# Horses of very different sizes being bred?



## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

It's extremely possible with the conditions humans have for horses these days
As for the foal endangering the dam's life, I doubt it was from size. Foals can only grow to the size of their dam's uterus, it doesn't matter how big the stallion is (theoretically). I wouldn't advise breeding a stud of say 18h to a mare of 12.3h, but I'm sure someone has done it before.
I'm almost positive that it grows to the same size an offspring of a similar sized pair would create, and then finishes it's growth once outside the womb and has all the room and could possibly want. 
I would also not suggest breeding a mini to a horse..I just think it would end up with a foal of horrid conformation 9 times out of 10. Although, there's more than one way.  I've heard of people making ditches for the mare to stand in, platforms for studs to stand on, etc. The most common is AI, artificial insemination, from my understanding though.
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## KateKlemmer (Aug 15, 2010)

oh yeah, I would neverr bread my mare to a draft!
and, my lord... digging ditches? to me, that would be a sign that the two horses really shouldn't mix genetics.


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## Spirit11 (Apr 18, 2011)

Theirs a baby a the rescue whos mom's a percheron and the dads a paint. The babys beautiful, and really big already. I think its just gonna grow up to look like a really big stocky paint. Hmmm, I'll have to get pics soon.


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

I actually think that most mules are bred either withthe ditches or AI, since most mares that are used fortheir breeding are quite large, and some Jacks just can't get up there, lol. I wouldn't say that they shouldn't be bred though, because they have their uses. 
I think it's all based on the circumstance and what the horse is being bred for. ;p
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## KateKlemmer (Aug 15, 2010)

@spirit11, pics please! i'm interested to see how a cross like that would look. 

and Iseul, that makes sense. I was thinking more about people digging a ditch so they could breed a regular sized mare to a little Mini stud.
& i completley agree, if someone were breeding horses with vastly different sizes just to experiment, that would be horrible. but if it were for a mule, then more power to them.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

we have a little gelding out at the farm who is a miniature horse x quarter pony mix. Funniest looking horse you'll ever meet xP his mother was the mini- a 37 inch tall amh, and his father was the QP- 13.3hh evidently it worked, and his dam had no problems with pregnancy or delivery, but he sure is an odd looking little thing! Dont know what possessed someone to mix those to breeds...

(note that he's landing after a crowhop spin thing, trying to tell the donkey that he's boss- and thats why his legs are splayed funny o.- they actually are fairly well formed and his best feature xD)


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i believe there is someone here with a TB x welsh cross? i may be wrong on the breeds though. it's entirely possibly, and the foal wouldn't grow bigger than the ****'s uterus, but mini's usually have complications with pregnancy and birth anyway. i'd say if anything happened it was due to that. the foal would just grow faster once it was born and may have troubles nursing, but other then that i don't see alot wrong with it other then they would probably have a crappy conformation.


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

Someone has a TB-Mini cross. I believe his name is Thumper and he's a pretty good looking boy.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

^ user is Anrz


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

I have known several people who bought ponies at auction already-bred, and who died trying to deliver foals from (significantly) larger stallions.


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

I don't know if this is true, but I've always been told that if you are going to breed a cross make sure the mare is the larger of the 2 horses. 
When I worked as a vet tech a long time ago, the small animal vets used to say the same thing about the dogs.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

thats who i was thinking of MN! it was a tb mini and yes i know he's VERY handsome if i say so myself! but i don't believe everyone gets as lucky when making cross with such huge differences! i also believe he did turn out to be quite large as well?


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## KateKlemmer (Aug 15, 2010)

hmm. very interesting.


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

My friend rides a Hackney Pony/Hanovarian cross. He's actually really gorgeous and HUGE. I don't know who was the dam and who was the sire though.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Keep in mind the smaller the mare is, the more natural complications she's going to have birthing regardless of the size of the stud. Miniatures and small ponies are NOTORIOUS for having difficulties birthing, and it has nothing to do with size. So no, given the track record, I would never breed a larger stud to such a small mare.

Once you're dealing with 13hh and up, you really shouldn't be seeing any problems. We bred my 14hh Arab mare to a 17hh Hanoverian stud and she foaled no problems, out in a field. I wouldn't have any qualms breeding an average size Quarter Horse mare to a Draft stud.

There have been no conclusive studies done to prove that a larger stallion causes complications, and all evidence seems to point to it being acceptable but in the end it really boils down to personal preference. If someone HAS lost a foal by that type of mating, they're more likely to be leery then the person who's done it a dozen times and never encountered a single problem.


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## Azale1 (Jul 5, 2010)

Yes is it is very possible for a foal to be so large in endangers the life of the mare. We had one die at my last work because of this. She was a Thoroughbred bred to a Thoroughbred stallion and the foal was so large she was in labour for 8 hours before we could get her to the equine hospital and they hung her up from these chains and tried pulling the baby out because by this time she had given up trying. The baby was so large he ended up dying on the spot from having his ribs crushed on him when he came out and the mare died very shortly afterward from al the complications. 

I don't know why someone would breed a pony to a draft or even a pony to a normal horse. It is too much of a risk and what are they expecting to achieve exactly?


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## BarrelRacer86 (Jul 6, 2010)

I rode a pony that was a Shetland / quarter horse cross she was only 13.2 hh she looked like a little thoroughbred honestly
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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

Divo is out of a lil' mare....12.2hh-13hh if I remember correctly? And a 16-17hh stud. Hackney mare and a Friesian stallion 

Divo stands a monstrous 13.2hh.....:lol:


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