GESTATION LENGTHS OF FREIBERGER MARES WIT H MULE AND HORSE FOALS

Tn a retrospective study the gestation lengths of two groups, each con sisting of 193 <<Freiberger>> mares, were compared, The mares of the f irst group were bred by a donkey, those of the second group by a stall ion of the <<Freiberger>> breed. On average, the gestation length of m ares with <<Freiberger>> foals lasted 336.5 days, and that of mares wi th mule foals 343.1 days. The difference between both groups was signi ficant (p < 0.001). The shortest and longest observed gestation length of mares with <<Freiberger>> foals was 307 and 361 days, and that of mares with mule foals 315 and 369 days, respectively. Additionally, we examined if the stallion, the mare, the age of the mare, the sex of t he foal and the time of mating during the breeding season influenced g estation length of mares with mule foals and if the age of the mare, t he sex of the foal and the time of breeding influenced gestation lengt h of mares with <<Freiberger>> foals. The time of breeding and the mar e had a significant (p < 0.05) influence on gestation length.