Disclaimer: this is my personal home page: any views expressed here are purely my own, not representative of the University of Dundee, the Highland Pony Society, or any other body.
First of all, a disclaimer. I have no claim to be a large scale, successful breeder of native ponies. I have also never worked on a light horse stud and everything you read here is based on my own experiences and opinions.
So, you are thinking about breeding from your mare? First question is why? It is a fact not always recognised in articles or books on breeding, but the whole process is a lottery where you are guaranteed nothing, not even a live foal (or indeed, live mare at worst case scenario). The foal may not have the best of sire and dam but the worst, and it may be extremely expensive for a foal you wouldn't actually go out and buy if given the chance.
First thing is to discount the desire to replicate your mare and her relationship with you. And look critically at the mare, what are her good and bad points, conformationally, temperamentally. If there are major faults, my advice is don't breed, you'd be better to spend the money on a new horse you can see before you pay for. That said, no horse or pony is perfect and if you are careful, you can look for a stallion that is most likely to counteract the mare's weaknesses without adding too many of his own. In breeding registered ponies (or horses) it is much easier to identify genetic traits through study of bloodlines. Now I'm a known anorak on Highland bloodlines, but I can't stress how important a tool it is alongside assessment of the mare and stallion in the flesh. *Not* a replacement for it, even good stallions and mares will throw inferior stock that show up their worst faults and possibly throw back to the faults of a great grandsire too, but knowing the lines is likely to help avoid one or two pitfalls.
Select a stallion to complement the mare - if she's a tad light of bone find a chunky stallion that has plenty; if she has a slightly sloping hind end, make sure your chosen stallion has a big round hindquarter.
Other things to consider for stallion selection are location, prices (not just the stud fee but mare's keep, transport costs depending on distance etc) and the management regime. In light horse breeding, it is usual for the stallion to be kept stabled and only brought out to cover mares that are "teased" and proven to be ready to stand for him. Native studs sometimes follow this practice too, but many stallions are living out either on their own or with their broodmares - much more natural but also has it's own risks when introducing a visiting mare. So do your homework and be sure you are happy with the stud practices as well as the stallion.
Questions to consider might be: will the stallion cover in hand and the mare live in or out with other visiting mares? Will the stallion cover your mare in hand and then run out with her and all his other mares? Or do they run one or two in season mares with him at a time and remove them to another field when they aren't in season? Have you seen how he is with his mares - is she going to be bitten by him, kicked by another mare or pampered and put in cotton wool where she can't be hurt but won't be happy because you usually have her out on the hill with her pals?
My own preference is for a stallion that lives out with his mares, but will cover in hand the first time just to be sure she will stand for him and that he has done the job at least once. If another mare in the field is jealous, she may drive yours, or the stallion, away from each other and no covering may be done unless it is in hand. The stud owner will know what they're doing and why, so worth checking you understand each other and know what is going to happen. For a maiden mare it is more important that he covers in hand the first time as she won't know what is going on and could kick him or just refuse to stand at all. I've a mare that won't kick but tends to walk forward when the stallion jumps her - the weight drives her forward and a stallion that isn't worldly wise and persistent may be disheartened by her attitude and seek solace elsewhere! For her, I use either a stallion that covers in hand as well as running, or else an older, wiser stallion that really persists and insists on covering her.
Life for a stallion owner who puts their pride and joy at public stud can be very rewarding, but also very stressful. It is a huge responsibility taking on someone else's pony at the best of times, let alone trying to ensure 100% success in settling their mare in foal without any injuries to either party. So bear with the stud owner while they ask for swabs and back shoe removal - would you want your pony infected or kicked?
Having checked what is required by the stud you have selected, you will likely need to get the mare swabbed unless she's a maiden (never bred before). Your vet comes out and takes the swab, but has to send it away and it can take a week to get the results so leave plenty of time and don't book at the end of the week without checking there is time for it to be safely received at the lab and started off in the culture before everyone goes home for the weekend!
Have you got up to date vaccinations, are the back shoes needing removed and do you know when your mare is due in season? Again leave plenty of time ie start planning early! Pregnancy lasts around 11 months and it is usual to try and get a foal early in the breeding season - not as early as TBs in January but usually, for natives, April or early May is favoured. So the mare should be ready to go to stud early May, just before she's due in season. Many mares don't show their seasons very strongly unless there is a stallion around, but some do make it very obvious, flirting and squirting at every gelding in the vicinity and getting quite affectionate with the human handlers. If you don't know, don't worry unduly, but let the stud owner know due dates if you can - save yourself the extra livery fees!
The stud will let you know when they think she's settled, usually because three weeks or more have passed without her showing in season again. If you want to be sure before you take her home, you can arrange to leave her a further three weeks to pass the second due date, you can ask for her to be scanned by a vet at around 3 weeks, or you can take her home and get a blood test done after 40 days. A manual check (known as a PD) by the vet can be done later in the year if you prefer to leave it and avoid the risk of scanning or travelling or other stresses or mishaps causing early reabsorption of the foetus. When this happens, and it isn't uncommon, it can be very upsetting to be expecting a foal on the basis of a 3 week scan and then get nothing 11 months later. There are those that avoid all unnecessary checking and on the basis of passing 3 or 6 weeks and not cycling, they prefer to let the mare get on with it. It is entirely up to you. Personally I like to bloodtest around 40-60 days for a hormone that is only present in a mare that is in foal. It has high accuracy ratings, isn't invasive like a scan or PD, and gets results back in plenty of time to plan winter keep, workload and who shares grazing.
