This foal will then grow up and be trained to be the desired dressage, show jumper, racehorse or perhaps pleasure horse. As much as the idea is very appealing, a lot of people make the decision to breed their mare based on fanciful ideas rather than considering the likelihood of that particular outcome. If thinking of breeding your mare, consider why you’re doing so.
In the Thoroughbred industry mares are often purchased cheap – and they are cheap for a reason – and suddenly the owner is looking for a stallion that will suit. They also want a stallion that is within their price bracket, of course.
A general rule of thumb to follow would be to purchase a mare for a particular price and send her to a stallion with a service fee of about a third of the purchase/value price of the mare. Don’t purchase the cheapest mare you can find to send her along to a $10,000 stallion.
Conformation an Important Aspect
Breeding horses shouldn’t be stepped into lightly and rather than purchasing a mare on a whim because you’ve found a stallion that appeals, take the time to do your research. Whatever the discipline, conformation features in breeding choices quite heavily.
The way a horse is put together should honestly be assessed by the owner. If your mare has particular weaknesses, make sure the stallion you’re sending her to has strengths in this area of his conformation. For instance, if you have a mare that toes in a bit, it would be silly to send her to a stallion that also has this conformational fault. Instead, make sure you seek out a stallion that is quite correct in his legs.
Pay special attention to
- the legs
- length of the body in proportion to height of the horse
- its height
- that the horse has a wide chest
- how big the jowl is
- that the legs have a good depth of bone
If purchasing a mare to breed, check that she is well conformed behind. This is to avoid breeding problems or issues with getting her in foal.
What the Horse is to be Bred For
Dependent on the discipline, consider what is required of the horse in regards to looks, movement and temperament. Sloping pasterns tend to be undesirable in racehorses while slightly longer pasterns are appealing in a dressage horse, making the horse’s gaits more comfortable to ride. On the other side of things, a racehorse that is too upright will suffer concussion problems at a gallop and may easily come up sore, restricting its racing career.
If you’re hoping to breed a sprinter that is able to give you a return income at a young age, then purchasing a mare that had an impressive race history over middle distance races or longer won’t help in this. Likewise, sending a sprinting mare to a longer distance stallion won’t guarantee you a middle distance foal.
Overall Image
Looking at the whole picture of how a horse is put together, the animal should look balanced, be sound when it moves and be without any major weaknesses in its conformation that could lead to breaking down and prematurely ending its performance career. After this, colour, markings, gender and a horse’s eye are also important aspects looked at by potential buyers.
In general, when buying your first horse to breed or looking to breed your mare, consider
- If breeding is really the best option
- What your finances can afford
- The strengths and weaknesses of your mare and the stallion in mind
- The purpose for which you’re breeding the horse
If you find you’ve got a good match of horses that although not perfect in conformation are well put together, of a good temperament and with a decent performance history, then breeding sounds like a feasible option. Remember to consider if you’re going to keep and raise the progeny or if it is to be sold on as a weanling, yearling or green broke youngster.
If this is the case, be reasonable in your costing and consider whether selling the resulting foal is going to be easy or if you’re going to end up with a young horse you suddenly don’t have the finances, time or room for. Once the research has been carried out and you decide to breed for the right reasons, enjoy and witness the joy that is breeding your own horse and raising it.
