Let me hear your positive success stories breeding an older maiden. I have a 20yr old maiden that checks out good repo wise but as always, chances of success go down with age. I'm trying to remain hopeful lol

Personally I have had better luck breeding mares that are maidens at an advanced age than an older mare that hasn't had a foal for 6 or 8 yrs. Not sure why and some will have the opposite but...

I would highly recommend taking her to a really good repro vet in your area and having them start to monitor her cycles early this spring and also check her for any infection/issues. Once given the clear, again that good repro vet is important. Whether bred via AI or live cover, they can help her to clear excess fluid etc and make sure she ovulates as she should. The rest just cross your fingers. My stud is the result of a 17 yr old mare that hadn't carried a foal to term in 2 yrs so we opted to AI, caslick etc with the best repro vet in the area. Also had her tested for progesterone etc. My vet likened an older mare's uterus to a cleaning maid. When young, they can get in there and deep clean (flush excess fluid) but when old, they can't quite get down and get the corners good lol.

A few years ago we Bred our 17 yo Maiden Mare Live Cover.  She did not take the first time.  When she cycled again we had her checked and she had some fluid so we gave oxytocin shots every 6 hours the day before breeding.  Checked a few days after Breeding and she had ovulated w/no fluid pooling.  Checked at 16 days and we were in foal!  Had a nice colt in 2017 and he's ready to be started now! :)

We bred our 14 year old maiden mare for an upcoming 2020 foal. Our vet suggested going live cover on this first due to her age. She checked out good to go and caught first time. We have a baby coming and are now looking forward to being able to A.I. her in the future. Given that she has no issues foaling. 

Few years back we bred a 20 year old maiden, live cover, and she caught first time--carried fine. The foal was a tad on the small side but eventually caught up. We ended up getting three more foals out of her after that also.

Bred 2 older maiden mares 2 years ago. Took them to Weatherford Equine because I was worried they would be really hard to breed and wanted vets who do that every day. One mare was a 20yo maiden and the other 17yo. The 17yo took right away, no difficulty with her pregnancy until delivery (long story). The 20yo we tried 2 cycles, got pregnant both times but lost it both times.  They ended up saying they didn't think she would be able to carry based on hormonal and anatomical factors.

The 17yo mare ended up having a healthy colt this last spring. He is wonderful! We tried breeding her back and she did not take. The vets said sometimes older mares do better breeding every other year vs back to back. To be fair, we did use a vet closer to home so I'm not sure if that was also a factor. 

I agree with whoever said taking them to a breeding specialist makes a big difference. We were amazed at our experience at Weatherford. That place is like a finely tuned machine and they really knew what they were doing. Everything was done precisely on time and they did not take any chances; they did everything they could do to get our mares bred. 

Good luck!

This topic has been brought up several times in the past.  I don't know if you can get the search to work. I've had trouble with it lately.

But my experience with 18-21 year old maiden mares getting in foal for the first time has been VERY positive.  Usually only one cycle providing she's clean. I would caution you to keep a close eye on them through their pregancy though.  Any mare can have trouble and any mare can lose one due to just not knowing what they are suppose to do. It can happen to any age maiden or not.  

I have more trouble with older mares that have had several babies. If you have one that hasn't gotten in foal with previous attempts, I think a uterine biopsey is the best money spent on them.  I had three mares between 20-21 that hadn't had a baby in a couple of years.  I had a biopsey done on all three. They were all three dirty with something.  I'd have to read the report again to tell you what.  I got them treated and 2 are back in foal. I'm going to biopsey the third one again and see if she's clean or not.  

Did you biopsy by any chance?

i have had better success with getting older maidens in foal than I have in older pluriparous mares who have had a year off. Just my experience. As long as you know in advance that the cost may be more because you may have age related issues, it's worth trying.

Older maidens typically have a cervix that does not relax, even when the mare is in heat and the cervix SHOULD be soft and open.  Because of that it makes it more likely for them to pool fluid post breeding because the cervix won't open enough to let the fluid out.  So often times with those mares they require some post breeding lavages and oxytocin to get extra stuff out. 

I bred my 19 yr old maiden mare last year to a Playgun stud. The breeder turned her out last year with his mares after the breeding season and she had a colt on August 1st.  I know he is late but  I don't really care, cause he is a really nice. I certainly think it is worth it if you really like your mare and the stud. Go for it!