Wanting to put my mare in foal but not sure where to start.

[Hannah Gilbert]

I'm wanting to put my 14.3hh Welsh Cob Section D in foal but I have no clue where to start. I am having a gap year so thought it would be a good time to put her in foal as I'd have more time to make sure she's okay. I would like to put her in foal as I'd love to keep her offspring and then hopefully one day my mom would be able to ride. I'm wanting to be able to keep her where she is and allow her to have a natural birth. If anyone could help/advice and maybe given me a price range that it might cost. It would be very helpful!
Thanks.

 

[TheMule]

Step 1- have a massive pot of money that you don’t mind flushing down a toilet/ burning/ just cutting up with scissors
Step 2- fall in love with a stallion that will complement your mare
Step 3- depends on whether the stallion is natural cover of AI. If natural cover, phone stud, book her in, have the vet for her bre-breeding health tests (budget around £200 for these, but it does depend a bit on exactly what stud needs) If AI, either send away to a stud to manage (fully recommended) or suffer the horrendous stressful pain of trying to do it yourself from home. If the latter, try to monitor her seasons and get her in for a scan 2 weeks after she stops showing in season so you have a bit of time to play with to track the follicles and order semen at right time
Step 4- stress and panic for 14 days up to first scan
Step 5- go back to step 1 or, if very lucky, proceed to step 6
Step 6- stress and panic until 28 day heartbeat scan
Step 7- go back to step 1 or, if extremely lucky, proceed to step 8
Step 8- stress and panic for a further 10 months and then hope that nothing goes wrong. Almost anything can go wrong.

As for the cost..... how long is a piece of string?! If you used a cheap stallion, natural cover, in foal first cycle, grass livery and needed minimal intervention from vet...... 1.5- 2k to get foal on the ground?
If AI, frozen semen, expensive stallion, mare needs 3 goes and flushes etc. I'm probably up to 3k so far with no pregnancy (yet, fingers crossed for next Friday!)

 

[ihatework]

The Mule, keep burning money!!

Seems to have been a really odd year for breeding, I seem to know/hear of a far higher % of failures this year compared to others. All healthy mares using good repro vets and reputable semen. Lots of empty mares and owners giving up this time

 

[milliepops]

fingers crossed TM

I'm within TM's proposed budget currently and foal is now 3 weeks old. Natural cover, mates rates stud fee, did take 2 goes though and quite a few trips back and forth to the vets as a result because mine also doesn't really show when in season and I couldn't leave her at the stud for weeks and weeks waiting for her to get in the mood

Probably spend the same again on hair dye to cover the greys, I can't believe how stressful it all was, amazing but endless worry and even right at the end with a 3 day old foal then we had a horrid fright with the mare. Yikes! and more bills

 

[TheMule]

The Mule, keep burning money!!

Seems to have been a really odd year for breeding, I seem to know/hear of a far higher % of failures this year compared to others. All healthy mares using good repro vets and reputable semen. Lots of empty mares and owners giving up this time

I think I will retire to my previous habit of burning money after this cycle. To be fair, two of the goes were late last season so we shall reserve judgement on 2020 for a little longer....

 

[TheMule]

Probably spend the same again on hair dye to cover the greys, I can't believe how stressful it all was, amazing but endless worry and even right at the end with a 3 day old foal then we had a horrid fright with the mare. Yikes! and more bills

Oh yes, I forgot to factor in the hair dye, extra gin, stud diet (for me, not the mare)

 

[milliepops]

haha! and the mare, even my TB doesn't cost this much to feed

 

[Orangehorse]

Serious reply 1. Have you got the facilities for a mare and foal. Safe fencing that the foal won't get tangled in, preferably company with another mare and foal, and then young company when it comes to weaning (sometimes friends with mares will swop/keep together).

2. What do you want to breed? Something the same size, then another Welsh cob, or something bigger so you need to research stallions that would suit and complement the mare.

3. Have you got plenty of money? If you want to send the mare to stud then there are health checks to be done first, by vet and then you will be paying livery while it is there. Then there are the checks to see if it is in foal, by the vet. What are the terms - no foal, no fee. Does that mean live foal on 1st October or live foal at birth. Does it really mean no fee, or a free return, which probably wouldn't suit you.

4. Once the mare is in foal its management doesn't change much for the first few months. It is only approaching foaling date that a little bit more food might be needed, but you don't want to over feed and get the mare too fat or the foal to big.

5. Foaling - who would foal the mare? Send it back to stud, or let nature take its course and have a vet on call to come out in case of emergency.

6. Talking of emergency - be prepared with phone numbers of contacts for any emergency - dead mare, dead foal, veterinary treatment of one or both, artificial milk, or at least know where it can be obtained. The famous "what if" the worst happened, like the mare rejecting the foal.

Am I putting you off? It is a nice idea, and could go without a hitch and you end up with a nice foal. But there are a lot of buts and you have to be prepared for them.

I was admiring the foals that the gypsies have in the field down the road. Its a pretty bare field but they seem to churn out really nice foals every year. Still, they did live in one of our fields for quite a few weeks when their field was flooded, so they had plenty of grass then.

