14/07/2016
Thoughts on breeding, and breeding routine with visiting mares at Horses Of Gold.
While many interstate owners choose AI, quite a few mare owners prefer to have their mares at stud here at Horses Of Gold in SE Qld.
Visiting mares are kept in their own paddock or yard and are in full feed, with no extra charges for rugging if they come with rugs. On arrival, they are settled in, then start a routine of being caught and led to the stallion that they are booked to, and teased. Having being involved with stallions and horse breeding for almost all of our 50+ years, we have found that regularly teasing the mare performs several functions, including:
1. the mare gets used to being caught and led to the stallion so it becomes a familiar procedure without stress;
2. the mare gets used to being the one 'in charge of the situation' around the stallion - if she's not in season, she lays her ears back and displays the other clear messages, and is led safely away from the stallion, so she doesn't fear the stallion;
3. close proximity to a stallion helps mares come in season and ovulate - the power of pheromones cannot be underestimated. For instance, when we lead a mare through the gate in to the stallion enclosure, 50 metres from the first stallion, Days Of Gold, we can tell from his behaviour, even that far away, if the mare is in season or not, so her pheromones are clear to him and, based on observations over many years, mares certainly change behaviour and their cycles in the presence of the pheromones and the sound of stallions;
4. as mares come in to season, they learn that the stallions are not aggressive - this is particularly important for maiden mares who can flip back and forward between responding to their instinct to breed and their fear of a large male horse that is going to approach them from the side and rear up to mount them, and also for mares who have had previous bad experiences with other stallions so carry memories of fear and/or pain to go with meeting a stallion. The stallions are on the other side of a railed fence and, once the mare's hormones have switched to her wanting to 'talk to' the stallion, she can stand nose-to-nose with him and feel comfortable communicating with him;
5. once the mare is fully in season (winking, urinating, has the hormonal smell of a mare in season, etc.), is comfortable with being licked and nudged by the stallion and is happy to swing her tail around to him with the rails in between, and is not showing fear when the stallion approaches the rails, then we feel comfortable that her hormones are overriding her fears and she wants to breed - she is the one making that decision.
When clearly ready to breed, often several days in to the 'showing in season behaviour', the stallion is caught in his 'serving headstall' (an ordinary headstall but one that is only used for breeding, so it is the only head gear that is allowed to trigger the 'breeding response') and is held in the corner of his yard as the mare is brought in and the yard closed. The mare handler will use a soft nose twitch for the first service if possible - it produces the serotonin and other chemicals in the brain that help calm the mare. We do not use breeding hobbles as, if we've done our job properly with teasing, the mare will want to plant her legs and stand still, also, many years ago at a Thoroughbred stud I saw a stallion dismount crookedly and get a leg caught in the breeding hobbles and I NEVER want to risk that with our stallions. I wait until the stallion is clearly ready to breed then lead the stallion to the near side of the mare - he is to approach quietly and on a loose lead. If he screams or rears, as can happen occasionally at the start of the season, he is led away, held facing away from the mare until he remembers that only good behaviour leads to breeding, and is then led back to the mare, He is to touch her near side flank so she clearly knows he is there, and this also helps her drop her hindquarter, then mounts, serves, dismounts and is led away.
The stallions do not bite or in any way savage mares, and we don't allow 'dummy mounts' which stallions often do in herd situations to make sure the mare is ready to be served - mares get sore backs that way.
Keeping in mind the mare ovulates on or around the last day of being in season, she isn't served every day, as would often happen in a herd situation, she is served when she is fully standing up for the stallion and when the stallion clearly shows extreme interest - sometimes a mare will show all the signs of being in season but the stallion has lacklustre interest and he's right - she's a long way from ovulation and we're better waiting a few more days. The usual pattern of serving is first service on about the second or third day of the mare being fully in season, then three days later, then two days later. Two days after that they should be going out of season, though some mares do have longer cycles, and some mares can have a 'spring season' or 'stuck follicle' and continue to show signs of being in season beyond the normal limits.
Mares are scanned by a vet 14 - 16 days after the date of last service
That is the old fashioned, 'tried and true' way of breeding, but if mares have any breeding issues, or if mare owners prefer, the vet can scan to indicate which day is best for breeding, and she can be served that day, given a hormone shot to ensure she ovulates, and scanned afterwards to see that she has ovulated, then scanned at the 14 - 16 day mark, with the mare owner paying all veterinary costs for this. Mares can also be agisted here and AI'd on farm by our vet if natural service is not an option. We also do shipped, cooled semen around Australian.
I hope this has given you an interesting oversight of our approach to breeding at Horses Of Gold. We want mares to be happy and comfortable with breeding, not scared or concerned, and we find this approach has worked well for many decades.
