# I want to breed my mare



## Cherry2013 (Jan 19, 2013)

Hi everyone im new to site, i have tried another forum but just got alot of nasty comments about me wanting to breed!
And basically saying because my horse is unbroken i shoudnt breed her. 

I got my mare last year, she was wild, ran with a mini herd, was wormed and had her feet done but other then that not handled, she wouldnt walk on head collor or anything, they used to tie her to a tree to do her feet etc.. Well now shes fab, shes still lively and UNBROKEN but iv been doing Monty Roberts join up and stuff with her and shes now fab i can do anything with her.
It was a rescue type as they couldnt sell her they were sending her to the meat man.. so i brought her as i fell in love with her straight away. 

Shes a 16.3hh TB Out of ZhaZha II 
And her father is Primitive Rising USA (Parents are DNA tested on passport)

Now im wanting to breed her this year but my problem is i havnt got the foggyest clue on where to start or what to do 
Iv read up on it and it just seems to go in one ear out the other.. 

Iv had all her injections done, she suffered with abscess not long ago due to bad farrier work but other then that is 100% healthy 
Iv found a few stallions near by id like to use and have contacted a few. 

But now im just :sosp: brain dead.. 
Her last season was 13th of Jan..

Any advice would be very greatful thankyouu 

( should also add i am experienced horse owner and qualified, just never thought about breeding until now )


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## Kaori (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm going to start by saying welcome to the forum! 
Brace yourself because you will possibly get flamed a tad. Breeding is a really, really touchy subject since tens/hundreds of thousands of horses are going for meat in this country already because of the excessive breeding and the saturated market.

These questions are purely out of interest. I'm also going to say people telling you not to breed a horse PURELY because it's unbroken are idiots and I'll explain why after these.
Why do you exactly want to breed? From a personal point of view I wouldn't breed a mare that didn't sell and was given away. I also wouldn't breed a TB purely because they're 2 a penny at the moment. 
What are you going to do with the foal? This is the most important question to me to be honest.
Do you have the finances? Proper foaling expenses are in excess of £4k and your mare could absorb the foetus at any time.

I would have your mare inspected by a professional breeder. They will be able to pick out any conformational faults and give you their personal advice. 
I have no idea what your mare looks like so I can't comment, but good conformation is a big, big bonus and I would say is more important than bloodlines.
What stallions did you have in mind for her also? Are you going for colour or lineage?
When choosing a stallion I always say it should be conformation, registered, lineage, everything in between and colour should be absolutely last on your list.

Breeding is a tricky thing to do and it is also very heartbreaking when things go wrong. Worst case scenario you lose your mare and the foal.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

I think you'll get a good few posts that are not what you want to hear especially after seeing the number of horses ending up at the abbatoir on the news today and the huge over breeding problem we have at the mo!!!!!
Agree with the above - off the track TB's are 2 a penny and most are not suitable to be bred from due to poor conformation/feet etc amongst other things. 
But the fact that this mare was a rescue and given away should be a red flag to start with - why on earth would you want to create another potential rescue or horse that is worth very little? 
Her breeding is nothing out of the ordinary, and even if she did have brilliant conformation I would advise against it totally with that market as it is and as she is unproven breeding or any other way you have no idea what she could throw - you could get a stunner or you could get a total fugly, unless you're loaded of course and have a ton of spare time to foal a mare and can afford 2 horses for life that could potentially just be pasture pets!! 
You need to do some serious research as mares need to be checked every half an hour day AND night for a few weeks before the due date as not all show textbook signs, and can go weeks over due - that is alot of sleepless nights I can tell you and you could have weeks and weeks off work!!! And if you loose the mare or she rejects the foal can you afford to bottle feed or have the time to?, or resultant vet bills which can easily run into thousands if a complication arises which still could leave you with no horses?!! Not to mention weaning etc and having other youngsters the same age to play and learn with as well as foal safe facilities or the money to send to a stud to run in a herd?

