Listing the costs of breeding a foal

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Puppy

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Please could some of you lovely, helpful people help me make up a rough list of all the various costs involved in breeding a foal.

Firstly, the expense of all checks before I send her to stud?

Then, if I want to send her to stud, all the tests/scans etc done there, and to have her AI'ed by them. And then checked for being pregnant, how much is all this likely to cost? And how many weeks should I expect her to be at the stud?

Once home again, how many times is she likely to need checking/additional jabs from the vet?

Obviously on top of this I shall have the stallions stud fee, and transport costs to and from the stud. What else should I be budgeting for?

A bit of a an idiots guide to a "what week you should do what, and how much each step costs" would be much appreciated!!

Thanks lots in advance.
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H x
 
I paid £1500, for the mare to go to stud, stay there all summer as she 'didn't show'!! inc stud fee and some vets fees. Very expensive way to do it. If you can do it from home with a decent stud vet and AI I would do that. The second time round I bought chilled, had vet out to AI and would have worked out cheaper if she had taken. As it was it made life easier as she injured herself and had to be pts.
 
I am trying to remember the rates I paid, something along the lines of £17 per week grass livery and then £35 per week grass livery for the week or so she was being teased and AI'ed. Add into that about £200 vet fees - so about £400 or so for the two months she was away. Add on to that any stud fees and transport costs and the incidental costs like a vet visit for any jabs and swabbing pre stud visit.

Overall it was cheaper for me to do it this way than keep her at home and have to pay for vet visits, also the vets they use are experienced in stud work and they had examination facilities at the stud.

At the other end of the pregnancy I kept her back at the livery yard to deliver the foal and that went well with no intervention required, just a vet visit the following morning to check over mare and foal.
 
A lot depends on whether you have to pay livery etc or have your own land.
Even with having mares and stallion and land, I reckon it costs me around £5000 to reach the stage of a schooled four year old ready to sell.
Unless you have a really fabulous mare I truly wouldn't consider it, buying a foal or ready started four year old is more sensible.
Sorry if this sounds a bit of a downer but the sort of costs you are talking about are only a very small part of breeding, the real ones are keeping something five years ( 11 months in the mare, 4 to maturity) plus possible vet fees and insurances, many youngsters appear to have a death wish and do all sorts of injuries from stupid things like jumping stable doors/gates etc.
I think what your doing is correct, look at all the associated costs, but be warned, they are high plus you may not rear a foal at all even after your initial expenses.
 
You have CEM,EVA, EHV tests to do before they go to stud, I think that cost £100/150 ish?
Livery for 1 month - £200 ish
Vet stud package - £300 ish depending on chilled or frozen
Stud fee - depending on stallion
Tet/flu vacs during pregnancy
EVH vaccs during pregnancy

Then if you decide to send your mare away to foal you have livery costs and foaling fee to pay.

You have the extra feed cost to take in account too.

You could lower the cost by sending your mare for natural covering depending on the stallion etc.
 
I would say that all in, getting Dolly in foal to where we are now has cost about £1200 Iincluding the fee for the stallion which was £600. She went to Groomsbridge stud who did a very reasonable AI package which included all pre scans, drugs & scans after. That was just over £200 Inc vat. I was lucky that Dolly took first time. I brought Dolly home in between AI'ing and her first scans, otherwise she would have been there probably about 6 weeks all together. She went back for first scan & stayed until heartbeat scan.

Once she came home after scans etc, she did not see a vat until 5 months later when she had her EHV jab & was confirmed in foal. She then had one at 7 months & her last one last week. She will see vet again in April for tet booster and fingers crossed, that will be it until little one is born.
 
Thanks. I appreciated that it's a risky business, and not a guarantee, when you attempt to put a mare in foal, but it's something I am prepared to invest in trying for.
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Thanks. I appreciated that it's a risky business, and not a guarantee, when you attempt to put a mare in foal, but it's something I am prepared to invest in trying for.
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Very Exciting times ahead

Well firstly you have to pick a stallion with a stud fee
Next I had my mare swabbed before stud so call out swab and results £60
Livery whilst there £5 a day for grass livery..but full livery £10 a day..(I was fortunate had mare at local stud so brought er back between covering and scans)
Paid a vets package to cover all scans £270 I think..
Then mare had herpes jabs every 5,7,9 months..
Extra feed last 3 months of pregnancy..

Then when foal arrived he had to have a plasma transfusion £400 but not needed as a rule..

I cant think of anything else that I had to fork out for off hand
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Thank you HH.

I understand where you're coming from, but yes, I do have a very fabulous mare who I am confident is worth breeding from
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She's the best horse I've ever sat on. Never said no to a jump *ever* in the years I've had her. She's beautiful, bold to ride, perfect, loving temperament, easy to do - the perfect horse.

She won the 4 year old 1.10m class at Scope and was highly placed in the 5 year old 1.20m. She was highly placed in a county young performance horse class, judged by a successful european showjumper and breeder, and if I get a 4 year old a fraction of what she was, for that expense, I will be thrilled
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Pro showjumpers and breeders were offering 5 figures for her as a 5/6 year old.

