Costs of breeding

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noodle_

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Please dont lecture me on "its cheaper to buy etc "

i know its cheaper to buy (probably...) but im after running costs of breeding...
AI route....

On average - from the point of decided to breed until the foal hits the floor - how much on average??

Im talking for next year and full tb types/light breeds - (my mares a stocky warmblood x cob so has to be full breed !)

Suggestions on that welcome tooo :)

Thanks.

p.s again no lectures.... this all depends on what happens this year too as to whether we go ahead or not!
 
noodle_ said:
i know its cheaper to buy (probably...) but im after running costs of breeding...AI route....

On average - from the point of decided to breed until the foal hits the floor - how much on average??
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It's very hard to give an 'average' cost as there are SO many variables.

Apart from the cost of your mare's keep and maintenance for 18 months there is:

Stud fee - anything from £300 to - say - £800 for a decent stallion to complement your mare.
Vet costs for AI and associated costs. These vary enormously depending on whether your mare goes to an AI centre, whether they offer a vet package, what it includes, and how hard your mare is to get in foal. Doing AI at home will cost a lot more, as you may need 6-8 visits for one AI attempt.

Using natural cover - but a lot of scanning for optimum results - my mares cost me anything from £100 upwards to get in foal (or not as the case may be!) One has cost me over £500 - although thankfully we DO have a 28 day heartbeat scan now. Last year she cost me a similar amount for NO pregnancy!

Then there are things like EHV vaccinations (about £100 if you can fit them in with a routine visit - double that if you have to pay visit charges.

Foaling - if you do it at home - might cost almost nothing - or a lot if you have to call vet out in the middle of the night - or if your foal has a problem. One of mine a few years ago cost me £700+ in his first week (thankfully he survived!) Another mare cost me a similar amount with complications after a bad foaling - in just 48 hours!! Most cost me very little because I can manage most problems myself and I don't have to call vet out after hours for delivery problems, or retained afterbirth.

You might be lucky and have none of the 'disaster' costs - in which case you could budget on around £1200-1500 to get foal on ground. Or you might have several 'disasters' - and end up with NO foal, possibly no mare, and a £3000 vet's bill!
 
This year my mare has cost £2000 so far and still not in foal!!
£500 frozen semen, £500 vet package and nearly £1000 in livery fees at stud. She has scanned in foal and reabsorbed twice this time which she has never done before hence the long stay at stud.
 
Thanks for the replies - especially janet - very informative, thank you :)

If i went ahead - she would be sent to stud to foal as im not experienced enough to handle the birth.....!

i know thats more costs but i value my mare enough to realise im not experienced enough - by the time i put her in foal i will be knowledgeable (or it dosent happen..!)

any other replies welcome too :)
 
My two AI foals cost me £1800 each by the time they were born.

£1000 each stud fee. Then the AI package at my vet was £500 per mare for two cycles, that covered all scanning, injections, wash outs and 70% of the call out fees but the mares had to go to the surgery for the actual AI as the vets were scanning every hour to make sure that they inseminated at the right time (I was using frozen semen). I was lucky and both mares caught on their second cycle otherwise I would have had additional vets fees at a cost of £300 per cycle. The nights at the vets also were not included in the package and had to be paid for seperately.

Neither mare cleansed on foaling and they had to foal on different days so that was another 2 call outs (1 of them on a Sunday) to cleanse the mares and check the foals over. So all in all around £1800 each by the time all that was done.

We've also had a couple of foals by natural covering - by the time we added things up, even though the stud fee was less the overall costs weren't that different because we were having to take the mares quite a distance to stud (£100 each way in diesel in the box) then the stud livery plus swabs, flu jabs etc etc.

Having used both methods I think I prefer AI.
 
Thanks :) ^^ :)

Im wanting to wait as the stud fee is going to cost me upto a grand. If it was cheaper to buy the foal i want id be tempted but tbh its not.... also i want my mares foal.
 
lol those breeding spending that much must be very wealthy, we use a local stallion natural covering, get the mare scaned at 30 days, then leave her alone till she foals. must be swabbed before going to stud..total cost about £600.00.
 
nokia, it isn't a question of being wealthy!

If there was a very local stallion that fitted the bill I might consider it, although I wouldn't be interested in a natural covering. AI gives me the choice of stallion to suit my breeding programme, the vet offers a package that keeps the costs manageable and I have time to attend to all the required visits. I foal down at home and can deal with most situations so my vet costs at that end are emergencies only.
 
nokia said:
lol those breeding spending that much must be very wealthy, we use a local stallion natural covering, get the mare scaned at 30 days, then leave her alone till she foals. must be swabbed before going to stud..total cost about £600.00.
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Nokia what a ridiculous statment to make, no not wealthy just wanting to breed the best possible foal they can. AI opens up a world of stallions to use across the country and further afield if wanted, therefore being able to use the most suitable one for your mare. The stallion I used the stud fee alone was £750! And worth every penny. Now if you are lucky enough to have the perfect stallion down the road at a low stud fee that the owner is happy to risk using natural cover, that will produce a quality foal then you are very lucky, most people aren't that lucky!
 
im lucky in the sense i dont have stud fees as i have a choice with my two, have used one outside stallion if she takes this time then my total costs so far will be around £2000 thats stud fee, plasma for a foal, two mares retained, all out of hours! losing one foal which is a big loss?? put into hours and effort, four healthy foals so far and 6 mares re covered, will more than likely add another £500 by october more vets visits to see who is still in foal etc!!! that i feel is a bargain compared to some?
 
