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A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old. The word can also be used for other female equine animals, particularly and , but a female donkey is usually called a "jenny". A broodmare is a mare used for breeding.
The estrous cycle, also known as "season" or "heat" of a mare occurs roughly every 19–22 days and occurs from early spring into autumn. As the days shorten, most mares enter an anestrus period during the winter and thus do not cycle in this period. The reproductive cycle in a mare is controlled by the photoperiod (length of the day), the cycle first triggered when the days begin to lengthen. As the days shorten, the mare returns to the anestrus period when she is not sexually receptive. Anestrus prevents the mare from conceiving in the winter months, as that would result in her foaling during the harshest part of the year, a time when it would be most difficult for the foal to survive.Ensminger, M. E. Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series. Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. p. 150
However, for most competitive purposes, foals are given an official "birthday" of January 1 (August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere), and many breeders want foals to be born as early in the year as possible. Therefore, many breeding farms begin to put mares "under lights" in late winter in order to bring them out of anestrus early and allow conception to occur in February or March. One exception to this general rule is the field of endurance riding, which requires horses to be 60 true calendar months old (5 years) before competing at longer distances.
Fillies are sexually mature by age two and are sometimes bred at that age, but generally should not be bred until they have stopped growing, usually by age four or five.Ensminger, M. E. Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series. Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. p. 149-150
A healthy, well-managed mare can produce a foal every year into her twenties, though not all breeders will breed a mare every year. In addition, many mares are kept for riding and so are not bred annually, as a mare in late pregnancy or nursing a foal is not able to perform at as athletic a standard as one who is neither pregnant nor lactation. In addition, some mares become anxious when separated from their foals, even temporarily, and thus are difficult to manage under saddle until their foals are weaning.
The formation of the bond between a mare and her foal "occurs during the first few hours post-partum, but that of the foal to the mare takes place over a period of days".
In wild herds, a "boss mare" or "lead mare" leads the band to grazing, to water, and away from danger. She eats and drinks first, decides when the herd will move and to where. The herd stallion usually brings up the rear and acts as a defender of the herd against predators and other stallions.
Mares are used as dairy animals in some cultures, especially by the nomads and formerly nomadic peoples of Central Asia. Fermented mare's milk, known as kumis, is the national drink of Kyrgyzstan. Some mares, usually of draft horse breeding, are kept in North America for the production of their urine. Pregnant mares' urine is the source of the active ingredient in the hormonal drug Premarin (derived from Pregnant mares' u rine).
Until the invention of castration, and even later where there was less cultural acceptance of castration, mares were less difficult to manage than stallions and thus preferred for most ordinary work. Historically, the Bedouin nomads of the Arabian Peninsula preferred mares on their raids, because stallions would nicker to the opposing camps' horses, whereas mares would be quiet. However, other cultures preferred male horses over mares either due to a desire for more aggressive behavior in a fighting animal, or to not be inconvenienced with a loss of work ability due to a mare's pregnancy, parturition and lactation.
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