hi - 3 years old isnt too young to breed providing the filly is well grown - i myself put my 3yo mare in foal last year so she will be foaling this year aged 4 (dont forget in the wild most get pregnant at 2 years old and surely having a foal at a young age is far more natural than us breaking them in aged 2 or 3 as most people do! - now theres food for thought eh?!) however - you say she is skittish - in which case i would say a big NO to breeding from her - breeding is not something that should be embarked on lightly or because foals are cute or you have some spare time on your hands etc - it is costly - sometimes devistatingly so - something im sure you wouldnt like your children to go through. personally if the mare isnt ready from breaking i would use the next 12 months to really work on getting her handleable - lots of grooming and leading out in hand and generally exposing her to all the things she will later experience with your kids on - she needs to learn to trust you and accept all the spooky scary things around before she is broken. then i would suggest sending her away to a professional to start off and on her return work carefully with a good local instructor and your kids - it is all to easy for things to go wrong and both your kids and the pony be put off for good. hope some of this is of some use :-)

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