Talk me through it..

[HayleyUK]

pwease?

How *exactly* do you go about breeding your mare.. from the very 1st examination to see if shes okay to carry/pass a foal right up to birth..
I'm a total blank canvas & have no idea whats involved but very curious!!

Thanks for humouring me..

H x

 

[JanetGeorge]

First step is to examine your own reasons for WANTING to breed a foal from that mare. There are far too many unwanted, sub-standard horses around and the costs - financial and emotional - are considerable.

Second is to take off the rose-coloured spectacles and decide if the mare is REALLY worth breeding from - whether she stands a very good chance of producing a aound, quality youngster that either you will WANT to keep or someone else will WANT to buy for a reasonable sum.

If the answers are positive, then you need to have the mare examined by a vet to make sure she is a suitable candidate for breeding. Any reputable stud will require her to be swabbed/bloodtested in the month prior to covering for the STDs, Contagious Equine Metritis and EVA.

Then, choose a stallion. A whole BOOK could be written on THAT subject - but put simply; he should be of a similar type to your mare, he should be the best quality you can find, and he should complement any weaknesses she might have.

Then you send her to stud and wait to get her back - hopefully in foal!

Looking after an in-foal mare is not very different to looking after ANY mare, with the exceptions of possibly vaccinating against EHV at 5, 7 and 9 months of pregnancy; worming regularly, keeping her reasonably 'fit' by controlling her diet if she's a fatty. And watching and waiting for the happy event.

While many mares DO manage to foal unseen and unassisted, I would NOT recommend that anyone plan on that being the case. If you don't have the time/facilities to keep a VERY close eye on her from 321 days of pregnancy to foaling, then she should go to a stud for foaling. (another expense!) And then the fun - and the real work and expense - starts!