building a breeding platform

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I am going to build a breeding platform for my tiny stallion. He is having trouble reaching my 32-33" mares.

Strating with a wooden pallet, I am going to cut two layers of plywood to fit amd screw the two layers onto it, then cover it with rubber matting. Waas going to use stall mats but it would be too heavy for me to handle.

I figure he only needs about 5-6 inches of added height.

Any other suggestions?

Also do you think he might have better luck in a field with his girls rather than hand breeding?

Thanks!

Robin

 

[Charlotte]

Hi Robin, we use one with Cowboy

: For any mares over 29". I worry about stress on his stifles when breeding taller mares 'on the ground'. I don't want to hyperextend those joints by asking him to really stretch.

Ours is stationary and is basically a wooden deck just like you would build on a house and covered with stall mat cut to fit. It has a 'slot' cut out for the mare to back into, 2 posts to cross tie the mare and a padded chest rope to keep the mare from stepping out from under him. He has bred mares up to 35" easily and could go higher.

OOps! lightning again. time to shut down

Charlotte

 

[palsminihorses]

Charlotte,

I would love to see a picture of your "breeding ramp." It sounds like something we need for our smaller stallion. He's not that small.....29.50", but he is having trouble "hitting the mark."

Pam C.

Hi Robin, we use one with Cowboy

: For any mares over 29". I worry about stress on his stifles when breeding taller mares 'on the ground'. I don't want to hyperextend those joints by asking him to really stretch.

Ours is stationary and is basically a wooden deck just like you would build on a house and covered with stall mat cut to fit. It has a 'slot' cut out for the mare to back into, 2 posts to cross tie the mare and a padded chest rope to keep the mare from stepping out from under him. He has bred mares up to 35" easily and could go higher.

OOps! lightning again. time to shut down

Charlotte

 

[Ashley]

Yes we have one, my uncle built it. We dont use it anymore and dont know where it is either.

Do know its a ramp that goes at a slight incline. There is a hole to back the mare it(sides up around it a bit so the stallion cant fall in) and then there are sides on the ramp as well. Where the mare stands is use as cross ties for tying her in. That way its a one person operation and she cant move out on the stallion.

 

[MountainMeadows]

The "slot" for the mare to back into sounds like a good idea - we added a "kickboard" to the front of our platform so that the stallion would not fall "into" the hole behind the mare as he coupled with her, and "stocks" to keep the mare from moving too much from side to side with an adjustable chest bar to keep her from going forward. Took a little time to get the mares & stallions used to using this method, but it works well once they have it figured out.

 

[Tony]

We haven't had to use any help for our 25-26" stallions in the pasture with mares up to 33". However when we were breeding them to Hackney mares we built this breeding pit.

The most important element is an upright at the front of the platform to keep the stallion from stepping off into the pit.

 

[Miniv]

Instead of a heavy rubber mat, we used indoor/outdoor carpet.

Tony's right, though. Once our 28 inch fellow figured it out, he no longer needed the platform.

MA

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have had to resort to this for Rabbit, obviously since he never bred a mare his own size till he was 15- BIG sigh of relief form him when the size started going down!!

He has had a hard life poor baby but as has been said although he is still as sound as a bell I always did worry about the stress on his stifles.

Mind you that was NOTHING compared to the stress I felt when he was balanced up on top of my 14.2hh Arab mare!!!

He did breed my Welsh mare and my Dartmoor mare with less problems, but I only had a bank of straw bales covered in a ply board and some carpet on top- carpet is better than rubber matting as it provides a better foot hold- and I agree that the "mare slot" thing is a must- I wish I had though of the board in front but a stallion like Rabbit is a "man on a mission" when faced with a challenge and i do feel he would have stepped over it if it had been low enough or fallen into it if it had been higher.

I wonder if a pit for the mare- with two channels for the hind legs- would have been a better idea??

It is ALL so undignified- you should have seen Amara's face- I did twitch the mares lightly just to stop all the "shimmying" with the backside that Amira so loved to do- she would have shed him off the side if she had been allowed to do that!!