I know I might sound blinded by love, but plenty of professional from a collection of spheres have really rated her, and unprompted stated her breeding potential.
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I am also aware that it will cost a lot over the years to raise a youngster from her, if/before its even ft to sit on, but what I want to know is how much the next few months is going to cost. I do have my own place, but shall need additional grazing to go through with this, and I believe I have found a place today suitable
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There is nothing more rewarding than breeding from your favourite mare but just as you have very wisely done it is best to look at all the pitfalls first, the cost, the risks, and the time involved.
The costs can vary considerably depending on so many things such as is your mare cycling regularly or will there need to be vet intervention? What is the stallions stud fee and the keep charges while at stud?? be prepared for the vets bills which can be anything from £200 upwards, and lastly and sadly there is no certainty of a live foal as some are absorbed early on in pregnancy or lost at birth. As long as you are aware of all these factors and are still wanting to breed then i say go for it! after all everyone who breeds has to start with a first foal!
 
There are two questions home or away. If at home you buy the semen direct and get your Vet to do the A.I. risks it gets lost in transit or the Vet shoots it up his sleeve by accident. I think mares take better at home as they are more relaxed in their own place. Your local Vet may be quite expensive as all the visit charges mount up. Away look at the package prices from Vets like Oakham who may be cheaper in the long run as they have every thing on site and they state quite clearly what is not included in the package. I was impressed at VDL where they had Vets 24/7 and cover 1000 mares a year, operating theaters and the crushes were next to each other with the scanner on an overhead rail connected directly to the computer. Very commercial but very cost effective.
 
Breeding is expensive BUT I don't think there is anything else that can give you more pleasure and pride! From choosing your stallion for your girl through to watching her grow, waiting for the birth (and hopefully catching it without too many nights sleep lost!)

Watching your newborn trying to stand etc...Its just magic.

Being the person that teaches your foal to be handled/led etc is a big responsibility but I feel fanatstic when they stand quietly for the farrier/vet. My vet always says what nice people my babies are *Glows with pride*

Downsides are if mare aborts (had it happen twice at 7 and 8 months) Still born foal - again had one of those.
Even with a healthy foal on the ground they do seem hell bent on damaging themselves even when you think you have foal proofed everywhere - my now rising 2 year old has cost me around £2.5k in vets fees to date.

Other down sides - once you have done it once you WILL want to do it again!!

Would I do it again? Definately, I have 3 due in the next 8 to 10 weeks and I am just as excited as with my first born!!

Good Luck
 
So true sashpip!!!! i remember breeding my first foal 29 years ago out of my favourite mare!!! whom i might add i still have at the grand age of 32yrs in a few days time! and it was going to be the one and only!! !mmmmm my user name says it all... elmdale stud lol!!! i was well and truly hooked and have loved breeding ever since! even though i have had some down times. It does not matter how many times i see a foal born it brings a tear to my eye, if it does`nt then you should give up breeding. Anyway back to the point, keeping all crossed for you and your mare, good luck!
 
I've only tried my hand at breeding twice, once in 2008 and then the following year (expecting foal early May). So I can't give an overall picture but will tell you of my experience and hope it helps you somewhat.

In 2008 I decided to use a stallion from abroad and have the chilled semen sent to the vets. This involved several home visits from the vets to check when she was ready to be inseminated, then transport her to vets over 30miles away, leave her there for 5 days then collect. Vets then did home visit to check for foal. It took 3 attempts but she did take. The foal arrived 5 weeks before expected and due to several complications didn't survive the first 24hours.

I decided to have the mare transported to a yard where an orphan foal needed a new mummy. Within an hour of her arriving the pair were inseparable. It went some way towards healing my pain and I'm sure it helped the mare too.

Because the mare was confirmed 'in foal' in October of 2008 I was not entitled to any return to the stallion. The yard the mare was at with her new baby had live-in stallions so gave it a shot and she caught no problem. Mare is back home now and looking better than ever, so fingers crossed all goes well this time.

As for costs...In 2008 I spent £1100 on stud fee, £350 vet AI package x3, shipping cost for semen of £85 x3, plus fuel for transportation of mare to vets which was around £20 each way so £20 x6.
I didn't expect to be paying additional fees (when foal was poorly and disposal) but this in total cost around £2000.

In 2009 I paid £920 stud fee. I don't know how much grass livery costs would have been as I didn't get charged on account of the mare being there to foster their foal.

I wouldn't rule out using chilled semen in the future but I think you need to be very careful what the terms and conditions are and I seriously consider whether you can afford to pay for any complications. It isn't just the cost of getting mare in foal.

Sorry for such a long post and hope I didn't bore anyone.
 
Really hate to be a party pooper - but don't forget there is the possibility/heartache of losing your mare. My husband's divine ID/TB had to be put down immediately post-foaling as the foal's hoof had ruptured her uterus. The mare's death was a factor I had NEVER considered prior to putting her in foal.
I am now with the 'buy a youngster' brigade.
 
Sashpip, excellent summing up, seeing foals playing in agreen field on a sunny day is priceless, the seeing them competing and winning, hopefully!
 
Puppy,

so you've read the experiences of others. The successes and the disasters.

We've all had them. As you move from Natural Covering, down through the likely success rate, to Frozen Semen, then you need to "up" the level of experience of those who will attend to your mare.

Think VERY carefully before you use imported semen. A delightful and trusting lady of my acquaintance sent a mare to Germany. The mare came home empty, with a bill for £10k. When she, quite reasonably, remonstrated with the stallion owner, the response was, "Vell, next yaar, you can hev zee covering for £5k"! No free return, and certainly no chance of NFNF.

I once discussed the breeding of horses with a wealthy employer, and his response was, "My boy, if you have to think, Can I afford it? then the answer is, No, you can't"!!

If this is your first attempt at breeding then do your research. If you really are in the dark, then PM me and I'll let you have a list of those who I would trust.

Alec.
 
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