Breeding?? first steps

[*Maddy&Occhi*]

Hi guys

My friend has been looking into breeding and would like to breed from her mare, she doesnt know much about breeding so wants to get as much information as possible before she decides what to. So I said id post something on here for her. She wants to find out what the whole process is? What kind of treatment will the mare need whilst in foal? and any more helpful info.

Any advice would be most welcome

 

[Centaurus]

First you need to think about what you want to breed. Firstly, is your mare good enough to breed from? What would you want to improve on then you can start looking at stallions to improve those faults.
If you're breeding to sell you have to be prepared to keep it as the current climate is pretty bad! If it's for yourself would it be better to buy a weanling, it would definitely be cheaper! You should look at the costs; do your vets have mare packages, what are you prepared to spend on a stud fee.
The list goes on and on and that's even before you get her in foal! Will you try at home or send her away. AI or natural?
Sorry quite a broad subject which is probably why no one else has bothered answering!

 

[Bedlam]

I would agree - first step is to honestly assess the mare. What has she done competition wise? Has she been graded? How old is she? Is she sound? It may be worth paying someone to assess her before going any further......?

 

[GinnieRedwings]

I was going to say just that... there is so much to consider, which is why no one has replied.

Assuming that your friend wants to breed from her mare because she wants to keep a part of her (I understand that completely) and not because she is standing in the field doing nothing and happens to have a womb (in which case, as Centaurus said, your friend had better buy a youngster, that will almost certainly be cheaper) and assuming the mare is worth breeding from - and by that I don't mean her being a world beater with exceptional bloodlines, just conformationally good enough to do the job you want her to do and remain sound throughout, with a good temperament which allows her to do that job, whether it be hacking around the country lanes, hunting, doing PC activities or jumping Badminton - then, this would be my list of things to consider:

1- Costs - Financial & emotional - What is her budget, and if things don't go according to plan (and they sometimes don't), does she have the ressources to cover the costs, or be sufficiently realistic to be able to make the decision to put the mare/foal down in order to "cut her losses" if not. She has to be prepared to accept that she may end up with no mare, no foal and a lot less money in the bank. This is obviously the very worst case scenario and happens relatively rarely, but there is no use going into breeding with rose-tinted glasses, it can & does happen.
When budgetting, she has to consider not only the stud fee, but also stud keep fee if going for natural cover and/or the AI / vet costs (scanning, short-cycling, Oviplant/Chorulon) associated with getting the mare in foal. Of course, choosing natural covering normally means less pre-conception vet bills, though not always, as some mares are not that straight forward and she might need to know and understand the mare's cycling patterns in order to ensure conception.
And of course all the foaling down costs is she sends her to stud to foal and the post-natal vet care, which can be minimal, or not.

Provided she is realistic with point 1- above, then:

2- Read up as much as you can about the mare's reproductive cycle, veterinary repro methods & observe the mare (yes, that means spending a fair bit of time checking under her tail!) so that you are 100% familiar with her cycling patterns and when she is "flirty" and when she isn't. Mares can be very different in their behaviour.

3- Read up as much as you can about infoal mare care - scans, nutrition, late gestation management. Also what is happening in the womb at each stage of pregnancy.

4- Read up as much as you can about foaling down, some vets/AI centres do courses and/or plan to send the mare to stud to foal down if you feel out of your depth and she is a maiden herself.

5- Read up as much as you can about nutrition, turnout, handling of young foals, limb deviations (as spotting those early means remedial farriery can rectify any issue), weaning, best possible management in an optimal situation (stud with lots of other youngsters), best possible management for most one-mare owners, etc, etc...

The more you know, the easier you will be able to avoid common pitfalls. The way I see it, breeding is the most wonderful and most truly amazing thing I've ever done and provided people go in with their eyes wide open and a good dose of realism, and a willingness to learn, I'll always say go ahead...

Oh yeah, and when your friend has done all that ^^^ then she can pick a stallion that complements her mare... and be realistic about what she wants to do with the foal when it's grown up. There's no sense in picking a super flashy stallion that can win Badminton, if her ambition is to amble around the country lanes.

Good luck!

PS: and when she decides, perhaps you could post a pic of her mare and what the foal would be used for, and I'm sure the good people on here will be pleased to make suggestions for a suitable stallion.

 

[GinnieRedwings]

I would agree - first step is to honestly assess the mare. What has she done competition wise? Has she been graded? How old is she? Is she sound? It may be worth paying someone to assess her before going any further......?

Not sure I agree with that... What if the mare is a nice sound and sweet little cob that the OP's friend hacks around the country lanes with, and wants to keep a part of by breeding from her?

Not everyone wants to breed a world beater, hell most people couldn't handle a world beater, let alone ride one! But there are millions of people in this country who would pay good money for a safe sound and sweet alrounder.

 

[Bedlam]

I agree wholeheartedly, but it's wise to take an honest look at what you have and use that as a base for what you want to produce don't you think?

If the answer to the questions I asked is that she is conformationally sound, no competition record, no grading but a sweet safe and reliable hack then you know where you are starting from.