Hand breeding tips

[MiniHoofBeats]

I plan to hand breed and want to learn more about it, such as how many times a day, how many days of the mares heat, any tricks of the trade or...?? Is there much to learn about it or do you just get out there with your stallion and carefully monitor things with him on a lead rope?

Thanks!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Breeding in hand means you need only breed the mare once every two days so long as you get a good "cover".

I always have the mare tied up- someone holding her will not really work as she will want to move forward all the time and it takes very little to dislodge a stallion. So, you need somewhere safe and preferably padded.

Depending on the size of yours stallion and the size of the mares you also need somewhere with a small pit and railings!! (I have three under- well under- 30" so this is a must for me)

You will need to wrap the mares tail.

Now the hard bit- you need to teach your stallion to "tease"- a stallion that just leaps in and does the deed is a pain and can get everyone badly hurt, a lot of mare, even in full season, will not take a horse that behaves like this.

I used to use a stud chain on the Arabs, to remind them to mind their manners, but have never needed one on a Mini- I always use the same halter and i always breed in the same place, thus the stallion gets used to the idea- now I am going to a show, OK no breeding.

Now I am going to breed- Whoopee!!!

This way I do not get stallion "drawing" in the ring as they know they are not going to be breeding so it is a waste of time.

I also get up close to the mares head so I can grab her halter and give it a jerk if I think she is being naughty.

This also "keys" the stallion into knowing the mare is "ready" as I do not go to her head until he has teased her and we know she is standing.

So, if I do not go in, and she is squeaking, the chances are he is out of luck, and both mature stallions accept this.

The colt needs a bit more time as youngsters get over excited.

The five year old horse was really pushy and even a little aggressive at first but I just pushed him over and sat on him (Confucius say "Stallion standing right up on hind legs waving front feet at owner should remember he is STILL very small. Also horse on two legs is not as stable as horse with all feet firmly on ground"

: )

I hate running stallions out with the mares- I have far too many to be bale to get all the dates right, and the chances are that half of them will not get in foal this way, anyway- which is exactly what happened last year when I had to do it.

I find in hand covering the easiest and most accurate, but, if you have only one or two mares, once you are sure that your colt is doing the deed correctly and the mare is OK with it too, I see no harm in just leaving them together until the end of her season.

 

[Mona]

I get the mare and tie her quite short, up against my round pen wall. It is made of 2"x 6" planks, and 6' tall, so is strong! Then I bring the stallion to the mare, and if he tried to mount her before he is dropped and ready, I pull him down and make him wait until he is. Some stallions will bite on the mare's withers...I personally do not allow this, as I have seen some stallions do it very rough/mean, so better for me if they don't even get into that habit in the first place. I also do not let the stallion graze if the area is grassy. I want them to know when I take them to that area, it is to be for breeding, and nothing else. Also, some stallions if experienced will walk up to a mare we feel is in full blown heat, that is carrying on, begging to be bred. The stallion won;t mount. Don;t get frustrated...wait another day and try again, as some stallions seem to know EXACTLY when the time is right. They seem to smell an exact smell when the mare is "ripe".

I don't wrap my mares tail, but I do grab it high on the dock and pull it to one side for the breeding, so he has a good clean entry. I help "guide" the stallion if needed, but once they get the hang of breeding, they get quite proficient at find the right spot on their own.

:

When he is up and bredding, I grab a hold of his front legs near the elbows, to help him keep his balance better(this is handy for shorter stallions/taller mares) and to ensure he does not move out too soon.

After he is done and comes down(the mare will sometimes give a squeal, move, or give a little kick to remind him he has been resting long enough) I give him a nice pat on the neck, tell him what a good boy he is, and put him back in his pen. They sometimes don;t want to take those first few steps...it's like they are still in a daze or something. LOL!

I do the same for the mare then...give her a pat on the neck, tell her good girl, walk her back out to the pasture. I used to "walk" the mare for several minutes after the breeding, but no longer do that. I figure since this does not happen naturally in the wild, there is no need for me to do it either, and I have found the number not to be any better for settling than if I don't walk her.

I know many recommend breeding every other day, but I prefer to breed every day, from the day they start standing until they will no longer stand for him. If I have 4 in heat at the same time, I will breed two a day, doing A in the morning of Day 1, B in the evening of Day 1, C in the morning of Day 2, and D in the evening of Day 2. If I have 3, I will breed the stallion morning, noon and night, each time with a different mare.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Mona, the reason I do it once every other day is simple. Stallions sperm is good for up to 48hours and there is a very slight risk of low grade infection if done too often.

Also I have up to ten mares in season at any one time so they have to share and play nice!!!

:

 

[horsehug]

Hi Steffanie,

My hand breeding experiences are almost exactly like Mona describes.

Susan O.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice! I too heard to breed every day until the mare is out of heat...I didn't hear of stallion sperm being good for 48 hours and if bred too frequently your mare could get an infection???

Another question - is it possible for a stallion to be fertile if he is still in the process of dropping?

 

[Kendra]

Everyone's going to tell you something different, and chances are no one's wrong, because that's what's worked for them!

