[Bailey-Boots]

I think it would be good to have a thread that outlines all the implications and considerations that people should undertake when wanting to breed their horse. (the good, the bad and the ugly)

Please try to make this educational for horse owners.


1. Vet fees - Regardless of a stud fee you will always have vet fees when breeding your horse. there is the pre-breeding checkup to ensure your horse is healthy and then the scan for testing they have taken. Durring the birth it is important to check the that foal is healthy and that the mother has passed all the afterbirth. These fees are just the ones incurred when everything goes right. Pregnancy is a high risk and there is always a possibility that things can go wrong. It may lead to a) a huge vet bill b) the loss of the foal or the mother.

2. The reason why you feel the need to breed. A foal isnt going to stay cute forever. If there ever the chance you have to sell the foal it has to be marketable, either by its bloodlines, conformation or the look at me factor. Or even better...all 3.

3. Do you have the experiece and facilites to train a foal? A foal is born without knowing any better. It's first few months of handling and training can make or break it for its later stages or life.

4. Do you have the facilites, money and PATIENCE to wait til the foal is grown up before breaking into saddle.

5. Could you cope with the death of the mother or the foal if anything happened? Finicially and emotionally.

6. There is no guarantee that you will have a healthy foal - have you thought about the implications of what will happen if you horse is born with health of confo issues.

7. If you want to have a young horse, then have you thought about buying a foal, at least you will be able to see and judge it at 6 months old.

8. Is your mare suited to breeding. Does she have good structure, performance record? Not that you have to have a show winning mare but there are plenty of mares out there that will pass good quality to a foal. A good broodmare is expensive and sometimes your pet mare will not make such a good broodmare prospect.
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Please think of anything you can that is going to help.

Thank you

[wyldterv]

If you're wanting to keep a colt a STUD and stand him to mares have you

#1 had him evaluated by at least 5 top professional horsemen in your breed for suitability??? Have at least 4 out of 5 felt he was indeed stallion worthy?

#2 Does the stallion have a halter and/or performance show record to make him more marketable to prospective mare owners so that you will draw more quality mare inquiries and also to make his offspring more marketable???

#3 Are you going to Screen potential mares to be bred to your stallion to ensure that they have met minimum health testing requirements for testable known heridiatary disease and defects, to ensure that the mare is a QUALITY example of your breed, has a halter and/or performance record and if not WHY, have you seen a video of the mare under saddle and free? Made sure conformationally she's a good match for your stallion, has a GOOD temperament, etc???

#4 Are you willing and capable of politely telling a mare owner that you're sorry but their mare is just not a suitable candidate for breeding to your stallion?

#5 Have you tested your Stud Muffin for all testable genetic conditions possible to ensure the best you can that you're not passing them on???

#6 Do you have the funds to have semen collected, examined, stored, etc on a regular basis to ensure that when mares are going to be bred to stud muffin he's got healthy 'swimmers'???

#7 Do you have access to great Equine Repro Vet Care that you can work with to ensure even problem mares that are sent have the best chance of being successfully bred and to also ensure that when shipped semen is requested it is properly collected, stored and shipped?

#8 Do you have close enough access to major airports to get semen shipped at a moments notice 7 days a week?

#9 Are you emotionally prepared for your stallion being blamed 100% for any and all poor specimen foals that will result from a breeding?

#10 Are you emotionally prepared to be HONEST with prospective mare owners about the good, bad and flat out ugly things your stallion has produced?

#11 Are you experienced enough horse person to train, handle and live with a Stallion?

#12 Do you have proper facilities to safely and humanely house a stallion, providing he and the horses around him safe fencing but also fencing and stabling that allows him full view of other horses in the 'herd' so that he can be social in a safe manner?

#13 Do you have the funds to campaigne a stallion so that he does build a successful record?

#14 Do you have the funds for Advertising and promotion of a quality stallion?

#15 Are you willing to be ethical at all times in concerns to health issues ?

[PeggySue]

Both of the above about cover it all but my big thing is NOT EVEN a chance of any genetic conditions!!!!!!!!!! I have seen a horse wtih HYPP go dawn and it is not pretty.