 

[Horses_Rule]

Agree with all points raised above! Have a nice pot of money waiting! I’m on third and final cycle if mine doesn’t take then that’s it, she’s had everything thrown at her this time so it just isn’t meant to be if she doesn’t take! So many things can go wrong before the foal is even here. I had a mare in foal a few years ago and all was fine. One day I went to fetch her in and she had aborted foal at 7 months pregnant. So there was my £1500 odd set fire to.
I always said I wouldn’t try again but I have for all my sins (different mare). I’m probably about £700 in so far and vet told me on Wednesday that she holds so much fluid it’s very unlikely she’ll take. Excellent. But we decided as I’d already Paid for the PG and scan that in for a penny in for a pound and we’ll throw everything at her for this last time.
I would recommend sending to stud as I think being able to tease etc can really help.
Get a breeding exam done before you start so you know exactly what you’re dealing with from the inside. And I would also say start early enough in the season so you have plenty of opportunity to retry if first few cycles doesn’t take.
Also not to put a downer on but really you need to be prepared that you could lose your mare are you prepared to take that risk? Or worse case you could end up X thousands down with dead mare and foal, sorry but it’s true!
Good luck in your decision!

( why do we do this again?!?!?!)

 

[TheMule]

Agree with all points raised above! Have a nice pot of money waiting! I’m on third and final cycle if mine doesn’t take then that’s it, she’s had everything thrown at her this time so it just isn’t meant to be if she doesn’t take! So many things can go wrong before the foal is even here. I had a mare in foal a few years ago and all was fine. One day I went to fetch her in and she had aborted foal at 7 months pregnant. So there was my £1500 odd set fire to.
I always said I wouldn’t try again but I have for all my sins (different mare). I’m probably about £700 in so far and vet told me on Wednesday that she holds so much fluid it’s very unlikely she’ll take. Excellent. But we decided as I’d already Paid for the PG and scan that in for a penny in for a pound and we’ll throw everything at her for this last time.
I would recommend sending to stud as I think being able to tease etc can really help.
Get a breeding exam done before you start so you know exactly what you’re dealing with from the inside. And I would also say start early enough in the season so you have plenty of opportunity to retry if first few cycles doesn’t take.
Also not to put a downer on but really you need to be prepared that you could lose your mare are you prepared to take that risk? Or worse case you could end up X thousands down with dead mare and foal, sorry but it’s true!
Good luck in your decision!

( why do we do this again?!?!?!)

Oh so familiar! Thankfully my mare didn’t retain any fluid this time so we're in with a Chance, but this will be my last try

 

[Horses_Rule]

Oh so familiar! Thankfully my mare didn’t retain any fluid this time so we're in with a Chance, but this will be my last try

I spoke to the stud yesterday as she was scanned to check off and there was a teeeeny amount so she’s been oxyed last night and this am and then I’m collecting her this afternoon (stud is 2 miles hack away thank god) then it’s waiting time. I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t take but at least I can say I’ve tried and then I can put the idea to bed!

 

[TheMule]

I spoke to the stud yesterday as she was scanned to check off and there was a teeeeny amount so she’s been oxyed last night and this am and then I’m collecting her this afternoon (stud is 2 miles hack away thank god) then it’s waiting time. I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t take but at least I can say I’ve tried and then I can put the idea to bed!

Fingers crossed for you, I find out on Friday. I hate all the waiting involved, I'm so impatient!

 

[Horses_Rule]

Fingers crossed for you, I find out on Friday. I hate all the waiting involved, I'm so impatient!

Yes OP also you need to be prepared to wait what feels like eternity to find out ?!!
Good luck to you too! I try to put it to the back of my mind but then I think about cute squishy floofy foals and then get stressed/ excited all over again!

 

[Hannah Gilbert]

Thank you for all the help! It's definitely made me see what its going to be like. Hopefully I will have enough money and research done by next year and hopefully she'll be okay. Thanks again for all the comments I appetite it!

 

[MiniMilton]

I bred my lovely 14.3 connemara pony mare as like you I wanted to have an offspring I could keep. I put her to a 16.2 stallion and I still got a 14.3 out of her! I was lucky he even made that height as he was an absolutely tiny foal. I nearly lost the mare as she prolapsed very severly. The foal was a bloody nightmare getting caught in fencing and generally getting up to mischief for the first few years. He has cost me a fortune over the years, it would be far cheaper to buy one BUT I wouldn't swap him for the world. His mother has since died so it's lovely to have a part of her still here, such a shame I can't do that again with him (gelding)

Start researching stallions that you like and go from there...

