Effect of advancing age on the reproductive performance of Japanese Thoroughbred broodmares

Many studies have reported that advancing age in broodmares has a negative impact on the reproductive performance of horses. However, although the ages at first and last mating vary among broodmares, it is unknown how this variation affects the correlation between age and reproductive performance in mares. Here, in order to examine the effects of the ages at first and last mating, we analyzed all recorded mating events for Thoroughbreds in Japan from 1997 to 2017. We found that the live foal birth rate of mares with a younger age at first mating indeed declined at an earlier age than those with an older age at first mating and that the number of years since the first mating also contributes to the decline in the birth rate. We also found that the live foal birth rate and mean earnings of the produced foals are much higher for mares with an older age at last mating compared with mares with a younger age at last mating. Our results should aid breeders in assessing the value of broodmares and designing breeding strategies.