Cost of breeding a foal?

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Kittykins

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Apologies if this has been posted before - although prices change so I guess it's good to update.

I'm thinking of breeding from my British Warmblood mare next year, but before I get into all the exciting stuff like picking a suitable stallion, I just wanted to get a realistic idea of the costs, so that I don't get caught out!

She's currently kept at a friend's home, where there are only two boxes in the corner of the field (essentially), so I guess she'll have to be kept on a breeding yard for the duration. Presumably she would stay there until the foal is at least a few months old?

So, in your opinion, how does the full cost breakdown? Including all the 'add-ons and extras' like wormer and headcollar for the foal - I'd rather over-budget and be pleasantly surprised than get caught short.

Thanks!
 
I think that if any of us who have bred a foal were to sit down and work out the true cost we would realise how crazy we were to do it!

Sorry, OP, for the flippant response but it is VERY expensive if you add all the costs up. Hopefully someone will be along in a bit who has been brave enough to cost it, I never was. Don't regret doing it at all, though, I just don't want to contemplate the numbers!
 
I got a big scare when we totalled up what it has cost to date to get the youngsters to where they are.

Stud fee well I am lucky on that one I own the one I have used this time but still have to pay stud for his livery and collection fees. But stud fees can be from a few 100 pounds to many thousands of pounds

Livery for you mare while she is being covered each stud is slightly different Natural on £7.50 a day £10+ if stabled or AI you would be looking at £10-17.50+ a day depending on the stud.

Before even getting to the stud she will need to be swabbed by the vet
Foal down livery prices will be depending on the stud you chose to send the mare too

Foaling slips leather ones ebay £10+
Worming and injections
Scanning mare and AI need to be added in

Have a word with a good AI vet and they will this is a break down of the vets I use to give you some numbers
http://towerequine.co.uk/index.php/fertility-services/vets-fee-packages/package-prices.html

At the end of the day it is VERY costly and I do not like to number crunch but certainly do not make anything on the end result and question almost daily why I do it.
 
Just named this years foal. (Prefix) Broke The Bank.

Thankfully he is a cracker, but cash wise he could have been bought in three times over.
 
DWTeam said:
I got a big scare when we totalled up what it has cost to date to get the youngsters to where they are.

Stud fee well I am lucky on that one I own the one I have used this time but still have to pay stud for his livery and collection fees. But stud fees can be from a few 100 pounds to many thousands of pounds

Livery for you mare while she is being covered each stud is slightly different Natural on £7.50 a day £10+ if stabled or AI you would be looking at £10-17.50+ a day depending on the stud.

Before even getting to the stud she will need to be swabbed by the vet
Foal down livery prices will be depending on the stud you chose to send the mare too

Foaling slips leather ones ebay £10+
Worming and injections
Scanning mare and AI need to be added in

Have a word with a good AI vet and they will this is a break down of the vets I use to give you some numbers
http://towerequine.co.uk/index.php/fertility-services/vets-fee-packages/package-prices.html

At the end of the day it is VERY costly and I do not like to number crunch but certainly do not make anything on the end result and question almost daily why I do it.
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That link is quite a good breakdown. Keep in mind though that just because the mare leaves the vet/stud in foal, there is no guarantee she's going to stay that way and for most people there will be at least one post conception check for twinning etc.

It's also a good idea, obviously, to budget for a less than ideal foaling out and post natal period. If the mare is at a good stud they may not even need the vet until regular call hours but there is always the risk of emergency callout and post natal care, even in situations that end well.

Re bringing the foal home, you do have to be set up for it as far as fencing, turnout options etc. My personal feeling is young horses need age appropriate companions and I have noticed a difference between horses raised on studs in a herd, vs ones raised alone in small areas, but not everyone agrees so i guess that comes down to personal choice.
 
I reckon it cost me around £1500 to get milo on the ground (stud fee was 500) including the stud fee, vet work (fairly minimal, 2 months grass livery at the stud while getting pregnant but doesn't inlcude the mare's or foals keep once on the ground. Mare costs were pretty much the same as normal but a bit extra feed. This was for a normal, fairly easy foaling that didn't need any vet intervtion beyond a check the next morning
 
mynutmeg said:
I reckon it cost me around £1500 to get milo on the ground (stud fee was 500) including the stud fee, vet work (fairly minimal, 2 months grass livery at the stud while getting pregnant but doesn't inlcude the mare's or foals keep once on the ground. Mare costs were pretty much the same as normal but a bit extra feed. This was for a normal, fairly easy foaling that didn't need any vet intervtion beyond a check the next morning
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That would be about right for an 'easy' foaling. Those of us who are relatively 'serious' breeders will know that some will cost a bit less than that - and some will cost a HELL of a lot more!! And you may not have a foal at the end of it.

