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Originally Posted by paisjpq
Please say a prayer today for one of my favorite old mares, at 21 she is pregnant with her 13th foal. And it is suspected that she is hemorrhaging internally. As I write this she is on her way to Hagyard's, a trip which is likely only going to save the life of her foal.
My question is this...how old is too old? I know it has been debated regarding racing, but at what point does it become cruel to ask a mare to produce 'just one more foal'... time and time again older mares die foaling and I have to say I am tired of seeing it happen to the one's that I love...
older mares have lower rates of conception,
higher rates of fetal loss,
higher rates of complications such as retained placenta, placentitis, and uterine artery rupture.
Increased scarring of the uterus from multiple foalings can lead to poor placental development and attachment, which can in turn lead to problems with the fetus.
Many older mares have lower quality colostrum
and all of this doesn't even take into account that older mares cost more...the vet bills to get an old mare pregnant and keep her that way are far greater than those of a relatively young mare.
thoughts?
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I will pray for your old friend. I know this is a hard subject, if mares are kept in constant production, which is actually how their systems are designed, than they don't normally have a problem carrying the foal. I agree with you though on the actual delivering. I lost my beloved old mare at 21 to a torsion that was inoperable, she hadn't had a foal in 6 years, but the day I cradled her head and said good buy, my deepest regret was that I didn't have at least a few more from her, she was a show horse, but her foals were all champions. I personally would not breed a mare past 20. I think they've earned the rest and deserve the retirement. I had to keep my mare on Regumate the entire 11 months of gestation on her last foal when she was just 17. It does get more difficult. I sure hope everything is okay with your old mare. Fingers crossed.
