# What if my new mare is in foal to her son?



## JuJulio

Hi all,

I recently purchased a new TB mare who had been sharing a paddock with her (currently 4 year old) colt when he went back to the breeder to spell between preps. She is in very good condition on barely any feed and not great pasture (which is somewhat uncommon in TB's). 

We purchased her late december and she stayed with her old owner for another 3 weeks due to flooding. During this time i believe she has put on more weight on what i believe is a very basic diet. 

I never thought to really ask (stupid i know) as to the chances of her being in foal to her son, as any self respecting owner would be sure to seperate the mare and colt if she was in season or any funny business was occuring. 

Due to her condition i have called the previous owner tonight to ask if she thought that the colt (son) may have covered her and she replied saying that "they fooled around all the time"......ahhh....this is NOT good!!!!

I have a few years experience in the TB racing and breeding industry and while having a foal does not bother me...one born from incest does due to possible heath problems for mare and/or foal. 

Have not found much info on the net as to whether the consequences of this (possible) mating are..If anyone has an opinion or knowledge they would like to share on this topic i'd love to hear it...p.s...have not had the chance to get a preg test/vet check yet...would prefer to be prepared for the results...no changing it now if she is already in foal to her son.

Thanks for reading.


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## HowClever

JuJulio said:


> no changing it now if she is already in foal to her son


Actually there is if it is within a certain time frame. Have your vet out and they can give her a shot to bring her back in to season.

Either way she should be preg checked because there is no way to know if she is in foal otherwise. If she is in foal to her son, I would be giving her the shot.


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## JuJulio

Thanks HowClever...

But i actually think that she is 'big' enough that is she is actually in foal to him, she must be at least half way through her pregnancy and unless their is a high risk of the foal being disfigured/unhealthy etc i would prefer to wait it out. 

Agreed about the vet, but tonight is the first time i have really explored this possibilty...will speak with a vet this week about preg test. Just really trying to find out how bad this situation could be for mare and foal if she is pregnant.


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## Eastowest

A mother to son breeding is not a gaurantee of trouble. In fact, although its not done regularly now that the populations of most breeds have increased sufficiently, there have been many successful lines founded on closebreeding. 

In the mother/son breeding, the genes of the dam are potentially doubled, so anything good in the mare might be better in the foal, anything bad might be worse, depending on the nature/inheritance of the trait. Inbreeding does increase the probability that a rare simple recessive defect might surface, but its more likely that the foal will be normal.


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## FeatheredFeet

Don't worry or listen to old wives tales and myths JuJulio. Thousands of foals are born each year, from inbreeding. There is no greater risk really, than having problems in linebred or outcrossed breedings.

Good points and flaws the mare possesses, certainly are more likely to show up in this baby. Hopefully the mare is nice quality and will reproduce herself.

Don't worry!

Lizzie


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## equiniphile

I wouldn't worry about it, linebreeding happens all the time and there's cases much worse than this. I would have her palpated to see if she is prego, and if your mare isn't a comformation or temperament wreck and you're okay with having a foal from her, you can choose to keep or abort.


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## JuJulio

Thanks so much guys, im definately feeling more at ease. Will have the vet out soon for palpation. The mare should produce a decent foal (if she is in fact pregnant). She has some behavioural issues im slowly finding out and not to happy with but that may be more nurture than nature. 

Thanks again, really glad i stumbled across this forum. 

All the best!


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## FeatheredFeet

Don't forget to show us pics of the little one, when it arrives. We love baby pics.

Lizzie


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## dressagebelle

I agree with the above statements. In all my years of riding and working with horses, I've seen lots of close and of course not so closely related babies, and there is only one that actually had any serious problems. He was an Arab, his mom was bred back to her sire by mistake, and the baby was born with wobblers syndrome, and while he can't be ridden much, he lives out his life spoiled in a pasture, happy and healthy. Especially in Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, you can find a lot of "inbreeding" in the bloodlines of a lot of the horses, and they've all turned out just fine, and some have even gone on to breed and produce good babies themselves. I would definitely have her checked, just so you can have an idea of when she may be due, and so you can start making sure her nutritional needs are met while she's carrying, and nursing her baby. Good luck, and definitely keep us posted and put pics up.


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## twogeldings

Now, if you take the foal that she produces then breed it _back again_ to the dam or sire....yaaa might end up with a bit strange foal 

I do believe it takes 3-4 generations of inbreeding for really funky stuff to show up. I'll be linebreeding a rabbit when she's old enough, put together, I believe it the pairing will throw exceptional kits.


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## FeatheredFeet

I read some years back, that scientific studies, done with various species, showed absolutely not problems, except the normal conformation faults, found in the line anyway. One thing they did find however, was at the end of 12 generations ( I believe it was), the offspring had lost a lot of size.

Lizzie


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## goodhrs

I am totally against incest. That's why we have Herda, Sids, the list goes on and on.


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## FeatheredFeet

What are you talking about? Herda and many other problems, could be completely bred out, if all animals were tested before breeding. Inbreeding does not 'cause' these problems. As with many problems which affect horses and other animals, hidden problems - ie not tested for, are likely to show up whether the animals are inbred, linebred or outcrossed. The key is testing for problems known in breeds and then breeding responsibly.

Lizzie


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## DaiziMae

I'm so glad that I am not the only one dealing with this. I rescued 2 horses, a mare and her now 3 yr old colt. They were kept in the same pasture and the only ones in there. I took them in on Thanksgiving and the mare should foal out any day now. I don't know much and only planned on taking on 2 or 3 to start with. I don't know much about horses at all but my boyfriend has raised and delt with horses his whole life. He tells me what I need to do to take care of them and I do it every day. But when we got the call late that night that they were being starved and very dehidrated we rushed over there right away with out hesitation. But we were in for a very big surprise and neither of us (obviously more me than him) have delt with a mare in foal. I was concerned about the inbreeding as well and my concers were quickly comforted with great advice. I look for new information every day on the mare to ensure a safe and healthy delivery. I have the vet on speed dial and he knows my situation. He is quite confident that she and I will do just fine, but only lives 15 miles away. And the way things are progressing it looks like we may have a foal some time in the next few days!!! YAY


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