No its not at all, you are wasting money, messing about with your mares just get them in foal, and leave them alone.
 
^what?!

i dont want to use "the stallion down the road" as round here the ones i could use are unregistered and frankly awful!!

id rather wait another year.... save another grand and spend the money on a good stallion - mabey imported from abroad....

My mares no superstar but i want a quality foal to keep...! not rubbish from the stallion next door!

thanks for the sensible replies from others though :)
 
i carnt be bothered explaining but your costs seem a tad over the top..and why use the word "hell in a reply" temper temper.

Their are far to many unwanted horses and ponies about as it is..so you should not be breeding anyway, i hope the goverment slap a breeding tax on new born foals.
 
nokia said:
i carnt be bothered explaining but your costs seem a tad over the top..and why use the word "hell in a reply" temper temper.

Their are far to many unwanted horses and ponies about as it is..so you should not be breeding anyway, i hope the goverment slap a breeding tax on new born foals.
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I think its upto the original poster as to wether she wants to breed from her mare or not,She has obviously thought about what she is planning on doing hence her post,if that's your view then fine..
 
nokia said:
lol those breeding spending that much must be very wealthy, we use a local stallion natural covering, get the mare scaned at 30 days, then leave her alone till she foals. must be swabbed before going to stud..total cost about £600.00.
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Good for you - I'm breeding friesians and I choose to use approved, graded stallions who have been linear scored and approved for breeding both on their own performance and on the quality of their progeny. I deliberately chose stallions who had linear scores that would complement my mares - both of which are registered, graded and approved. It isn't a case of me being loaded, it's just the case that I want to breed the best quality that I can.
 
Well done for asking about the costs etc. :)

It's a really good idea to find a stud/vet that offers a vet package...it seems a lot at the time but worth it as you know it won't come to much more.

Don't be fooled into thinking the best stallions are on the continent though ! ...there are some fantastic stallions at home :)
 
Hi i have used foxcourt adante and abraham , now i know ill get shot down in flames here but when i used AI i used a genus AI lady who does the cows for me, it cost me 40 pounds this included the scans . When i first put the mare in foal, i used a cheeper coloured stallion Token of Honour to see if she could get pregnant i was not going to spend a lot first time around on stud fee. But the foal i got off this stallion was great and competes BD and is a smashing type, the 2 foals from foxcourt are great 2 both very consistant in the show ring. But the coloured as my fav he is off to Badmington Dressage finals next week so is competing to a high level
 
thanks for the replies :)

truly - i definately need to make sure i have a good pot of money (then double what people say here!) before i go for it and as im very uneducated.... i have to ask questions :D

any more comments welcome :)
 
My costs were as follows-
£250 stud fee
£25 a wk keep fee
£70 for both scans,got the third scan free
£1.50 for oxytocin worked out @ £7.50 for all the injections..
 
Thanks CC ^

Obviously i will ring my vets/local AI vets??? nearer the time to get actual costings but just want advice from experienced breeders too :)
 
another question;

If i wanted to breed (and this is bottom of the list but curiosity!!!) chestnut or a black foal.... (my mares bay!) would this be possible? or evena 50% chance with a certain colour stallion...

daft question i appologise but genetics isnt my strong point :)
 
noodle_ said:
thanks for the replies :)

truly - i definately need to make sure i have a good pot of money (then double what people say here!) before i go for it and as im very uneducated.... i have to ask questions :D

any more comments welcome :)
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I've only bred one but she cost £2000 to get on the ground and register

To get in foal:
£450 stud fee (should have been £650 but friends with stud owners ;))
£7 per day stud livery (she was there for two weeks before covering and for 30 days afterwards to ensure she was still in-foal when she came home)
£150 fresh semen AI transfer & scans (at 13 days; at 15 days - after twin crushed; 30 days)
£60 vet fee to crush twin embryo

Foaling:
£7 per day stud livery up until 5 days before due foaling date then £12 per day to include stabling overnight (and she was 12 days "late" foaling :(). Mare and foal stabled overnight for four weeks after foaling because the weather was so dreadful (May/June 2007)
£180 foaling fee

Vet fee for drawing for passport £45
Registration & passport with AES £50 odd
Registration with Arab Horse Society (she's 1/4 Arab) £25

It's horrific when you add it all up but if you want to do it properly . . . . .
 
^^^ definately horrific but worth it!

the foal is want i actually couldnt afford it buy... even if my bill was upto 3k mabey 4i still couldnt afford the foal i want!!!

so for me breeding may actually be cheaper but get a foal from my mare too which is a brill bonus :)
 
I mentioned my stud fee of £750, it probably cost an extra £800 -1000 to include livery at stud, scans, swabs, hormone therapy to get her to release an egg, attendance the morning after delivery for check over and anti tetanus serum plus drugs for my mare post birth etc, this of course does not include registrations, castration, vaccination etc etc after birth! My mare got pregnant on her first cycle thanks to good stud vets knowing what they were doing, this was on pay as you go basis not an all in fee, this actually worked out cheaper than the all in one fees as she caught on her first cycle, you take a gamble on whether you go for all in one's, sometimes it works sometimes not!

Regarding coat colour, here's a handy tool: http://www.horsetesting.com/CCalculator1.asp
 
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