Saturday, May 22, 2010

Breeding horse?

Okay well I want to breed my horse, shes a spotted saddle horse they are brown and white and have flat round backs, I want to know what horse would she breed good with and what color would her foal mix good with? and I'm wondering if the horses have to meet a couple of times to know each other or do they just well, you know do it right away? And what if the other horse hurts her? I just want to know all I need to know about breeding my Angel.
Answers:
Why do you want to breed your horse?
Note I don't ask the above to be rude or mean, but this is the first question to ask yourself when you decide to breed.
If you just want a foal to play with, it's actually cheaper and less risky to buy a foal who's already born. That way you get exactly the right color, size, conformation, and gender you want. Plus it's immediate gratification. None of this waiting around for 11 months stuff!
If you want a baby out of YOUR mare specifically, there are a few things you should do.
First, make sure you have the money and resources to guarentee the foal a lifelong home with you. Even if someone wants to buy it down the line, you should always save space in your home and budget in case things don't work out.
Secondly, have someone who is breeding, showing, and winning with their Spotted Saddle Horses evaluate your mare. They can help you find her strengths and faults and advise you if she should be bred, and how to find a complimentary stallion.
BEFORE you breed, do a lot of reading. Breeding is a major investment of time and money. There's the stud fee and mare care during breeding, then all the vet checks and extra vaccines. Then there's the increase in feed costs, the birthing kit, and all the foal supplies, and goodness forbid, an emergency vet call.
There's also a lot of time. Horses are pregnant for 11 months, and for the last few months you shouldn't really work or ride your mare. There's night after night of staying up in the barn on foal watch. For my last foal I got six hours of sleep over a total of six days. That's one hour of sleep a day. And I STILL missed the birth! Plus even when the foal is born, you have at least three years before you can ride him.
All told, breeding is a pain in the butt, as well as potentially dangerous for your mare. Do a lot of research online, talk to other people with Spotted Saddle Horses, and read A LOT. I recommend "Blessed Are The Broodmares" and "Blessed Are The Foals" for starters.
And I say again-it's easier AND CHEAPER to buy instead of breeding.
It sounds like your horse may be an Appaloosa! Does she have papers? If she is not registered then I suggest that you not breed her and just go buy a colt. Also, you can't always predict the color of a foal no matter what the color of the sire and dam are. Also, you have to wait 11 months to get the foal and then maybe it won't be what you want--again go buy a colt instead. To help out an orphan colt or an abused colt is well worth the time you spend with it. It will ALWAYS be your friend. Think hard before breeding an unregistered mare. When you introduce a stallion to a mare she has to be completly in heat(cycling) and resposive to him. The handler bring the stallion up to the "near" shoulder of the mare and "talks" to her to get her ready. Then when she is ready the stallion will mount her and move to the right to position himself in the correct position. If at anytime he acts agressive the handler should correct him and not let him get too abusive. As far as hurting her that should not happen, but again the handler of the stallion is reposible for that. Horese have been doing this for a long long time before MAN became involved with this process. If the stallion is an agressive guy not many gals(mares) would let him be their leader. OK that's plenty. Enjoy! LRM

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