A few things to consider before you breed

My first foal (ever) arrived last week.  After 8 years of waiting for the right place and right time, 352 days of pregnancy, and a long month of restless nights Pie (maiden) gave birth to a smashing red headed colt.

The arrival of this bundle of joy has inspired me to really think about what a potential breeder should consider before choosing to breed.

Things to consider before breeding-

A foal will generally take on the attitude and personality of their dam-  

The mare is your foals single greatest influence growing up.  Her approach to people and the rest of the world general will either have a positive or negative effect on your foal.  

The dam accounts for 50% of the foal-

To often would be breeders focus solely on what the stallion may or may not have done and they forget to honestly consider what the mare has to offer besides a open uterus.  I am not saying that she needs to have national wins to be worthy of being being bred but she should be broke to ride and good at her given job.    By knowing your mare by more than just her looks you can make a much more informed decision on the right stallion and have a better idea of how your foal will turn out long term.

They should compliment each other-

If you are looking to raise a ranch versatility horse don't breed to a halter stallion.  If your mare has a longer back than ideal back don't breed to a stallion with the same issue.  There are no guarantees in breeding anyway but by breeding a problem to another problem you are just setting yourself up for another problem. 

Know your faults, and decide what is acceptable-

If you breed to a stallion or mare with a upright shoulder which creates a choppy and short gait you greatly increase your chances of having a foal with that same trait.  There is no perfectly put together horse out there but by breeding your best to the best (that compliments) what you have you greatly increase your chances of having a foal built to excel at your chosen sport and remain strong and sound throughout it's lifetime.  I personally believe that any chronic lameness (permanent or off and on) with the exception of that caused by injury should never be bred.  If the dam is lame at 5 without an injury why set yourself up for a foal which has the potential to follow suit.  

The cost and the time-

Besides your breeding fee and other veterinary costs related to your mare's pregnancy you must also consider the long term costs of raising a foal to riding age.  This includes feed, hay, board ( if you do not have your own property), regular veterinary care, unexpected veterinary care, hoof care, and all other costs that go into having a horse.  For myself I will have spent 4 years growing this foal before I ever have a chance to ride him (I plan on waiting until he is 3 before starting him under saddle).  Once your horse is old enough to ride you must either have the skills and knowledge to properly start and train it or be willing to hire someone else to do it for you.  Done properly a foal is a serious and expensive long term investment.

              

       

Breeding

This year I have decided to breed my mare.

The horror! You and I both know it.

Horses are starving, the economy is in the gutter, slaughter is once again going on in the US, and instead of rescuing some down on their luck horse and giving them a lifetime home I am choosing to create another. Let the flaming commence!

I'm selfish. But before everyone starts lighting their torches I should explain my reasoning.

1. I want a purebred horse- I know a ton of wonderful grade horses, and everyone of these horses are special and valuable in their own way, but in my own pasture, as in my parents you will find registered Quarter Horses. I like their build, deposition, and versatility. As another may prefer Arabians, minis, or mules; I really like a well bred very nicely put together Quarter, so sue me. I also know that while; papered, well bred, and put together young horses do find themselves in terrible situations in need of being rescued, these horses are few and far between. Frankly the horse I want to ride (and own the next 30+ years) is not generally found in a rescue situation. While I am very happy to support, train, and love grade horses until (if ever) I have more money then I know what to do with my pasture will remain a permanent home to only well bred papered Quarter horses.
   
   
2. I want to know my horse's history- I am breeding for athleticism, conformation, personality, and longevity. I will know that this foal came out of a wonderful, extremely athletic, very correct mare (who I have owned all her life, and did I mention she is beyond broke); and a well mannered, well built stallion still ridden in his late teens by young boys. Even better my father has a 10 year old mare out of this stud who he will never sell. I know that both my foal's parents have never been lame a day in their life, and that both, a long with it's half sister have great personalities. Buying a horse (especially a young horse) is a gamble as is breeding one but at least I will know where my foal came from and all of it's life experiences to boot.
   
   
3. I am breeding for myself- I have waited over 14 years for this foal. Waiting for the right place, the right time, and finally after all these years it is here. I know the risks involved and the possibility of complications in pregnancy, and frankly I'm not willing to risk my perfect mare's life to create a horse for anyone but myself. Regardless of sex or color it will be registered, and I plan on keeping it forever as I plan on keeping it's mother. But if I did ever have to sell my foal it would have the manners, conformation, breeding, and education to afford it a wonderful home no matter the situation.
   
