How old does a colt have to be in order to breed successfully?

Answer 1

At age 2 colt's can breed this is why if your a private owner like on a small farm and have a mare who has a colt you need to have him guilded around 1 1/2 years old to keep from mounting his mother. Some breeders who are sucessful feel it is best to wait until the stallion is around 6 years old before letting them stand.

Answer 2

Both of these other answers are incorrect- a colt enters puberty at the age of 8 to 10 months, before he is even a year old, and can breed at the age of a year. THAT is why colts and fillies are separated at weaning on the big thoroughbred farms in places like Kentucky and Florida. If you are going to geld your colt, there are 2 schools of thought as to when the best time to do this is. One is right after the colt is born. The other is at about 2 years of age, unless the colt is very "colty", or stud like in his behavior towards either his mother or other horses. In a wild herd, most colts are driven from their native herd at about 2 years of age by their sire- the dominant stallion in the herd. This prevents inbreeding, which would weaken the herd and cause disease. They then form bachelor herds until they are old enough to fight off a rival and win a band of mares of their own, which generally isn't until they are 5 or 6 years old. Domesticated stallions usually don't stand their first season untlil they are 5 or 6, to give them a chance to grow up and establish some sort of performance record. ( The exception to this is the thoroughbred racing industry, where colts enter stud when they are 3 and remain there for the rest of there lives.) If you have a colt, and you live in a suburban area, I would check with your local planning and public works department concerning zoning regulations- there are many communities nowadays that prohibit the keeping of a stallion in a residential area or neighborhood. This is for the safety of all concerned, because stallions can get loose, and they can also be dangerous if they are not handled properly by experienced people. Hopefully, this answers your question.

Answer 3

3

Answer 4

While the above answer is correct, that a horse reaches full maturity between 4-5 years of age, sexual maturity occurs at a much younger age - typically 18-24months. A young horse can complete a breeding act, which is why young horses are separated by sex (usually) when they are weaned, but it is generally not considered healthy to breed until the horse is physically and mentally more mature.

Answer 5

If it was one of my breeding mares i would wait till she is about 5-6 that way she has a chance to learn how to care for her self and to be a horse.

Answer 6

He would have to be about 4-5 years old to fully mature.

Answer 7

after 30 months when front 2 teeth rise