Breeding questions???

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lucyandtwiglet

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If I got my mare covered on April 27th 2013, when would she be expected to foal considering this will be her first foal and she is seven. Also what stallion should I put her to, she is 14.2, Thoroughbred x Irish sports pony, 7yrs old bred to race and jump....I want a show jumper about 15hh-16hh and not cob like. I like the idea of a Thoroughbred however I don't want them to highly strung, was thinking maybe Warmblood because they known for their jumping ability????? I don't know!! Thanks
 
lucyandtwiglet said:
If I got my mare covered on April 27th 2013, when would she be expected to foal considering this will be her first foal and she is seven. Also what stallion should I put her to, she is 14.2, Thoroughbred x Irish sports pony, 7yrs old bred to race and jump....I want a show jumper about 15hh-16hh and not cob like. I like the idea of a Thoroughbred however I don't want them to highly strung, was thinking maybe Warmblood because they known for their jumping ability????? I don't know!! Thanks
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General consensus is to keep the stallion to within 1hh or 2hh larger than the mare so if she is 14.2hh then putting her to a 15.2hh or 16.2hh. Many people only like to go 1hh taller however I've done it quite a few times to taller stallions than 2hh. The most important thing if you are going for a stallion much taller than the mare is to make sure his stature is similar to hers ie. don't go for a heavy boned stallion if the mare is very refined as although the foal won't grow too big for the mares uterus there could be complications foaling out as the shoulders can be too much for the mare to deliver. If you are expecting the offspringl from a cross of a 14.2hh mare and say a 16.2hh stallion to reach a mature height of 15hh-16hh then don't! This does not always work and you could still end up with a 14.2hh mature height offspring.

Are you geared up to foal out? Do you have experienced backup should something go wrong? Are you in a situation where you can wean the foal when the time comes? Are you prepared for what you would do should you have to choose between who lives and who dies should the birthing process go wrong? Are you prepared for your mare to have complications and worst case die? Are you familiar with presentations and can you cope with any malpresentation should you have to prior to being able to get a vet out to help? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before embarking on breeding your mare.

ETA. I don't know where you plucked your breeding date from as you only breed when the mare ovulates and that cannot be predicted now lol! However say she was bred on this date in April then the foal should be born in March 2014. Normal gestation is any date between 320 days and 370 days so the foal will come when it's ready, not when you want it to arrive. Foals can survive from 315 days onwards but 320 days is your 'safe' date.
 
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Thank you, as you can see I'm pretty inexperienced in the breeding section! Would it be a good idea to enlist some advise from a more experienced person who would be there most of the time, or would it be better to send her to a yard and get it done by a professional? Thanks
 
Best bet if you're serious is get some books and do some reading - I really recommend 'Your Mare's First Foal' and 'From Foal to Full Grown'. They both give good advice and information from picking mare and stallion as well as preparing to send away to stud all through the pregnancy and birth and first few months of the foals life.
 
As suggested above it's always useful and interesting to buy a decent book which will help you through the process. I do NOT advocate book-reading as a substitute to actual experience though. A great many things can go wrong in breeding and it's always best to have someone to hand who has foaled out lots of foals to have at your disposal. I'm frequently surprized at the amount of people who wing-it, they have no experience but they don't seem to bother about that. I'm even more surprized at the amount of people who are not present at the birth of their foal, not so much for the foals sake but wow I'd be freaking in case something had gone on with my beloved mares that I didn't know about because no-one was with her when she foaled. When you attend your mare you know exactly what has gone on and if it was a normal presentation or not, if it was an easy birth or not, if she struggled and should have had help or if she easily slipped the foal out. Way too many problems can occur for me not to be present at the births of my foals. If you're not able to attend, or you don't have enough experience then my suggestion would be to send your mare to stud around 6 to 8 weeks prior to her estimated due date. There she will be cared for and watched 24 hours a day and the foaling won't be missed. Once she's foaled and given a clean bill of health you can bring her home. I'd suggest leaving her at stud until foal is one month old as they can still be rather vulnerable in their first month and things that an experienced breeder see as par for the course may be missed by you, or not even considered.

I'm glad you're asking all these questions in plenty of time. Too many people jump in without having any clue what they are doing, or give thought to the risks.
 
Spring Feather said:
As suggested above it's always useful and interesting to buy a decent book which will help you through the process. I do NOT advocate book-reading as a substitute to actual experience though. A great many things can go wrong in breeding and it's always best to have someone to hand who has foaled out lots of foals to have at your disposal. I'm frequently surprized at the amount of people who wing-it, they have no experience but they don't seem to bother about that. I'm even more surprized at the amount of people who are not present at the birth of their foal, not so much for the foals sake but wow I'd be freaking in case something had gone on with my beloved mares that I didn't know about because no-one was with her when she foaled. When you attend your mare you know exactly what has gone on and if it was a normal presentation or not, if it was an easy birth or not, if she struggled and should have had help or if she easily slipped the foal out. Way too many problems can occur for me not to be present at the births of my foals. If you're not able to attend, or you don't have enough experience then my suggestion would be to send your mare to stud around 6 to 8 weeks prior to her estimated due date. There she will be cared for and watched 24 hours a day and the foaling won't be missed. Once she's foaled and given a clean bill of health you can bring her home. I'd suggest leaving her at stud until foal is one month old as they can still be rather vulnerable in their first month and things that an experienced breeder see as par for the course may be missed by you, or not even considered.

I'm glad you're asking all these questions in plenty of time. Too many people jump in without having any clue what they are doing, or give thought to the risks.
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I wasn't suggesting reading instead of experience but it lets a novice see whats involved (usually a lot more than people expect).
My mare's about 6 months gone with her and my first foal and I learned so much reading BUT I have the support of the stud she went to and my yard owners have breed many foals and I have several friends on the yard who have breed so have a lot of support around but I have been amazed at how many people have told me not to bother staying at the yard to be there for her foaling - there's no way I'm missing the foaling. I want to see it aside from anything else but as you say there is way to many things to go wrong for me not to be there for her.
 
Nope I know you weren't Nutmeg ;) Books have their place and good ones give a terrific insight to the whole process. I don't know the OP so am unaware of whether she has any experienced people around her and I wouldn't want her to think that books should outrank real experience.

Will this be the first foal you'll have seen being born Nutmeg? How excited you must be :)
 
:D:D:D

yup first one I've had anything to do with - massively excited but anxious as well about her :rolleyes: She's foaling at home (livery yard) but I'm going to camp out in the tack room and have 3 weeks booked off work so just praying she'll foal during those three weeks as it's going to be difficult with work if she doesn't but have support around me if need be.
There was one foal on the yard last year (yard owners mare) but she went out into the far field pretty quickly so didn't see much of her. Going to be loads this year as my mare is due and the yard owners have 2 due to foal this spring/summer
 
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