Unless your mare is in hard work, which includes having a foal at foot, she shouldn't need increased feeding. Most natives can produce a healthy foal off grass alone and will get too fat if you start on hard feeds, let alone stud mixes! That said, there are exceptions and some ponies may need help as winter comes. Usual rule for me is no extra until the last trimester (3 months before foal is due) and the mare can remain in work until around Christmas without hardship. After that the tack may get a bit stretched and the mare uncomfortable as the foal grows quickly in the last 3 months. You may look at her and think she's due quads but one healthy foal will look huge inside her, believe me - particularly a previously bred mare. Maiden mares are less obvious but a distinctive sway can usually be seen from behind!
Towards the end, take it as you see it, some mares may need a little more than others, but don't pamper and overfeed her as she needs exercise and fitness to give birth easily. I leave mine out to mooch around the fields and they foal outside, other breeders keep the mares in at night at least - much depends on the weather in your area but Fife isn't that harsh in winter. If you do bring mares in, a barn or pen is better than a standard stable to avoid the risk of casting - stud boxes are usually 14' rather than 12' to give the mare room to manoeuvre an increasingly unwieldy body around!
There are loads of books and sites on the foaling process, but for completeness, my experience is that the bagging up (udder filling with milk) starts 2-3 weeks before foaling and sometimes starts and stops, even goes back down, before really filling up in the final days. Waxing up can be preceded by a tiny crystal-like sugaring on the teat, but when you see waxing, start planning for sleepless nights. This can range from 1 hour to 2 days before foaling and often the wax drops off, reforms and even hangs like a dripping candle, splashing milk down the inside of the hind leg. Once the milk is running in this way, I'm usually convinced! Other signs include the hind quarters slackening off above the tail and becoming soft, the vulva opens and softens likewise and you might find the mare slightly distancing herself from companions or returning to particular spots she has been considering as foaling locations. A nice sheltered area of the field is most likely, away from the prevailing wind, and she may have a couple of places in mind depending how the weather and wind are the night she's ready to go.
Once she starts, it is usually all over quickly, for evolutionary needs of a flight animal it will usually take place in the late night or early morning hours, and if you check at 2 hour or even hourly intervals you'll probably find she waits 5 minutes after your regular visit and then gives birth as soon as your back is turned! Don't worry, most births go just fine without intervention and the most common sight is to find the foal up and sucking before you come back with bloodshot eyes and deep hollows due to lack of sleep! If things seem to be going well, leave mare and foal alone and go back to your bed for a while to let them bond, don't get in the way of that process unnecessarily. Milestones are safe delivery, foal breathing (no restrictions from an unbroken bag) and mare licking, foal moving and trying to stand, foal standing, foal searching for udder, foal drinking, foal passing meconium (first dung) and urinating (either order), and safe delivery of intact placenta. On that last, just a quick note, the bag the foal is born in will be broken as the foal starts to breath, and the cord should break close to the navel as it struggles to get up. The placenta will be attached to the other end of the cord and may take a while to be delivered. If the cord is hanging and no sign of delivery after a couple of hours, speak to your vet and keep monitoring it. A failure to cleanse (deliver the placenta) within several hours of the birth can lead to it starting to disintegrate inside and cause infection, even death. It isn't a serious problem unless you let this go too long so after a couple of hours, speak to the vet on the phone and take his/her advice. Once the bag has been delivered, check it for tears that may have taken place internally and, again report anything untoward to the vet.
Healthy foals should be outside on clean grazing as much as possible, weather and facilities permitting. The exercise and fresh air is crucial for early development but if the weather is attrocious, you'll need to bring them in to dry off or risk pneumonia.
In the last 10 years I've had one mare that failed to cleanse, one where the umbilical cord broke the other end and was left dragging on the ground behind the foal (has to be tied and the end cut, then the navel sprayed regularly with iodine (purple) spray - not a pleasant job!) and one born in pouring rain that had to be brought in. Otherwise no birthing problems to speak of, my main problem has been getting mares in foal in the first place! Fat mares are less fertile, mares that are in pain from laminitis or other conditions are less likely to hold, maiden mares need close supervision, the stallion and mare combo may not click, she may hold to 3 or weeks and then slip (reabsorb) or abort for any number of reasons. Any number of things can go wrong and you aren't guaranteed a foal at the end of it so don't go in thinking it's easy, let alone that you're going to make money out of it - foals cost a lot more to produce than you'd think! But when you do get a healthy foal in your field, there isn't a sight like it and a field of mares and foals, particularly native ones, is a joy to behold.
All the above is personal opinion, not veterinary or legal advice.
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E-mail: a.douglas@dundee.ac.uk
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Copyright ©A Douglas 1997 |