Anyone else had this experience with a broodmare?

[larrysmum]

Hi, I'm new to all this Horse gossip malarkey, but have finally plucked up the courage to post a question!
First of all I need to give you all a bit of background info.
I bought my now 8 year old broodmare (section B) from Fayre Oaks 2005. After her journey down South we paired her up with another pony, also from Fayre Oaks. They spent all winter together and then most of the Summer with breaks apart for shows etc and when she first had her foal. In late October my mares companion was sold and my mares condition started to drop off. Thinking that this was because of the large colt foal she had at foot we decided to wean. Despite this my mare still didn't gain any condition so we made the decision to bring her back to the yard to be brought in at night and have a bit of TLC, even though we were planning to leave her turned away all winter.
Since shes been back she has picked up a bit, but not as much as I Would like. She has had everything checked ( back, teeth, worms e.t.c.), she has conditioning feed and ad lib hay, but is never really hungry. She is not stressed at all but spends most of her time stood in the field just staring at the colt on the hill!
We decided to leave her empty this year as she has had 5 foals in the last five years and looks rather immature, so we thought it would do her good. I am starting to think that maybe she is depressed that she is not in foal ( silly, I know!). She is turned out next to her foal, so I don't think she is missing him.
I would be very interested to hear from anyone else who may have come across broodmares that thrive when in foal, but don't do so well when left empty.


P.S. Sorry to waffle on, thought most things were relevant!

[Guest today]

Some ponies form very strong pair bonds, she has lost her best friend. I know from my own little herd that the loss of a friend can be deverstating for them.
Make her day buy her friend back .

[y]

I agree

its surprising how they form pair bonds, I've recently had this problem with a pony who was away for breaking fine on her own before she went but now very reluctant to be parted from her friends.

[larrysmum]

Not possible I'm afraid. I'd have her friend back like a shot but the family she is with now love her to pieces! I've tried pairing her up with several other of my horses, but no luck. She did spend several weeks away from her in the summer and was fine. Maybe she was pr-occupied with her foal? I don't think I made it clear in my original post but the colt she seems obsessed with is not her own he is a rather large coloured cob that belongs to the next door neighbour! I know bit*hes can become hellbent when they are on heat, just wondering if the same applies to mares?

[armada]

A very xperienced breeder I know says that mares can be very attached to their colt foals (her one remaining broodmare has failed to conceive and she puts it down to the fact her last foal was a colt and there is this bond). Dont know what to say if the colt in question is'nt her own, maybe she is substituting him?

[Guestless]

If your mare's condition dropping off coincides with the move of her companion, then I would think she is missing her pair bond too. Is there another pony on your yard you can put with her to see if that helps her any?

[sallyw]

I have a mare that fails to thrive when not in foal, so when she had a colt in 2005 we had him gelded in the november and left him with her. Over last summer we have broken her to ride. She still lives in the stable next to her last foal and goes out with him in the field. However, she is very happy to go out for ride without calling to him and generally is in really good form. We might hav e just been lucky with the circumstances. Maybe your mare is bored? I agree that pair bonds can be very strong - you hear of one old pony of a pair dying and the other following quickly behind even if it was well.Good luck.

[lolly]

I would put it down to the fact she was probably a upset,worried, and insecure after fayreoaks and the companion was her safety net, and she was probably his. She then also had her foal to keep her occupied. Was she taken to fayreoaks after a foal was taken from her, she may have been feeling insecure and worried before she even got to fayre oaks

Horses are funny things, years ago I fostered a section D who had been pair bonded with his full sister, he was perfect in all ways and was shown at County Level. Then his sister was sold and Thomas ended up at the sanctuary because he was uncontrollable. We took him on and although he could eventually be ridden out and pony clubbed locally, he could not be left alone without him coming through the fence or over the gate, could not be stabled on his own, would panic in a trailor, if you actually got him in, , but we coped and loved him, eventually we retired him back to the sanctuary and he is now in the middle of 30 acres with 50 shetland ponies and he is never ever left alone. My point is pair bonds can be very strong and are ofter under estimated.

Good luck with youre mare, she is lucky to have been bought by someone who cares so much, Ime sure a new friend will do the trick with time, I can understand why you didnt put her back in foal but it might be what she needs. Keep Posting

[another stud person]

I have to agree with Stud, 5 foals is quite enough to establish her as a broodmare. Our mares personalities are very very different when they are not in foal, so much so, you can pretty much tell before they are scanned whether they are in foal or not, as they change so much! Maybe if you are not going to put her in foal, you should work her and see if you can put her mind into a another job focus!

[larrysmum]

;D ;D ;Thanks so much for everyones thoughts, very much appreciated.

All I've got to do now is decide do I break her or put her in foal?!

Anyone able to recommend a nice section B or riding pony stallion with plenty of bone who stands in the South of the country?