I had 16 due this year - and lost 2. One died very soon (about 36 hours) of a congenital disorder - so only one vet visit for it (just a total loss!) The second was a super colt - who was healthy and well until a month old when he went downhill quickly! Two emergency visits from the vet, an iv drip, and bloods taken before the decision was made that he was too far gone with a mystery problem and he was PTS! His kidneys were shot to hell! The other 14 are healthy - although one has had an umbilical hernia removed - and one has a problem with inturned eyelashes which will require a minor surgical procedure. When you've got a number, it usually balances out. (Although 2013 was a cr*p year - I've only ever lost 3 foals in 10 years until this year!)

And I was fortunate that this year NONE of the mares (or foals) ran up BIG vet's bills. Had a foal last year ran up about £600 before she died (a ruptured bladder.) Another about 6 years ago who ran up nearly £1,000 with intensive care - though we did save him (he was a Dummy foal.) Then there was the mare who bled into her broad ligament after a tough foaling - about £1,000 in vet's bills to save her!

I would suggest that anyone thinking of breeding a foal should figure on £1,500 as a basic cost (unless you;'re using a serious stallion!!) but then allow another £2,000 (minimum) if the brown stuff hits the fan. Hopefully you won't need that £2,000, but .....
 
JanetGeorge said:
That would be about right for an 'easy' foaling. Those of us who are relatively 'serious' breeders will know that some will cost a bit less than that - and some will cost a HELL of a lot more!! And you may not have a foal at the end of it.

I had 16 due this year - and lost 2. One died very soon (about 36 hours) of a congenital disorder - so only one vet visit for it (just a total loss!) The second was a super colt - who was healthy and well until a month old when he went downhill quickly! Two emergency visits from the vet, an iv drip, and bloods taken before the decision was made that he was too far gone with a mystery problem and he was PTS! His kidneys were shot to hell! The other 14 are healthy - although one has had an umbilical hernia removed - and one has a problem with inturned eyelashes which will require a minor surgical procedure. When you've got a number, it usually balances out. (Although 2013 was a cr*p year - I've only ever lost 3 foals in 10 years until this year!)

And I was fortunate that this year NONE of the mares (or foals) ran up BIG vet's bills. Had a foal last year ran up about £600 before she died (a ruptured bladder.) Another about 6 years ago who ran up nearly £1,000 with intensive care - though we did save him (he was a Dummy foal.) Then there was the mare who bled into her broad ligament after a tough foaling - about £1,000 in vet's bills to save her!

I would suggest that anyone thinking of breeding a foal should figure on £1,500 as a basic cost (unless you;'re using a serious stallion!!) but then allow another £2,000 (minimum) if the brown stuff hits the fan. Hopefully you won't need that £2,000, but .....
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I didn't include any of Milo's vet bills in that - the £1500 is literally day one of foal life :p, you could probably add a couple of hundred at least on top of that if you include gelding and such

I also foaled her out myself so didn't have the cost of having her at stud for that and the first few months, she was just on my normal livery yard. I was very lucky that my yo has some experience and was also happy for me to camp in an empty stable for a week :p

Sorry about your foals JG, I feel like I was very lucky with Milo and how easy the latter part of Roo's pregnancy and the foaling were, although I worried my head off at the time - I seem to remember flapping about every tiny little change in the days running up to foaling and then she showed very few signs, broke her waters lying down and 10 minutes later we had a very bemused and confused mare and a rather large foally :p:p:D:D
 
It's not just the getting them on the ground, but also the cost of their keep until 4 yr old.
Eg one of ours
Stud fee 1700 euros
Transporting semen, vet fees £500
Livery for mare whilst in foal average of £60 pw over year
Livery for youngster for 3 yrs average of £60 pw over 3 years
Farrier, vaccinations etc on top.
Having said that I don't regret it for one minute , we have an amazing mare who we hope to reed from eventually.
 
mynutmeg said:
I didn't include any of Milo's vet bills in that - the £1500 is literally day one of foal life :p, you could probably add a couple of hundred at least on top of that if you include gelding and such
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Oh yes - if you have veterinary costs once the foal is born, it's more. And then of course there's the cost of vet doing ID document and micro-chipping, DNA testing for some breed societies (THAT costs £45 on top of registration costs). Vaccinations, worming, trimming, etc etc etc!
 