 

[windand rain]

Are you prepared physically and emotionally to lose your mare, wait 11 months or more then lose the foal at any age
There no chance to relax
Why do you want a foal
What if it survives but is weak or deformed
What if it doesnt come out the right sex, colour size you want
Much as I love breeding foals it is much cheaper and more fulfilling to buy a weanling when you have at least an element of control over the above.
If next year is your gap year buy a weanling in the autumn as you will be able to teach it so much
youngsters need good company and a horse to teach it herd dynamics
Breeding needs a level of experience you cannot cover the mare then leave it to get on with it
Breeding foals is a mugs game cost me £3000 to get my foal from scans to 4 days old that was 11 years ago. that didnt include the DIY mare and foal livery or the fact the mare was out of action for 18 months or there abouts
Sorry to sound like a wet blanket buy the saying "fools breed foals for wise men to buy" is very true,

The positives are you get your baby from day 1. It is a joyous experience and very rewarding you will love every minute (except the stress)

 

[sport horse]

If you are having a gap year why are you not using it riding your horse? Is your horse at livery and will the foal also be at livery? Does the livery have other young horses for your weaned foal to live with? Cost out the total cost and I think you may run for the horse sales to buy your mother a horse when she is ready! Can you spend some of this year going to spend some time at a stud and learn about what you are hoping to do? You do not want to put your mare in foal an foal it without any experience and without someone knowlegeable by your side very step of the way. It is a risky enough business even with knowledge.

 

[lme]

Breeding a foal is incredible but it’s not cheap. If you are 100% sure that what you want is your mare’s foal then go ahead. Choose a stallion that will complement her, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If you just want a foal, then buy one at weaning. If you want a horse for your mother, then buy something ready to go.

I put 2 mares in foal last summer and neither was exactly straightforward.

One mare lost undetected twins at 5 months. We are trying again this year with the same stallion and are on attempt #2. She’s not super enthusiastic about repro work and needs sedating for everything which increases costs.

My other mare took 2 attempts to get in foal and produced a lovely (if slightly wonky) colt foal. He has needed x-rays and remedial farriery (which seems to have straightened him up) and may still need a hernia fixed if it doesn’t right itself.

There’s no way breeding him makes sense in financial terms but I am incredibly grateful to have him as I owned his grand-dam for almost 30 years and thought I had left it too late to continue that line.

 

[Laafet]

Ditto everyone else, the scary bit of your post to me as an ex foaling attendant of 15 years is the bit where you said you wanted her to have a 'natural birth' and keep her where she is - what do you mean by that? Giving birth on her own on a livery yard is probably not the best idea if that is what you mean, other wise most mares give birth 'naturally' as in not a C-Section.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I have had a nightmare for foals this year. One mare aborted in February at 9 months - a beautiful chestnut filly. I am lucky to still have the mare. She has been in foal twice (5 years apart) and aborted twice so she will never be put in foal again. If she aborts again and goes longer I would probably lose her too and that is not a risk I am willing to take.

Foal 2 should have been a strapping big lad. His father always produces big ponies, his mother, although lightly built for a shetland, is overheight. So yeah the foal should have been a stonker! The mare had good grass all summer/autumn, ad lib haylage all winter, came in at the end of Feb and got fed good food, foaled a tiny dummy foal in the middle of May. It took 5-6 days before I would say he was truly awake. 5 weeks on he is still tiny - not a dwarf, he is perfectly formed, but he is very small for what he should be. So as mean as this sounds I am quite disappointed. Don't get me wrong I am glad he is happy and healthy and causing havoc! But he isn't what I ordered!

Breeding is a gamble. And you need to accept the fact that the stakes are high and you may lose everything.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Elf, any idea why your mare aborted? My friend had this with a mare she owned. In her case it was an incompetent cervix. She would go fairly close to full term then start a nasty discharge before slipping a dead foal. She lost two before giving up.
I had a mare abort a couple of months from full term, that was a twisted cord, first my horse vet had ever seen. I lost her daughter foaling a full term foal, again I suspect a twisted cord whereby the foal died before birth and the subsequent malpresentation ruptured her uterus. We didn't get the foal out so don't know for sure but having seen it kicking frantically the day before I am sure that is what it was. Her daughter lost a nearly full term filly to a twisted cord. She managed to foal it but was so badly bruised that nerves were damaged in her back end and she never got up again despite every effort to save her. That foal was also seen kicking frantically a couple of days previously. The cord was longer than usual and twisted like a rope.
I had never come across twisted cord previously and neither had my vet. I found afterwards that there is research into it in TB's as it is believed to be hereditary. I gave up breeding after losing that mare, couldn't go through it again.

 

[milliepops]

Oh EP, how heartbreaking

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

EP I am so sorry to hear about your mare. With mine the first one was infection. You could see it on the placenta. The second - no idea! The placenta and everythig looked perfectly healthy, the foal was fully formed and perfect (just hairless etc as a 9month old foetus should be) so we have put it down to the fact the mares body doesn't accept it some how so we wont try with her again. She is going to be my lead rein pony for next year.

I do have pics of the 9 month old if anyone wants to see them.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I would be interested to see pics of the 9 month old. The older mare I had that lost hers was further on as foal was covered in hair but very tiny. That mare also lost twins in her first pregnancy, then had 4 perfect foals on the trot. I was so lucky for many years, bred upwards of 20 with no problems, that it never really crossed my mind that I could lose a mare. Not sure I could risk a much loved mare now.