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

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

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

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

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