I am not a big one on your stud has to have show record blah blah blah but is he worthy I agree there are alot of junk horses out there that have no business breeding.. but I also know there are alot of unknowns throwing really super nice babies... People who ride trail horses could care less about that show record that is where some of these unknowns come in..

I look for conformation and Dispostion first then I look at bloodlines. Once again I look back and see if there are any genetics faults that I dont' want my mare to pass on...

[meljean]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Another thing people need to consider, are they willing to raise a foal knowing it may end up in horrible living conditions?

Case in point. Got a call several years ago, woman had sick horse, said the former breeder/owner had suggested calling me to come look and see what I thought. Went out there, horse down on chest in stall, skin and bones, thought maybe WNV? Pen size 50x50, two horses, this one and his mother, no grass of course, no hay. Asked to see feed, horse staggered to his feet when feed door opened, asked how much she was feeding. And she showed me a 1 cup measuring cup, and said each horse got one of those in the morning, and one of them at night. That's right, each horse, with no hay, no grass, and only two cups of feed a day.

I told her the horse was starving to death, that they were now living off of muscle, of which the heart is one, and they were dying from lack of feed. She said she had asked people if it was enough feed, and one person told her she was overfeeding. I wish I could tell you I am exaggerating, but I am deadly serious.

I went and told the previous owner how his horses were living, and to date he still breeds 5-8 foals a year, and he has almost 20 head on about ten acres of pasture, no fertilizing, no hay, no feed in the summer, and he has people who board there, pasture only also, who are giving their horses steriods to make them gain weight. How they think this will happen with NO FEED I don't know. But this is a true story.

Also, there are almost 100,000 horses put to death in slaughter houses each year, but that does not count the ones that starve to death in people's back yards. I have seen horses in areas that are not much bigger than a bathroom again with filthy water, standing there starving to death, and seen the carcasses dumped over other people's fences.

There is nothing more heartbreaking than going to an auction, and seeing someone's much loved show horse going to a killer. This happens more than people want to admit. Horses with the show ribbons still in their manes, good horses too.

Horses are cheap right now, I know of some Doc O Lenas that sold for under 400.00 acouple of weeks ago, and these were long two year old ready for training and they were GOOD colts. Both in conformation and pedigree.

If any one doubts what I say, they need a reality check, and they need to go help out at a rescue group, and see how some horses live, and they would reconsider how much they want a cute foal.

As for my two geldings, if I can't take care of them one day, I will have them put down. I would rather see them pass out of this life peacefully, than wonder if they are standing in a barren lot, waiting for the feed and water they used to have, and wondering what they did wrong to be treated so.

[Moonshine Zeus]

thank you for this, they are very important things to consider!! I am breeding my mare but we are commited owners, we have money for the vets, have paid good money for stud fees and my mare is breeding material!!!

[Emma lvs tilly]

Originally Posted by meljean

As for my two geldings, if I can't take care of them one day, I will have them put down. I would rather see them pass out of this life peacefully, than wonder if they are standing in a barren lot, waiting for the feed and water they used to have, and wondering what they did wrong to be treated so.

no offence but i think thats kind of selfish, not everyone is like that and if you ever were to sell they make someone extreamly happy and love them as much as you. after selling my first pony i have kept in touch with his new owners and he has made a 7 year old girls best friend.
saying that if i ever had to let my mare go i would give her away to a friend who would not sell her. we have already done this and have had a friends horse given and we promise to not sell her but give her back if we cannot cope.
if everyone did what you plan how would anyone get horses, they would all be put to sleep.

[*BaRrEL_BaBE*]

Excellent post. Not only has this thread discussed the implications after the foal hits the ground, but also those that must be taken into account beforehand. In concurrence with Darwin and other evolution theories, the purpose of reproducing is to strengthen the species: breeders should be looking to do this when they choose to put a foal on the ground.

[SweetIron]

I just read this, and it is an awesome post. So many people think of breeding them to "make money." Like keeping hooses in general (at least for me), this reasoning is not logical and should not be the basis on breeding. I look at it as a way to spend money!

[ShowJumper23]

This thread is definitly being bookmarked, one of the best so far.

[Brrelhorse]

Good post. Definitely you need to have the facilities to handle a stallion & the money to promote him. Also you need to get the foals into the proper hands of people who will promote them which helps promote your stallion. It all takes money.