3yo filly having a foal ???

[pacha]

I recently inquired about a 3 y.o highland filly that i am interested in buying, for showing and future riding , i was told she had a foal this year, i was shocked, she insisted it was fine and the filly had done the foal well and was now weaned !!!

anyway what i wanted to know was does anyone think it will have had any bad affects on the filly ??

[Deleted]

I would say it will have slowed her development a bit as she is still a baby herself, but i shouldnt think its will have done her much harm, if your really concerned id get the vet to giver her a once over.

[hatman]

A friend of mine has just bought a 2 year old thats in foal sounds wrong to me its like child abuse they are so young. People say its fine though but i would not do it to a filly of mine

[Laura]

I think it depends very much on the individual horse, and if they were running in a herd in the wild they would be in foal maybe as yearlings or 2 year olds so although it may not be ideal for some, it's not unnatural

[holiday]

I am happy to put my two year olds in foal, however, only if they are mature enough and they always have a vet check first. I always make sure they have enough food and correct vits/mins to keep them growing and feed the foal.

[arabellaphoenix]

I bought my mare when she had just turned two. 11 months later out popped a foal!! Poor little girl, we just thought she was getting fat so dieted her etc. Vet was out one day to see another pony and we asked him to check her too, he was sure she wasn't in foal. About 9 months in baby started kicking noticeably! After that we made sure she was on a good diet with vits etc and she had a very healthy baby and was a brilliant mum and has shown no bad effects of having a baby that young.

[lysander]

highlands are late to mature (usually not tll 6/7) so her physical growth would be affected and she'll probably wont be as big as she could have been.I've bred highlands for many years and would rather wait for the mares to fully mature as this not not only benefits them but the foals.

[sparkle]

I personally dont agree with putting anything in foal if it's still a baby! Seems wrong - whats the rush the filly/mare has its wholel ife ahead of it to have babies!

[magrat2002]

I too have no problems with putting a 2year old filly in foal if they are healthy themselves...in fact I have a 3yr old filly with a 5 month old foal at foot, and they have both done excellently.

[stunstead]

As long as the filly is mature enough there isnt a problem.
I put my section A in foal at 3 and it did her the world of good. as long as they get all the vits and minerals they need they should be fine.

[heathers]

i breed welshies and although i dont put 2 year olds in foal it is quite safe to do so with no ill effects