Would you breed a mare who has had colic surgery?

Our broodmare had to have emergency colic surgery this past weekend. She had a 5-month old baby at her side. The surgeon said this is common in broodmares, although usually right after birth due to the large space left in the body cavity. Have any of you had this happen to a broodmare?

I have already paid the stud fee for next year. Of course I know I cannot breed her next year. But I've gotten conflicting advice on whether to ever breed her again. My vet said I can absolutely breed her again, while the surgeon said it would be a risk.

I'm curious to get feedback from all of you who may have had experience in this area and/or what you think.

Thanks.

I wouldn't breed her at all. And besides not all mares HAVE to be bred. It could really damage her stomach.

I wouldn't risk it if she were my mare. Could you transfer the breeding fee to another mare?

Yes, I can transfer the stud fee to another mare, and that's what I've decided to do. Our trainer offered up her broodmare for us to use so that she'll have one less horse to take care of for awhile. She has had four wonderful babies previously and produces beautiful movers. The stud owners have agreed to let us use another mare as long as they approve the mare.

The thing about our broodmare is that we bought her specifically as a broodmare. She was a show horse in hunter/jumper, but after developing a bone spur in her fetlock she became a broodmare. She has good bloodlines and produces nice babies. We've gotten one really nice baby from her and she had two others before we owned her. So if we can't breed her, she'll end up a pasture ornament. She's an easy going mare and could be an "aunt" to future babies.

But I'd just like to know if anyone out there has bred a mare who has had colic surgery. If we did breed her, it wouldn't be for a couple more years. She'd have plenty of time off to recuperate.

If you have the money, why not do an ET with your mare? There are some disadvantages, like chances are you would have to send her to a clinic to get the procedure done, and if you don't have a surrogate (I'm not sure if your trainer would approve or not) I think some clinics send you their surrogate mares.. and you never know what kind your going to get, etc. But its a thought if you want another baby from your mare..

Anytime a horse has colic surgery , its usually said they can colic again,easier. That's what I have been told. The qh rance I worked at had a mare that had to have emergency colic surgery about 2 wks after foaling a healthy foal, the mare was not bred that year but the next year and she has foaled 3 or 4 foals since the surgery without any problems, but we do have to watch her on pasture and becareful to start her out really slow and becareful changing food and such...Good Luck!

I don't know that I would breed her. I would certainly ask my vet his/her opinion of that regarding your particular mare.

I feel for you. I know you are probably looking for someone who has re-bred their mare after colic surgery and can say everything went fine. However, I think you'd be imposing a great health risk to your mare and stress on yourself too.

Have you seen the colic surgery video on this forum? It's a miracle that the horse survives the surgery let alone the post recovery.

Personally, if it were my mare, it wouldn't be worth the risk of losing her by stressing out her system to foal again.

Good luck!