How long do you keep teasing after LBD and other breeding questions

[Sandy B]

I am curious to how long you all keep teasing after the last breeding date of a mare that is not coming in to heat again, if you do not confirm the pregnancy with ultrasound? How many of you confirm pregnancy with a rectal ultrasound at 15 days or so?

Also- where can you order mini horse breeding supplies like a mini AV and other AI equipment?

And finally for those smaller stallions breeding larger mares: have you made a breeding area to help the little guys have an easier time mounting the larger mares? If so, how did you do it and if made of man made material, how safe is it? My husband wanted to build something, but I am afraid anything with anything but natural ground would be too dangerous.

 

[Kelsey - Vandy's Farm]

I am curious to how long you all keep teasing after the last breeding date of a mare that is not coming in to heat again, if you do not confirm the pregnancy with ultrasound? How many of you confirm pregnancy with a rectal ultrasound at 15 days or so?

Also- where can you order mini horse breeding supplies like a mini AV and other AI equipment?

And finally for those smaller stallions breeding larger mares: have you made a breeding area to help the little guys have an easier time mounting the larger mares? If so, how did you do it and if made of man made material, how safe is it? My husband wanted to build something, but I am afraid anything with anything but natural ground would be too dangerous.

We used to preg check at 18 days. I start teasing again at around 14/15 days. Now to save money we preg check later in the season. Everyone that is bred is checked whether they stopped cycle or not. Some mares cycle even if they are pregnant.

For small stallions and large mares, I have help hold them up myself.... hahahaha or we just dig a hole and put the mare in it.

 

[Eagle]

My little man won't cover a mare if she is in a hole (what is it about short guys and there ego?)

so I have the mares cross tied so they can't swing round and I put the stallion on a wooden platform that hubby made out of a pallet, I covered it with a rubber mat that goes down over the side so that the mare doesn't rubber her hocks. When he has finished we lead the mare away and I or hubby holds the stallion so he does fall too fast to the ground. I will try and take a photo or a film later today for you to see. It works just fine and even though he is only 28" he can cover a mare of 37"

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Once the mare has gone off season I check her when she is due round her days, if she is not out with the stallion by then. A mare cycles roughly every 21 days and you count from the start of the season. If the mare is running with the stallion I will bring her out just before she is due in season and try her with a gelding or one of the colts when she is due round, then put it in the book if she is in season. I do not put her back with the stallion if she is not in season, until five days have gone by with no sign, and then I still keep and ear out for noises on the river field!!

I do not check my mares, these days. I used to but really it is quite a lot of money and they are in foal or they are not- three of my mares came up empty at the beginning of this year, I could have checked them as in foal last year and they could still have come up empty, so I leave it.

The only mare Rabbit ever needed help with as far as a ramp goes was Amira and she was 14.2hh so that was fair, I guess.

Carlos is 29" and covers mares up to 36" naturally without help, in fact he is outraged if I try to help, I am, apparently, casting aspersions on his abilities

If a young stallion needs help it is better to build a low platform than to dig a hole- the mare squirms around a lot and putting her in a hole will only work if she stands absolutely still and does not move a single foot.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Harvet sells a mini AV, but you have to find it through altavista/google, not their own website search (they are 10 years behind on their website and catalogs!!!).

The safest way to breed is to have a nice gradual earth ramp. I cringe every time I see a wooden platform. That's sooooo dangerous to me... one misplaced hoof on a dancing stallion and he's on his back next to the mare. You can do marvelous things with gentle mounds, where a misstep isn't an issue.

edited to add: looks like they FINALLY updated their website... direct link is http://www.har-vet.com/harvet/index.php/equine-1/artificial-vaginas/mini-a-v-complete.html?SID=de6703f89389ca50570af63f4e052327 as far as I know this is the ONLY mini AV on the market.

 

[Charlotte]

We have a 25 1/2" stallion who has successfully bred 35" mares using a breeding deck which Frank built. Built like a deck on your house, except it has a cut out in it that the mare stands in. I think 13 years we have been using it now. The horse in my avatar is a grandson of that stallion.

 

[Eagle]

I have never had any accidents with my wooden platform but I am very careful. We have tried a hundred times with an earth ramp but it is of no help what so ever. Perhaps it depends on the stallion.

