People say they are cutting back on breeding?

[Reble]

When did you start breeding miniature horses?

We started breeding in 2003

How many foals have been born on your property?

15 foals

2 mares bred for 2009

 

[My-Lil-Pony]

I have seen more people say they will continue with normal breeding numbers then say they are cutting back?

 

[Keri]

I had one foal this year. I plan to keep him. I haven't rebred any mares and won't for a few years. Its cheaper to buy a horse than it is to raise one up. So I'll help keep numbers down by not breeding myself.

 

[christina_ski]

I myself have never bred my own mare (Never had one before this fall) I usually just go out and buy what I am looking for.

I know many people around here who cut down to only one or no mares bred for 2009 (people who had 5+ foals this year) I was planning on breeding 1 mare next year but am having second thoughts. Depends on how money goes around here till then, and the stallion would be showing so he may not have time/mindset to be breeding. Just have to wait and see.

 

[eagles ring farm]

we started breeding in 2004 first foals born 2005

11 foals born on our property

5 mares bred for 2009

 

[Teresa]

I had 5 foals last year, but I did not breed back any mares this year.

 

[Miniv]

We were up to having 15 foals born a year........This year we exposed only 7 mares to our stallions.........If it were just up to me, I would have just taken this next year OFF. So, this was a compromise. With "not taking"/ early slipping and perhaps an abortion, we will most likely have 5 or LESS born to us next year........

PS: Forgot to add.......We started breeding with just two mares in 1991

 

[targetsmom]

We started breeding in 2006 and haven't had a live foal yet from 3 confirmed pregnancies. We do have 2 mares bred (and confirmed) for 2009 and hope our luck changes. So I guess we aren't cutting back....

 

[maryann]

We started breeding in 2001.

We have had from 1 to 5 foals each year.

We had one foal last year and did not breed for 2008 or 2009 at all.

In fact we have sold our broad mares and have mostly geldings now.

I agree with Keri, its cheaper to buy what you want instead of breeding

for it.

We also love being able to sleep throught the nights in the spring instead

of listening for the alarms and watching the moniter.

We can

also go more places together instead of one of us having to stay home

during foaling season.

I also don't miss the mixed emotions about who I am selling to and wondering

if I made the right decision for the foals.

Making the decision to quit breeding was the best decision we could have made.

It has been like having a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Sometimes

I miss the little nuzzles from the babies,

I have friends who breed , so if I need a foal fix I can visit.

Mary

 

[Echo Acres]

I guess you could say we are cutting back, and expanding. We have been raising 1 quarter horse foal a year for several years now. But with the market being the way it is and most of our time going to the miniatures we have decided not to breed them any more and all are for sale. (2 mares and a colt). On the other hand, we are taking advantage of the market and bought 2 miniature fillies this past year so that brings our mare total to 4. We had our first mini baby born from our mare this year and she is bred back for next year. We also just bought our own miniature stallion. 2 of our mares are only yearlings and will not be bred for another year at least (they will be shown in 2009 and possibly bred in 2010). We have a 2 year old that will be 3 that we are breeding in the spring. The mare that is currently bred was bred late and we are opting to leave her open next year to get her back on track for the following year. So in 2010 we could breed up to 4 mares. We will be watching the market close and that will determine how many of those we will breed.

 

[wendyluvsminis]

I have five mares and am buying my first stallion, who will be delivered in the spring. He's coming with another mare, picked especially for him! He's going to breed some mares down South and then come North to us! I will be breeding him to only two mares in the spring, my old gal and the new little mare. Both of these could easily be "keepers" . I am going to enjoy showing him (obstacle, costume, jumping--he's won alot in halter, is very quiet, and we're going to have FUN!

) for the next couple years, and really not worry about producing many foals until the market stabilizes.

Wendy

 

[rabbitsfizz]

When did you start breeding miniature horses?

Started in 1978

How many foals have been born on your property?

between five and ten a year

Eight mares possibly bred for 2009

I have not purposely cut back, not yet, but if the animals that I have for sale do not sell in 2009 then I shall look hard at my programme.