I've bred horses for 14yrs now and have none in foal for this year as the market is just so awful, I only bred 1 last year and that was to order from a very expensive TB mare that has thrown HOYS winners, showjumpers, and a film horse and even then I barely cover the basic costs - let alone my time! And I doubt I'll breed anything in the next few years, even though i have some nice proven mares that have thrown some outstanding foals and I own the stallion, it still costs more than the horses are worth to keep/feed/farrier etc and there are no guarentees after spending all that money that you will either end up with a foal or a live mare!

The fact your mare is not broken in is not the issue but if a mare is not then you need either an outstanding pedigree/conformation/temperament/track/show record etc - preferably several of those!, to make the whole thing even slightly viable and most importantly a reason to breed other than 'have mare with uterus will breed'! TBH breeding from your mare would be no different from breeding from a rescue dog or cat - it's not a good idea!!!

Also any decent stallion owner will usually look at the mares breeding/conformation/show record etc before allowing their stallion to be used as any resultant foals are their advertising, so the chances are you'll be left with a poorer quality stallion and a foal that has very little if anything going for it, add to the fact you use Monty roberts and you have an even more unsellable foal I'm afraid! 
Most stallions are available via AI now so when a mare is in season is not really important as they are brought on artificially, they also do cycle irregularly in winter but it's april you'd need to start, you get blood tests and swabs done earlier - speak to your vet - please read some books, it's all very well saying it doesn't sink in but it must as it could save a foals life if disaster strikes and the vet taking 10mins to get to you you could loose it!! I'm also assuming she's an older mare as her sire died in 2002 - fertility in mares drops after they are 10 really so you could spend all that moeny and get no foal anyway, a friend of mine sent her TB mare who was a very nice ridden horse too, to 6 different stallions over a 10yr period as she was desperate for a foal from her and it never took!
Have you got a conformational shot of your mare?

If you are determined to breed, we all started somewhere!, then I'd read every book going until it does sink in, get your mare to some shows/get her ridden etc and see how she does and get some experienced folk to see what they think of her. Get some work experince on a stud and do the foaling courses at Twemlows for some idea of what to expect as TB's are not the easiest to foal and it can be dangerous too as some can be extremely foal proud even the most docile of mares can turn into a savage beast which can be awkward if you need to do something with the foal!! Get some experience handling youngsters too - they can do serious damage when messing about testing boundaries - DON'T use MR on a foal as you'll end up with a very confused screwed up horse!! Then evaluate your mare when she's doing something and proven herself, rather than rushing into it, and then pick a stallion accordingly and not just because they are nearby - look all over the country!!! 
Or if you want the whole breeding experience buy a really good mare and start from there and keep your mare as a companion horse if she doesn't take to anything.
It doesn't matter what forum you use if people care about animals I doubt you'll find the answer you want to hear - just enjoy your mare as she is and well done for rescuing her form the meat man, why not save another poor gg from the same fate if you just want another horse - there are plenty of them!!


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## Kaori (Sep 26, 2012)

AlexArt said:


> I think you'll get a good few posts that are not what you want to hear especially after seeing the number of horses ending up at the abbatoir on the news today and the huge over breeding problem we have at the mo!!!!!
> Agree with the above - off the track TB's are 2 a penny and most are not suitable to be bred from due to poor conformation/feet etc amongst other things.
> But the fact that this mare was a rescue and given away should be a red flag to start with - why on earth would you want to create another potential rescue or horse that is worth very little?
> Her breeding is nothing out of the ordinary, and even if she did have brilliant conformation I would advise against it totally with that market as it is and as she is unproven breeding or any other way you have no idea what she could throw - you could get a stunner or you could get a total fugly, unless you're loaded of course and have a ton of spare time to foal a mare and can afford 2 horses for life that could potentially just be pasture pets!!
> ...


You can't get better advice than this!


