PROS AND CONS OF EARLY BREEDING. INFO PLS

[romanov]

question as above, also what is in involved?
how do the racing fraternity go about getting/keeping there
mares infoal so early in the season.
have a mare that has previously had one foal then absorbed two more on chilled semen,(different stallions) now awaiting
results of uterus biopsy to rule out for next year.

 

[air78]

Reduce hard food prior to wanting the mare in season, then introduce a high calorie diet again, get them stabled at night, rugged, with the lights on in the early morning and untill late pm; all to simulate the arrival of spring and bring on regular seasons.

The con's for the foal are that the weather might be horrible, so it'll need more stabling etc also there's no goodness in the grass so you'll need to further supplement the mare for a good milk supply etc It's more labour intensive for the owner/ stable staff.

Pro's there's some good grass around when you wean. You get a big strapping, precocious foal (hopefully) who'll look good for showing/ grading etc

 

[KarynK]

History – Some idiot was given the choice for the TB’s birthday as 1st January or 1st March and chose January in a time where there were not even electric lights!!!

Pro’s – for racing –

A TB needs potentially to race at 2 (flatties) so be sat on and ridden before that. In order to be strong enough to take that the earlier it is born the better as in it’s second year when about to race it will be older than 2.

A foal born in January will be bigger and stronger throughout it’s flat race career (until it reaches full maturity) than one born in May or June.

If you are breeding for a leisure or ridden competition horse these advantages don’t really apply. If you are breeding for showing then you have to weigh up the risks against having a few months older bigger foal, and yearling because by two structurally they will be less at an advantage to others born later.


Con’s –

It is not a natural time for a horse to breed, they are attuned to the seasons and lengthening days and warmer weather and better quality food stimulate their reproductive system to be at it’s best to have foals born when the grass is at it’s best in spring.

So:

You need rugging, nutrition, artificial light slowly lengthening in time, and nowadays drugs to get the mare to cycle early. (I do suspect that over the past 200 or so years that TB’s have been cycling successfully earlier than other breeds, by selective breeding, but with modern drugs this will probably be cancelled out)

Many mares have to be covered on their foaling heat to keep them foaling early, this can result in fertility problems and needs to be done carefully to avoid problems and possible damage.

Fertility is not at its best this time or year – so several attempts may be needed to conceive depending on the mare and her response to artificial stimulus. This can add considerably to the cost of a foal (not usually a problem in the racing industry).

The mare will need supportive feeding through her finial trimester when the foal develops rapidly (grass in nature does this).

The need for supplementary feeding can cause serious developmental problems in the foal if not done very carefully. Overfeeding can cause birthing problems as well.

Bad weather may mean mare and foal being confined, which in itself can affect development. Mare and foal will probably have to come in every night if not rugged which means a lot of extra work.

Long cold nights are not brilliant for prolonged periods of foal watch, unless of course you are in an all mod cons foaling unit!

 

[madeleinewachman]

I had two feb sport horse foals this year. I have to say if they had been any earlier it would have been a nightmare with all the snow we had on the ground this year.

As it was things worked out fine, I agree with air 78 that it is harder work intially as I had to bring the mares in for a couple of weekd before foaling and the mare and foal stayed in at night for about a month after foaling, where in the past I have had both mare and foal out in the field 24/7

The advantages for me are that the foals as a result became fantastically well handled, good to lead, be boxed etc just through bringing them in and out the stable. There were no flies at all, so I had no problems with their umbilical cords ( in the past I have had problems with them getting infected despite treating them daily due to the awful flies we get in summer ) The mares did require more food to keep their milk good and to echo air 78 when the foals were weaned there was lots of good grass so they did not drop weight ( if anything is the grass is too good you need to be careful that they don't grow too quickly)
I am also hoping that as potential eventers to be, they will be at a better point in their careers and therefore hopfully more sucessful in the 4/5/6 year old age class's, but who knows until the time comes.

I had decided to put the mares in foal early to avoid the flies, however did not expect them to take so soon. They went to stud in March, arrived and instantly cycled, were covered and back with me 28 days later. Both mares had been wintered out, so had required no drugs, stabling, light treatment etc, they just decided they were ready!

I think you need to look at why you might want an early foal and if the pro's out weigh the cons for you.

 

[romanov]

thankyou for advice everybody.
reason to start early was because mare was ai'd this year in mid april, took first time, in early august i noticed her acting odd, had her scanned, no foal, stud closed end of july so was unable to go again, want to try and get all my go's if need be.

 

[BayJosie]

What would you class as early? My foal is due end feb/start of March?

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
thankyou for advice everybody.
reason to start early was because mare was ai'd this year in mid april, took first time, in early august i noticed her acting odd, had her scanned, no foal, stud closed end of july so was unable to go again, want to try and get all my go's if need be.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand from this why you'd want to go earlier. She got in foal mid-April which would have given you a March foal (plenty early enough)

Sadly she didn't hold the pregnancy - and you didn't know until it was too late to try again (strange stud that closes down in July

)

Next year I would start the same time but perhaps do an extra scan - did you have a 28 day heartbeat scan?? Too many people do a 14-16 day scan and think that's enough, but the most common time to lose a pregnancy is 17-18 days when the vesicle doesn't implant in the uterus. If you get a positive 28 day, you could scan again at 45 to make absolutely sure all is well - and still have time to get her back to the stallion.

But if a mare gets to 35 days and THEN loses a pregnancy, she won't come back into season for months.