Zenyatta has just been given a year off after having 3 in 3 years.

[Butkin]

With TBs you want the foals to be born as near to Jan 1st as possible. Once they have foaled in late March/April they will miss a year so they can be covered in February again.

[FrankelandFilly]

As

[FrankelandFilly]

As Butkin says, it's not uncommon for a TB mare to keep producing foals. Urban Sea, as an example, had 11 foals in 13 years and they all did ok

They are obviously capable of producing a foal each year, otherwise they wouldn't start cycling again so soon after foaling. If the mare is healthy I see no reason not to cover her, if her body is not happy to continue it will reject the pregnancy.

[PoshPenny]

I agree.

[SlowlorisIncognito]

I don't have an issue with a mare having a foal once every year/every two years during her prime, but for 21 years, she must have either started early, or carried on until quite old- both of which I would judge, as it would put a lot of strain on her body, especially her joints.

In the wild, it is a bit different, as the mare would be unlikely to live long enough for age to become an issue. You would also expect some foals to be aborted/die young. Plus, of course, today's modern horses and ponies have changed a lot from their wild ancestors, so may not be as well adapted to pregnancy and birth.