Here's mine:

Provided you have a reasonably fertile stallion (and there's no reason to think you don't!) breeding every other day throughout her heat is sufficient. It's also better to more efficiently use your stallion without overusing him, if you have two mares in heat at once you can simply alternate days. Excess semen in the uterus can actually reduce your changes of getting a pregnancy, especially in older mares.

For safety reasons, it's a good idea to have both the mare and the stallion handled. Allow the stallion to approach the mare at her shoulder, he's allowed to visit and talk nicely to her, but isn't allowed to mount until he's fully erect and you say so! Then he'll move back along her side and mount, chances are (if he's at all smart about it!) from the side, knocking her hind end slightly on the way up so that she can't kick him! You may have to help guide him, especially if he's new at this. Watch for his tail to flag, so you know that he has ejaculated and everything was successful. He may want to rest for a while before he slides off, that's okay, don't rush him, because he might fall over! As he slides down, have the mare handler turn the mare quickly to a right angle to him. This is important so that she can't get a kick in at the end that could put an end to your breeding season while your stallion heals!

Good luck! Jane mentioned about using the same halter and area for breeding all the time ... an excellent idea, so that your stallion knows that stallion behaviour is only acceptable when he's wearing that halter and at that place. Makes everything else much easier!

 

[horsehug]

Steffanie,

They are not normally fertile if at least one testicle is not totally dropped, but there would be a "possiblity" if one is coming and going, but not down for good yet.

Susan O.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thanks you two for letting me know! So I *should* breed every other day for a better chance at conceiving? That would work for me well since I am out at the ranch on an every other day schedule =)

Susan - thanks for letting me know, i'm still waiting for my stallion to descend LOL he is showing SERIOUS signs of wanting to mount, to any mare that is in heat around here, but he still has an empty sack down below! We can feel both testicles but they just aren't dropped into the sack yet...erf =)

 

[Margaret]

Since mine all run together, I only need to assist to help the stallion reach the taller mares. So when I see positive action happening in the pasture, I help the stallion by grabbing his hooves (once he is on the mare) to assist him to pull up and foward on the mare. This is simple to do as the mare usually stands if she is ready.

:

 

[Minimor]

Here we do it much the same as Mona, only I usually have someone handling the mare, rather than tying her; or, if she is tied, I still have someone at her head, just in case she tries to turn, or moves forward, the handler can brace her or hold her straight.

We usually breed every other day; if there are 2 mares in they get bred on alternate days, so the stallion breeds once a day. We have bred every day on a couple occaisons, with a novice stallion--when he was starting out Ice Man had a lot more enthusiasm than skill

: and when we used him every other day he'd just seem to forget from one time to the next what had worked. By breeding with him 3 or 4 days in a row he got a little quieter and seemed to retain the, um, skills...he'd learned on the previous days!

With our Morgan I would hold his leg to help him stay in place once he was up on the mare. With Ice Man that isn't sufficient to keep him in place--for a tall boy he just doesn't stay up there well. Early on I found myself bracing my hip against his butt to hold him up there--otherwise he was sliding back & off when he was half finished

: We've perfected the technique now--I brace him until he's all done, then step aside to let him down & then back him away from the mare. Like Kendra, I want the stallion to mount from the side, and then I want him to back away quickly just in case the mare decides to kick.

 

[Doobie]

I have a quick question to add onto this .... Other than parading mares passed the stallion everyday and getting him all 'worked up' hoping for something is there an eaiser way to know when a mare is in heat ??? I keep my stallion away from the girls and that in it self gets him upset when he see's then in their pen but to walk them by his pen daily I'm sure would drive him nut !!

Last year I pasture bred, it worked fine in the sence that it looks like only one mare did not catch but it is frustrating waiting and watching for those baby's to arrive. I want to try the hand breeding cause I think it would be safer for both and better for knowing when to expect the babys ...

So what you think??? how do you tease multiple mares with out driving your stallion in sane ????

 

[rabbitsfizz]

If there is parading to do, I would take the stallion past the mares, not vice versa.

This is where a gelding comes into his own as a mare in heat believes "any port will do in a storm" and would just as soon horse to a gelding as a stallion.

Or even to another mare, for that matter.

 

[Tammie-C_Spots]

I generally will take the stallion into the mare's paddock with the stallion on the halter and the mare loose. I have a 10' lead I use and since both my stallions are very inexperienced I teach them how to approach the mares quietly at the shoulder and tease them and be nice. If it goes well and is a good breeding I may leave him out with her for a few hours and often they will breed once or twice more during the time. Since I only have a few mares I let the stallion breed every day or every other day till they go out. I do try to make sure that after the third day in heat she's bred then the fifth day and usually they start to go out of heat then. I will help steady the mare during breeding and hold the mare's tail to the side.

I will not hobble, use kick ropes or twitch- I wait until the mares will accept the stallion on thier terms and most I may do is put a hand on her chest to help steady her.

Tammie

 

[tagalong]

Handbreeding only needs to be done every 36 - 48 hours... as sperm can live happily in the mare for over 48 hours. Hence you are simply wasting resources to breed every day if you need to manage the stallion in a heavy breeding schedule - but we all do things our own way.