From Two to Three: A Not-So-Immaculate Breeding Program
When I was a kid, our family suddenly got an accidental foal. Today I nearly repeated history when my three young mares were turned out with a teenage stallion. Thankfully, the vet brought us good news, and a huge sigh of relief.
When I was a kid, our family suddenly went from two horses to three without anyone actually deciding that we needed a third.
One day we had the usual pair. The next, surprise. One of them had a side kick by her side. Like an accidental, black and white, long legged miracle.
It wasn’t planned.
It wasn’t expected.
And absolutely no one was prepared for the logistics of a baby horse who arrived because someone didn’t do their homework in why mares and stallions should be separated on the fields.
Fast-forward to today
Different decade, different horses, same potential chaos.
Cause it turns out my three young mares, four, three and two years old, have been turned out on the fields and paddocks with an almost two-year-old stallion. All this without my knowledge and or consent, WTF!!!
A teenage boy with hormones, legs, and limited impulse control. You see where this is going.
So today while waiting for the vet to arrive to their new home, my thoughts were a perfect blend of déjà vu and absolute dread.
Please, let there be no surprises!
The vet scanned the girls.
One after another the results came back.
NOT PREGNANT.
Not even a hint of it.
The reproductive equivalent of a clean slate.
But letting mares run around with an intact young stallion is like letting toddlers play with fireworks. You might get lucky, but odds are, you’re going to end up with a very big surprise, and a very long, expensive story.
I’ve lived that story already.
Once is charming nostalgia.
Twice is just plain stupid.
So tonight I’m grateful.
Grateful for empty wombs. Grateful that we won’t be welcoming any accidental bonus babies in the year of 2026.
I am also grateful for the reminder that in the horse world, even the smallest oversight can trot straight into your life, and start eating hay for next 25 years.
Buy Me a Coffee
Order NowThe stable owner should also be grateful.
Cause as a stable owner you may [most definitely] end up with a big fat law suite when someone, who wasn't as lucky as I was, sues you for both financial loss and damage.
Good luck with that!