 

[Becky]

I am curious to how long you all keep teasing after the last breeding date of a mare that is not coming in to heat again, if you do not confirm the pregnancy with ultrasound? How many of you confirm pregnancy with a rectal ultrasound at 15 days or so?

I continue to 'tease' my mares all through the season. They have access to a stallion through the fence and I observe their behavior daily. Just yesterday, I had one mare come back in heat 25 days after going out and another in heat at 14 days after the end of her last heat cycle. I have found there is no standard time of heat cycles with these miniature mares. I used to ultrasound all mares, but due to cost and the nature of it being an invasive procedure not without risk, I no longer routinely ultrasound.

 

[targetsmom]

Well, I just came in from teasing 3 mares at between 14 and 40+ days past their last breeding date.... But that is also because I have the vet coming Friday for USs and if they happened to ALL be in heat this week (would be our luck) I will cancel her visit. The Wee Foal test on the 40+ day mare came back negative so we are afraid we missed a heat somewhere, as we didn't tease her EVERY day for all 40+ days. If she had slipped a foal and resorbed, the test would likely have still shown a positive. Hoping an US can give us some answers.

I have a "natural" mound in our breeding area which is also the stallion's turnout. It is made by tossing his pee spot out the door every day when his stall is cleaned. When not used for breeding he enjoys using it for a pillow! He doesn't seem to really need it (for breeding), but we have to put the pee spots somewhere and it doesn't get in the way. And it does work.

 

[Sandy B]

Great advise! I have a one mare that is 30 days and another at 28 days post breeding that are looking pretty good. I have another mare that was last bred on 5/22 (normal 6 day heat cycle) but showed heat beginning on 6/10, 6/11 and on 6/12 we bred her. She stood stock still for mounting but she did try to walk away from him as he bred her, but no kicking. On 6/13 she did not show any heat and has not since. That three day heat cycle was not normal for her and I am wondering if maybe she is actually bred from the first breeding we did in May. However, the four other mares we are breeding we have now covered two heat cycles and are a week plus out on knowing anything from their last breeding and another just came back in again for the 3rd time. Which leads me to ask, at what point do you have a vet come out and check the mares that are not settling to see what is going on?

Also thanks Nathan for the link!!

 

[Sandy B]

Wanted to try again- at what point do you have a vet come out and exam mares that are not settling?

 

[Becky]

I had my vet out late April to ultrasound and culture a mare who's last foal was in 2008.

After 3 more years and no foal, I decided enough was enough. This mare's last foal was a multiple World Top 10, so she is too nice to not have more. She's tiny and my vet couldn't see too much with ultrasound. He went ahead and cultured her. And to get a jump on things, he flushed and infused her. Turned out the culture was negative and I was surprised as I figured she had an infection.

Her next cycle I bred her and my vet said to have her ultrasounded around 30 days as she is small and he needed her to be a little further along to visualize an embryo. Had him out last Monday and guess what? The mare was 32 days in foal. She started on Regumate that day as I am hoping it will keep her in foal.

But, to answer your question in general, I will have mares checked that don't settle after 3 breeding cycles in a row.

 

[Sandy B]

I had my vet out late April to ultrasound and culture a mare who's last foal was in 2008.

After 3 more years and no foal, I decided enough was enough. This mare's last foal was a multiple World Top 10, so she is too nice to not have more. She's tiny and my vet couldn't see too much with ultrasound. He went ahead and cultured her. And to get a jump on things, he flushed and infused her. Turned out the culture was negative and I was surprised as I figured she had an infection.

Her next cycle I bred her and my vet said to have her ultrasounded around 30 days as she is small and he needed her to be a little further along to visualize an embryo. Had him out last Monday and guess what? The mare was 32 days in foal. She started on Regumate that day as I am hoping it will keep her in foal.

But, to answer your question in general, I will have mares checked that don't settle after 3 breeding cycles in a row.

Thanks Becky, thats what I had in my head (after 3 breedings in a row). And congrats on finally getting your mare in foal!! Maybe she had a little bit of fluid in her uterus and needed the treatment.

 

[Eagle]

Congrats Becky