I have only ever bred for my own satisfaction, so the animals I have for sale are only ever those that I am not using in my programme.

 

[Jill]

We got our first minis in 1999.

Started showing in 2002.

First foal was born in 2001, out of a mare I bought dispite the fact that she was in foal. Second foal came in 2003 but that was out of a mare we bought after we let a friend breed her to our stallion.

Our First PLANNED foals were born in 2007 -- three of them and they were all keepers that we will show.

We have three mares due for 2008.

We will breed mares for 2009, but are not sure who / how man at this time.

In total, we have had 4 foals born out of our own mares.

Additionally, we do keep a waiting list of those interested in our foals (as we will offer some for sale -- really!)

 

[Suzie]

When did you start breeding miniature horses?

We started breeding in 1999 (4 stallions and 15 mares)

How many foals have been born on your property?

between 1 and 4 each year-last year we had 8-our biggest year ever.

3 mares bred for 2009

We are cutting back for personal reasons (we are tired of not sleeping from February to May)

but so far our sales have been very strong. We planned on retaining some foals from 2008 anyway. The economy has influenced us a bit but really not very much. We don't sell our mature horses as they are our core breeding herd and have been hand picked from all over for years. If they stand in the pasture open, that is just fine with us.

 

[Candice]

We purchased a phenominal stallion this year and I put zero mares under him. I did breed one, but she didn't settle and it was too late in the summer to try again. I have zero foals coming in 09.

For 2010, I plan to breed two mares to him.

 

[wildoak]

We've been breeding for nearly a dozen years, anywhere from 2 to 8 or 9 foals a year. I have zilch in foal for 09 - for many reasons, including of course the current horse market. I do have a mare with each of my three stallions, but all were open still as of a couple of weeks ago. If we have anything it will be late in the year. I have some outstanding coming yearlings, and a couple of 2 year olds that I haven't really taken the time to promote so it's a good year to take a break, get some sleep

and work with what I have. I am foaling out a mare for a friend, so I won't be totally without a foal fix LOL.

Jan

 

[Matt73]

One two years ago and one expected this year. I wouldn't dream of breeding on a large scale around here; there's, simply, not a very high demand (especially right now) for big or little horses.

 

[SHANA]

I bought a mini mare in 2004 in foal, she foaled a filly in 2005 that we lost due to a dystocia. Had 3 mini mares foal in 2006(2 colts-both sold & 1 filly-kept), none in 2007 but did have a 2007 colt that I bought with his dam but sold him to a friend of mine shortly after he arrived here, in 2008 had 7 foals born here(lost 3-one filly at 5 months due to ruptured intestine, one colt at a week old in vets arms and one colt due to a breach birth-Have 3 fillies and 1 colt left) and in 2009 will have 9 foals if they all caught.

 

[txminipinto]

Our first foal was born in 2006. In the last 2 years, we've had 2 foals/year so a total of 5 foals in 3 years (3 fillies/2 colts). In 2009, we're expecting 4 foals (3 we bred, 1 we bought bred) and we will only be breeding two mares back for a Classic Sweepstakes foal by our stallion. In 2010, we will probably breed the two open mares very early in the season (Feb/Mar) and leave the two bred in '09 open. I prefer my foals to all be born before April and in the last year, I've gotten a bit late in my program due to issues beyond my control. So, by leaving mares open I can restart my foaling for earlier in the year which is easier on me in the long run.

 

[FoRebel]

We started with minis in 2006.

Bred our first one in 2007, have had 6 foals - 1 of which was bred for with us... the others have been purchased in foal or sent out for breeding. We still have all 6 foals in our ownership. We have 1 possibly bred for next year to an appy stud that we purchased and 1 possibly bred for next year of our own breeding. If we don't have any foals next year, oh well. We are not breeding at all this coming season. We're going to focus on getting a couple of the 3 year olds trained for halter, driving or whatever. We just don't feel it necessary to have more babies if we still have all 6 of the foals so far still in our herd.