Breeding advise please

[Velvet]

Hi guys,

After MUCH thought and many hours daydreaming, I have finally decided to breed my TB mare Velvet.

Firstly I would like to mention that I would not breed her unless I knew that her foal would be a credit to horses. I'm not a "I have a mare, I'm going to breed her no matter what" type of person. My Mare has a wonderful temprament, fantastic conformation and good breeding lines.

I have two choices with the stallion I have picked. Live cover (the breeder prefers this as this is what the stallion is used to) and AI with fresh semen. Does it really matter which I choose? AI is ALOT more expensive I know.

Must I wait until my mare comes into season on her own or will she automatically come into season when she spots a studly stallion?

What happens if the live cover first attempt does not take? Will I have to pay for another "covering"?

The stallion I have chosen is Drosselklang I, Full brother to Drosselklang II. Does anyone have experience with these lines? I am familiar with DI babies, I know they are correct and jump very well and I know that DII is a much sought after stallion and a known producer of show jumpers.

Thanks guys!!!

 

[JANANI]

With my mare you wouldn't know when she is in season as she is not a moody mare. So the stud injected her to bring her into season so you could pick your time and send her to stud.

I initially wanted AI for my mare but unfortunately to register the foal with weatherbys (TB) it had to be natural. The advantage with AI is that you can keep the mare at home while with natural she has to stay at the stud. My mare was away for approx one week and would have been covered several times during her season.

If you sending her to Stud make sure you are happy about where she is being kept.

HTH

 

[pocomoto]

With live cover you pay the stud fee for a foal, so that is however many attempts you have at it, the only ongoing cost is keeping your mare at livery at the stud, if your mare doesn’t take at all then there is no fee (in the majority of cases!).

Using AI has other cost implications and agreements can vary. I got a very good deal this year a live foal guarantee on AI, but there would have been extra semen transport costs should she not have taken first time. By live foal my contract is a free return (I pay semen transport costs) should she loose the foal or it die up to 2 weeks after birth. But it varies so you need to ask for the terms for both methods in advance.

You have to weigh up costs to you and the wellbeing of the mare. If she is happy being away from home then send her there early let her settle and cover her naturally. If she is resident no doubt they will have a teaser stallion that will alert them she is ready if they do not scan mares as a rule. If they do scan then they can usually tell when she is ready.

My own TB is most fertile in early spring which may be a characteristic of the modern TB with years of breeding them for early foals, who knows?

If you prefer her at home or at stud and want to minimise what is a small risk of injury from live cover then choose AI but it is more costly and will mean scanning and vets fees.

Your mare will be on a 21 day cycle so whilst seeing a Stallion around might make her show her readiness or reluctance more openly if she is a quiet type, it won’t hurry along that process.

Re the weatherbys registration, the offspring would only be registerable on the Non TB Register if the sire is also on there. If she is a nice type then it would be worth you grading her and registering the foal as Hanovarian, but I’m not an expert on this.