Its been a while but good breeding advice needed!!

tangoharvey

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Hiya - you may remember me and my mare Nancy, the Clydesdale IDX.....well she is 8 now and I wnat her to have a foal. BUT using chilled semen. BUT i havent a clue how to go about it AND I'd like some recommnedations on stallions to use - I'd like to throw a solid colour foal depsite nancy being a Bay roan!!
Any suggestions most welcome, I include a pic of nancy if it helps!!(shes 16.2)

nancyaug10.jpg
 

*Spider*

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Please don't get offended when I ask..
But why do you want to breed from her at such a young age?
Is she proven?
Does she have good bloodlines?
What stallion do you want?
What is intended for the progeny?
 

tangoharvey

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All good questions spider.....I was told 8 was a good age (she will actually be 9 when we get round to it), She has the best temperament of any horse I ever owned. I have always wanted a foal, and know she will be a fab mum, and the foal, like nanacy will have a hme for life. So its just for me really, and because I know there are alot of experienced peeps on here I thought it was the best place to ask for advice as the first part of my research really.....
 

Endrete

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I understand that you are breeding for a horse for yourself to keep. So the questions that you need to ask yourself before you even start;

1) do you have the experience to have your mare foaling at home or the money to be able to send her away to a reputable stud to foal?

2) do you have the experience to teach a foal and then later a youngster in order to produce a nicely mannered, happy riding horse or alternatively have the money to send youngster away to someone with the above experience?

3) are you aware of the risks of breeding - you could lose your mare/foal or both?

4) she is a good breeding age but I would suggest that you have an experienced equine reproduction vet scan her uterus and ovaries to check that she is a sound breeding prospect.

5) do you know her breeding - do you have any idea what traits she may pass to her foal from genetics, even if she doesnt show it herself it can always be lurking!

6) if you are being HIGHLY critical, what would you want to correct about your mares conformation, performance, temperament. What would be your ideal horse from her? Obviously you are highly unlikely to get a TB look-a-like!! This will give you (and us) an idea of what stallions to start looking at.

7) What is your budget for stud fees - they can range from £250 - above £1500.... Then add vets fees for scans, swabs, routine care etc , Your mare may need to be covered more than once so more vets fees to add!

8) do you have a good repro vet? - if so there isnt any reason you cant use chilled semen at home but remember to ask the stud about pregnancy rates with chilled semen. Although pregancy rates can be subjective!

Please excuse me if some of this is 'teaching you to suck eggs'!!

Id suggest that you decide what you are ideally looking for in a foal and then what you would like to correct or retain about your mares conformation, temp, ability etc. Then you will get some stallion suggestions...

Have you posted in Breeding? Havent checked sorry!
 

Foxhunter49

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I agree with Endrete totally.
I will also add that if you want to do it all correctly then even using chilled semen vet fees will be high.
The mare needs to be examined as she comes into season to see when the egg is going to 'pop' ready to receive the semen. This could be several visits. There is also scanning to see if she is in foal and whether she has held to foetus. It all adds up.

She looks a nice stamp and the old saying is "Always put blood to bone" and if I was breeding from her I would use a TB.

I will also add that there is no telling whether a mare will be a good mother or not! I have had mares that one would think was a good mother but they were far to soft on their foals or just not really interested in them. One such mare was not at all interested in her foal, she refused to feed it unless held and, her milk dried up. It resulted in having to get a foster mare for the foal. Most, obviously are good mothers, thankfully and incidents like this are rare but do happen.

There are always risks to breeding, as said, you could loose both mare and foal, the foal could be born with a twisted leg and so on. All this should be taken into consideration.
 

AmyMay

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Pop this in Breeding - you'll get more responses.

I'd say 8 was a great age to put her in foal - and I'd put her to something like TB, personally, to lighten her up. But of course that's personal choice. However, SallyF has some beautiful stallions - may be worth having a chat with her.

You're going to need to have deep pockets - but you'll know that allready.

Good luck, and keep us posted.
 

siennamum

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Absolutely beautiful mare - how uphill is she!!

I think those are great reasons to breed. I wish I had tried harder to breed from Sienna, when you have a mare you love it's great to have a 2nd generation coming through.

I would be wary of something too light framed, in case you have a bad combination of the 2, and might go for a m/w. You also need to think long and hard about temperament, which will influence the breed you chose. Visit some local studs and meet some of the youngstock, that will give you a good idea about what sort you want to breed & if there are any local stallions whose offspring you love.
 

maggiehorse

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hi
we bred from our then 14 yr old maiden 3 yrs ago , had her swabbed by our local vet £70 (took her to surgery) then chose a lovely tb stallion for natural covering , she took first time total including stud fee £550 we had planned to foal her at our livery yard but got cold feet and sent her to an excellent stud farm instead , she went a month before her due date and then went a month over! so it cost £95x 8 weeks and £150 foaling fee
only other cost was a vet check for foal after birth which cost £85
we would wholeheartdly do it again as it was such a lovely experience watching rocky from conception to a now strapping 2 1/2 year old but only because he was always to keep for ourselves , finatially i could go out and buy a backed sport horse for what hes cost so far
 

Wagtail

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I thought you wanted a solid colour? I may be wrong but the roan is a dominant modifying gene and so 50% of her offspring would also be roan no matter what you put her to. The tobiano gene is also dominant and so depending on if the stallion is homozygous or not, you have at least a 50% chance of having a coloured foal. If your mare is homozygous for roan then all her offspring would be roan. If someone more knowledgable about horse colour is reading, feel free to correct me. I find the subject very interesting. With that stallion, you could end up with a bay tobiano roan.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Nancy is gorgeous!

As you love her to bits and obviously enjoy riding her, have you considered a Clydesdale stallion? They are on the rare breeds register, so better imo, than a 'hybrid' foal.

ETA, sorry ignore me. I've just re-read you OP and realised that Nancy is ClydexID.
She's still gorgeous though!
 
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pec

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As I breed Welsh Cobs I cannot suggest a stallion but pass on one of the best pieces of advice I was given.
When deciding on a stallion, look what it will bring to the mare, critcally asses your mares weaker points and look for a stallion that is strong in those areas. Try and ensure that any weaknesses in the stallion are not mirrored in the mare.
For isnstance if your mare is long in the back do not go for a stallion that is long in the back. Also look at the offspring of the stallion, try to find out if the stallion has 'worked ' with a mare of your type.
Hope this helps and good luck.
 
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