Immense pleasure though, a superb way to waste time and a means of day dreaming for the future !


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I kept count up to when the mare was 6 weeks in foal, it came to £1200. She took first time. Stallion fee was £550, I couriered the chilled semen myself, and I had an inclusive AI package from my vets. 3 weeks livery costs on top, plus she twinned so that cost extra to deal with.

I keep here at home so no more livery costs, until I lost my nerve about foaling her and sent her away to foal down. She had to be health checked and screened before the stud would accept her. She was 19 days late, and it was a malpresentation so if she had not been under the care of two very experienced stud grooms both would have been lost.

The foal was strong and healthy, but picked up a troublesome respiratory infection at 6 months of age, vets bill £900! Then I fostered a weaning companion for her for 15 months so there was another mouth to feed....
 
My mare was sent to stud for about six weeks, in all honesty I can't remember how much her livery was but she was just on basic grass livery whilst she was there. Stud fee was £500.
She was AI'd twice whilst she was there, first time she'd taken twins, second time was successful.
I was (and still am) really lucky to have had her at a friends yard so just had basic livery to pay which included extra feed etc. (Friend is experienced breeder, first and only time for me though!)
My mare cost me a lot over last winter, unrelating to her pregnancy however.
She was scanned three times, call out charges were split between me and my friend who had a mare due about the same time.
When she foaled in May she had a very large colt. She retained part of the placenta however and vet had to come out and flush her three times which let me with a £650 vet bill.
Now my colt is 6 months old and to be honest (touch wood!) I don't think he's anymore expensive to keep now he's here. Farrier, vets, jabs etc just part of having any horse.
In all honesty though I don't think I could have bred on a livery yard, I can't even begin to imagine the costs.
All I can say is expected the unexpected, be ready to worry for weeks before she's due! But once they're here its all worth it.
My boy will probably cost me more and more as he grows up… Partly because I have a thing for buying rugs and bridles they don't need but I like :)
Good luck! But remember to have an emergency pot, that hopefully you won't need.

Just to add…
It's good to plan for Passporting and gelding etc but these are only one off costs remember. Once it's done, it's done.
 
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£1500 is a lot less than I was expecting - I'd had in mind (without sitting down and getting the calculator out) that it was going to be about twice that. So that's a relief!

I hadn't thought too much about socialisation of the foal though, I had assumed he / she would just come home with mum. Time to order some books from Amazon and get reading, I think. :)
 
Kittykins said:
£1500 is a lot less than I was expecting - I'd had in mind (without sitting down and getting the calculator out) that it was going to be about twice that. So that's a relief!

I hadn't thought too much about socialisation of the foal though, I had assumed he / she would just come home with mum. Time to order some books from Amazon and get reading, I think. :)
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do remember that the 1500 doesn't cover any of the keep costs of the mare (apart from the 2 months at the stud but I was paying regular livery at the same time). For me that wasn't a consideration as I would have had the keep costs anyway.
They do need to socialise with other horses but you can work around it - my foal has been turned out with his mom and one other friendly gelding till he was weaned last week and we've introduced him to a larger mixed herd with another youngster in it and he's settled in really well and is definately a nicer person as he's being put in his place by the grown ups.

Books wise
Your Mare's First Foal
From Foal to Full Grown
The Foaling Primer

are the three I would highly recommend - the foaling primer is an american book I think but it is brilliant if you plan to foal down yourself as it goes through the worst case senarios and gives almost step by step advice on how to deal with them until the vet can get there.
 
I'm looking at about £2.5 to £3k to get the foal on the ground with no complications, stud fee was £1k, she was on livery there for about 3 weeks in total with breaks in between at £9 a day, couple of days in at stud was £25 a day. I had an Ai package so all scans etc included.

I'm at about £2.5k now but still need to have course of 3 equine herpes vacc's and she will be going back to stud next year for about 4-6 weeks to have the foal so again £9 a day grass livery and then foaling fee.