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## RachJeremy (Sep 14, 2012)

I agree with the two above posts. Although no one can tell you what to do with your mare... But at the end of the day, breeding at the moment, is a no no... The TB industry over produce foals every year, which is why so many horses end up in slaughter. And what with just people generally over breeding. Unfortunately this means just breeding because you like the idea of having a foal and a 'homebred' horse, is ruined. We'd all love to have foals out of our 'beloved' mares (not that i would know, i have a gelding! But i'm sure if i had a nice mare, i'd love a foal)... But you've rescued this mare, so why not make the most out of the mare and get her backed? See what she's like, then when she's older have a foal out of her? Why the hurry to do it now? Why can't you just bring her on and make something special out of her?

But since she's a TB, she will probably have somewhat bad conformation. As the majority of them do! It's very hard to find a spot on conformation in a TB. Ad TBs are known for their bad feet! Not going to lie, most of the horses i know that are more prone to lose shoes, are TBs. Due to breeding for just lines and the quality of the parents, not conformation, it has meant the current TB, in my opinion at least, has become a very sensitive horse, with bad feet and legs in particular. 

But AlexArt has some really good and honest advice there, and i agree with her 100%. Since she breeds horses, in a way, she has her reasons to breed, and the market prevents it kind of... 

But a foal takes a lot of time and effort and money. If you've got it, then it's fine. But it's not fine bringing a foal into the world when there are so many young horses that have been reasonably well bred out there, that need a home. 

We can't stop you from breeding your mare... But there would have been a reason she was not kept in the racing industry as a broodmare. And there are horses, like her before she was rescued, who need a home.


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

I 100 percent agree with the above posts.

If you are determined to breed your mare do think it through. What do you want to do with the foal. Do you want to keep it and get it broken in and ride it or do you want to sell it at some stage. Do you have your own land in which case it becomes a bit less impossible. If you have to pay livery it gets very expensive for 2 big horses. The mare will need watching at foaling time so, unless she is kept at home, it becomes a huge committment. If she is at home you can at least set up a webcam or monitor of some sort.

I dont think her being unbroken has anything to do with it but the fact she is unbroken means you have not really proved whether she can perform and whether she is likely to produce the foal you want for the future.

I have bred foals and maybe I have not had the most sensible reason for doing it but I bred ponies and had them at home and I do have experience of breeding animals and I was producing something reasonably saleable and not too expensive to keep.

Good luck with whatever you decide but do think hard and long before adding to the unwanted horses.


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## Catatronic (Feb 9, 2013)

Hi Cherry, I registered on this site with cats in mind but your post immediately caught my attention. I am very sorry you got insulting comments on another site but I do have to agree with many of the replies to you (with very logical reasons) and add my sincere hope that you won't decided to breed from your mare. It is extremely tempting to want to breed and bring on a foal yourself. Luckily my parents not being prepared to pay out extra for a foal prevented me from breeding from my very unsuitable TBx mare many years ago. 

There are so many neglected horses out there these days and with the obvious prevalence of unwanted ones finding their way into burgers etc and the DIRE straits the rescue centres are in with space and funding, I really think it is very unwise and unethical to continue breeding new horses until at least a reasonable amount of the rescue ones have found new homes.

I hope that you can be contented with your mare and I wish you the best with your joint journey of learning - I think you will be making a massive contribution to horse-kind if you focus on just doing the best for her that you can.


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## MissyThePony (Aug 6, 2013)

Hello OP,

First of all, your mare sounds lovely. Why are you wanting to breed from her? If I were you, i'd focus on getting her well handled and out and about as from your post - please correct me if i'm wrong - it seems to me that you're wanting to breed from her because she's pretty unhandled and wild?? 

What are you planning on doing with her foal? Will you keep it or sell it on? What type of a stallion would you use? (Can help you find some good ones if you message me the type you're after) Do you have the facilities to keep an infoal mare and her foal? Will she foal at a stud or at home? Do you have funds for breeding, her pregnancy (extra feed and supplements) and foaling? What about an emergency vet if it goes wrong? Is she a maiden mare?


Sorry for all the questions! If you're seriously interested in breeding your mare you need to consider these questions carefully 
Good luck in the decision you choose


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