Horse breeding.

[Lifesong Farm]

These are all things I have been thinking about myself. I have a spanish mustang that is part banker. There are only about 150 to 200 bankers (corolla island) left and her foal would be 63% when bred to a banker stud. The semen (free) and vet costs are not what have me thinking. It is the weaning of the foal and the fact I have never bred a horse before so foaling is new to me. I have a completely separate pasture so that wouldn't be an issue. Its the fact that I currently only have one horse so there would be no way I could keep the foal here during weaning.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Quote:
Yes, very good point about twins. I knew two horses that were twins. What the owner did was embryo transfer into recipient mares. He went to these lengths because both the mare and sire were the best of their breed. Both foals survived and are now both exceptional horses that attained high scores at their approvals within their registry.

 

[petchickenlover]

Quote:
What is her breeding? She looks very familiar to me

I'll let you know after the DNA test... I think she's Star Darqa, by Darq and out of Star Ni Emeh, but i have to confirm that as it's just my own research.

Here are some slightly better pics:

 

[Jasmine1998]

Do lots of research on the stallion....look at what he has done, his conformation & also his personality. Before I had my mare bred I actually spent about a year looking at different stallions before I settled on the one I wanted for her. I looked into his breeding (what kind of things did his line excel at), I looked at his conformation (did he have near perfect conformation & did he posses traits that would improve upon my mare - and on that note are his traits similiar enough that I would not end up with a Frankenhorse), next I looked at personality...I wanted super work ethic, kind & smart (a stallion can have all of the awards in the world, but it is not worth it to me if the foal has a 50% chance of having a rank attitude).

Another aspect to think of is the cost of having a foal. If you do it right, it is not cheap. First we had the pre-breeding exam for to check my mare for breeding soundness & any disease that she may be able to pass to the stallion since it was going to be live cover. Also, since you have an Arab, make sure at least 1 parent if not both are SCID clear. After her test came back clear it was off to the stallion owners property for a week. So here you not only have the stud fee, but you have mare care. A about 2.5 weeks after coming home you will need the ultrasound to make sure that she took & to check for twins. In my case my mare did not take the first time so we did a round of prostaglandins shots & back to the stallion owners for another week of mare care. When she came home there was another ultrasound & in the months leading up to the baby being born, we had the vet out to do palpations, pnuemabort shots. Once the foal was born, vet came back out again to check mare & foal. 3 days after delivery vet was back out again because mare retained a small piece of placenta & had an infection in her uterus. It adds up very quickly.

Another thing to think about is your mare...I am assuming she is older since you asked how old is too old to breed. If she is older & maiden it may be very difficult to get her pregnant. Also, are you prepared if something does go wrong & you not only lose the foal, but you lose your mare as well? Out of the foals we have had, we had one break a leg (thankfully he broke his elbow ina non-weight bearing part of the joint & is 100% sound to this day thanks to New Bolton) & one foal that had to be put down shortly after birth due to a bad birth defect. Thankfully all of our mares have been ok.

 

[patandchickens]

Oh, this is your existing aged mare you want to breed. Gee, think real hard about that. Not only can it easily become a real money pit (as mentioned earlier, if she has not been in active foal-production recently, it is quite possible, if she's 20ish I'd even say *likely*, that you may not be able to get her in foal successfully) but it is considerably riskier both for the mare AND for any foal she may try to birth/raise. You'd want to have a considerable "slush fund" for veterinary emergencies, and be OK with the possibility of losing the mare.

If this is about trying to duplicate a favorite mare, it just doesn't usually work out that way, you know.

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[seminolewind]

I think age depends alot on health. I bought a mare that was 3 1/2-not knowing that she was pregnant. It really took a toll on her health, her hooves got paper thin walls , she looked ragged and bony. She recovered her health, but I imagine it would be hard on an older mare as well.

 

[onthespot]

I got mare that was bred before she was even two, kinda biggish solid paint mare, filly if you will. I didn't know she was bred, and she got reserve hi-point western pleasure in the state that year, and some halter points, and dropped a (very ugly, unpapered) baby in January. Got the baby a fantastic home, went on to be a decent rope horse. That mama never missed a beat. She never lost condition, no problems foaling, foal was big and strong and healthy, she had plenty of milk, no issue with her hooves, no reproductive problems. She went on to have a lot of other registered paint babies, including a world champion producer, and produced several superiors for a breeder in Alabama. Sometimes you just never know. I know we are now talking the other end of the spectrum, not to de-rail, but each horse is different. Each pregnancy is a gamble. I think if you are going to be sending her somewhere to be bred, set back about five grand for starters. Those old mares are not cheap to get in foal. Might be better off for all concerned to try embryo transfer if you heart is really set on it.

 

[petchickenlover]

My heart isn't set on it - It's just an option we've been thinking about.

Does anyone know the approximate cost of the exam?

 

[heathersboers]

My father in law bred a 35 year old mare by accident. The stud got out and bred her. We never saw her come into heat...we figured since she was so old she couldn't....well....we had a healthy lil filly born....mom did OK...but did lose a lot of weight nursing. She lived another 5 years aftr That and recently passed.my mare is 23 and I am planning on breeding her to my palomino next year if her health stays good. To look at her...you'd swear she was only 4. I am still debating on it though. If I do breed her..I am planning on keeping the foal for my son who is 16 months.

 

[Jasmine1998]

Quote:
I will have to see if I can find any of Jas's paperwork from her first breeding when he did the breeding soundness exam & STD test on her. I don't think it was horribly exspensive but I will check. It I remember correctly is was about $100-150 but that included the farm call. The ultrasound was about $125 (including farm call). Mare care for everyday she was away for breeding was $10 per day.

This is mom & her colt when he was about 5 months old - he was weaned the next day.

And as far as someone said you are not likely to replicate the mare...here is living proof. My colt in front & dad in the back. (Dad is 25 years old in this pic)

and dad in front...colt in the back