   
4. I want to do it right- this day in age the horse industry is really hurting. The cost of feed and hay has risen 200% in last year alone in my area, and many people who are still breeding are cutting corners to keep afloat. This means less feed, less hoof care, and less health care for broodmares and the foals in their barns. I firmly believe that good nutrition, hoof care, health care, and exercise in the early years is paramount to rising a healthy horse long term. I have the space (acres of my own, and access to 100s), the time, the ability to let it live like royalty (as it's mother and uncle already do), along with the skills to train it from birth to a finished horse and do it right.
   
   
5. The future market- The people breeding quality horses are not breeding as much, if at all. The quality of horse I am able to afford to breed for now will cost big money a few years down the road (keyword being quality). Fewer young horses being brought into the world now means there will be fewer quality horses available 5, 10, and 20 years down the road. All the while I will have a perfectly trained 5, 10 and 25 year old horse down the road for my future children and family to enjoy.
   
   
   So please go ahead and think what you want to think. But I am only guilty of two things; creating a horse that any one of you would be lucky to have, and of being selfish only because I don't plan on sharing.
   
   

Pony see, pony do

 Growing up every horse we had always clipped wonderfully. And by wonderfully I mean, ground tied, rope hanging around their neck, head willing held whatever level needed next to the telephone pole, with a huge set of clippers made for body clipping. This was how my Mother clipped her horses then, and this is still how we do it today (but with barns, and better clippers). Now you may think that we spent weeks and weeks teaching every single horse over the years to clip in such a nice manner, but it actually was achieved very simply but just tying/holding every single new horse we purchased right next to every horse that was really good for clipping while we clipped before turning the clipper on the new horse. Using observational learning or put it simply the concept of Pony See Pony Do (so much better than the monkey).

Think about as it if you had lived a  average horse's life, (only experienced normal horsey things; grass, stalls, trees) you too would probably think that a loud buzzing clipper near your face could only mean that person in charge of it was trying to kill you. But if you were allowed to see other people face the clippers who were not afraid of it, you probably would feel much better about allowing it near your face. Foals learn by watching their mothers, you learned to cook by watching your mother. Learning from others is natural and basic means of survival. So why not use this survival instinct to your advantage when training?

Around here I use this type of training with every single horse that comes through the door. Just last week I once again witnessed the awesome power of observational learning with Fancy.

Fancy came here at 6, broke as a 3 year old, then never handled, and this is her story of how she learned to be caught in open pasture.

Day 1: Slightly resistant to being caught in the stall.

Day 2: More willing to caught in the stall, was let out with other horses.

Day 3: Did not want to be caught in open pasture, forcing a 2 hour chase by lawn mower (yes I said lawn mower, and no she was never in any danger, just kept moving at a slow and steady pace), was unwilling touched at the end.

Day 4: The moment Fancy sees me she takes off, I go out and just catch my horses, who will come when called, and always stand for as long as it takes to get the cookie they get after getting their halters on. Ignoring her, I tie them and start grooming. She follows and watches, and eventually stands for brushing, using 3 cookies she is caught within 10 minutes.

Day 5: She runs away, I catch my horses, not wanting to be left out Fancy follows, and is caught as soon as I finish tying my own.

Day 6: She turns away but chooses to stay, I halter my own horses, then proceed to Fancy, she grudgingly accepts the halter.

Day 7: She turns and faces me as I approach, and is willing caught after my horses.

Day 8: She is over by the arena when I step outside(100 yards out), and she trots over and insists on being caught before Charlie.

Day 9: She had been perfect so far ever since.

Now lets break down what happened.

Fancy was in a new environment, her only sources of companionship were my horses. Over time by seeing over that over that my horses (all the horses in her environment) where happy to be caught, and even looked forward to it, Fancy eventually decided that she too could and should be happy about caught. Depending on how she is reintroduced in her home environment she should maintain her willingness to be caught. However if she were immediately turned out with other horses who ran away she would probably revert back to her previous behavior.

Making observational learning work for you.

The only tools you need to use this method is one or more really good role model horses who do exactly what you want the new horse to do perfectly every time. Over the years I've used this approach for clipping, grooming, trailering, tying, bathing, saddling, hoof trimming, you name it. I so believe in observational learning that I show every new horse how it is done by first doing it to my own horses and letting them watch. After watching two other horses sleep while being saddled you would be amazed at how well the new guy can take it. Don't let not having a model citizen in your herd stop you. Most boarding barns have a few model citizens you could ask to borrow for a few hours, or talk with your horse friends and see about setting up some time to work together work on your problems or show your new horse how it is done.