But I'll probably only do this once, it's a lifelong dream and I can afford it - just! Foal is for keeps and I can't wait
 
I'm up to £1600! Stud fee for stallion £600, mare took first time had heartbeat scan, but on a hunch went back and checked at day 60 and lost it, so back in april to try again!! Luckily stallion is LFG, but will still have a lot to pay, especially seeing as stud vet wants to try her on regumate. Luckily shes my horse of a lifetime and the stud is fantastic so I don't mind spending all my money on her! I never thought my bill would end up this high, and I'm quite keen to keep trying until we get a foal, so god knows the final bill!
 
Absolutley not a ridiculous comment, just the comment from someone, not super rich but would be richer if they did not breed horses, but with over 40 years experience . Asking how much it costs to breed is like asking how long is a piece of string. You can add up the basic costs, that is very easy, but no one knows for sure what is around the corner and believe you me it can be massive commitments.

At present there are so many horses being abandoned we all have to seriously question why we are breeding and I personally, have done just that. I would encourage others to do the same. If you add up the real cost of breeding your horse to reach 4 years of age and then to break it in and ride away you may be surprised at the final figure. Will it then be what you want or will you have to sell it and will there be a market at the price it has cost you, In 2013, unless your horse is a superstar, the answer is a definate NO and I doubt any breeder will contradict this fact. Any horse of 4 years old that is selling under £4000 has cost someone dear and there are plenty about.
 
I agree with sport horse you cannot put a price on breeding . We put my daughters competition mare in foal as she is well bred and suffered an injury .The stud fees came in at over a £1000.00 . She did not take until the third time and our vets did not charge extra which was generous of them as the third time she stayed several days to be flushed out. If I remember the package was about £500.00 .We have a great three year old whom my daughter backed this Summer and hopes to start on an eventing career next year. However if I add it all up he has cost over £4000.00 to date.
It is an immense pleasure to see your foal and watch them grow but not to be taken lightly and really look at your reasons for wanting a foal from your mare. We still have our mare but will not breed from her again it was a one time only.
 
Kittykins said:
So breeding is only for the super rich or recklessly unprepared, is it? What a ridiculous comment.
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I don't think it's a ridiculous comment at all. Getting a foal on the ground costs as much or as little as it costs. It would be incredibly foolish to embark upon this journey without having a few thousand tucked away for emergencies (over and above the cost to actually breed the mare). With breeding and foaling down one has no idea how much the whole journey will cost you.

ie. My 'cheapest' foal was one where the stallion owner gave me the semen FOC as she really wanted my mare bred to him. It was frozen semen and the cost to AI her worked out at less than 300 because I knew exactly where she was in her cycle and only took her to the repro clinic for the day and then brought her home afterwards. The cost to keep the mare until foaling down was 1500. Scans were another 200. Had I paid the cost of the stallion semen which was 2k at the time my end costs would have been greater obviously.

My most expensive breeding was probably this year with one of my mares. Due to the distance from the repro clinic and me having to be home to breed other mares, she had to stay there till her 25 day scan. Cost for repro clinic was 5k and that was with me bringing her to the clinic the day before she was AId. Semen was 2k. Further scans were 300. And of course my costs of 1500 to keep the mare till foaling date.

So as you can see, it costs what it costs, and no two breedings will ever be the same. Good luck! Hope all goes well :smile3:
 
I'd like to add to the comment that if you have to ask you can't afford it, and say think of a sum and double it :)

Friend has a gorgeous foal that has required two massive vet interventions already and he isn't weaned yet - both times mare and foal had to be rushed to horsepital and stay in the 'penthouse suite' at eye-watering expense. I can't begin to think what that might have cost him so far.

My mare is currently at stud, the vet's bill was around £1000 to get her in foal because she didn't take the first two goes, then the stud fee and livery for the summer was another £1000, and now instead of having her back which was the original plan, she is staying at grass livery at £40 a week because she is considerably happier living out with a bunch of other mares than she is at home in a box where she weaves at an industrial level (and don't ask why I bred from a known weaver, just don't).

I am considering cutting my losses and selling her in foal in the spring, as circumstances have changed at home and my OH doesn't want her back here ever, but I bet when it comes to it I won't be able to.

Do I regret breeding? Probably yes at the moment, as I am broke, but there is some hope she might produce a gorgeous little foal that will change my mind...
 
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