Breeding Preparation Checklist

For today just a quick little post in anticipation of more breeding-related subject matter in the upcoming days and weeks ~ just swamped busy today putting in a lot of hours on some horses, so this will be a short one. Now it's off to bed early so I can get up bright and early at 4 AM to do it all over again tomorrow!! :)

Now that breeding season is almost upon us, and before it gets into into full swing, I am presenting the following tips to make sure the experience of breeding your mare goes as smoothly as possible.

First you have to know whether your mare will be bred live cover or AI (artificial insemination) using shipped semen. Of course, sometimes when you bring a mare to the stallion, she is still covered via AI, however we’re just using the two different scenarios here. Plan well in advance so you know when you’re breeding and be sure to let the stallion owner know when to expect your mare, or your order.

Then you have to be sure when she is cycling so that you don’t send her to the stallion, or order the semen shipment, with no hope of breeding her within a reasonable time. In both instances, you will save yourself a lot of money as well as time for both you and the stallion owners or managers (and your vet if breeding AI). If breeding live cover, you’ll have to get a culture done to make certain your mare is disease free and will not be infecting the stallion. This is also a good idea when breeding AI, just to be sure there will be no complications with the pregnancy and foaling.

Once you know when your mare’s cycle will begin, you can plan with the stallion owner, their vet and/or your own veterinarian to get her bred at the optimum time for her to get in foal. No stallion owner, manager or reproductive specialist vet likes to waste time with a mare not ready to breed!

Following these simple steps you can be assured that your mare will get in foal in a timely manner and present you with that adorable baby come next year!

~SFTS