Question about Hand Breeding

[Jill]

For those of you who hand breed, how frequently to you breed an individual mare to the stallion? I know some of people do it every day, some every other and who knows what else.

DunIT would like me to conclude that it's a morning, noon and night event but I am reluctant to take his word for it

:

Thanks!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I breed twice a day, but I don't start breeding until approx. the 3rd day of their heat cycle and then usually only for 2-3 days will I breed twice a day. Actually my experienced stallion dictates when they "smell" right and usually won't waste energy breeding them too early, so for about 2.5-3 days he will breed them twice a day.

A young stallion (2-3 year old) I would probably breed once a day, I know others will say every other day, but I like to give more opportunity for training if I know the mare is a good one that won't kick, etc.

 

[Mona]

I know many prefer to breed only every other day, but I personally will breed a mare daily. That is if there is only one mare in heat. The more mares, the further apart they are bred, so the stallion as "enough" to go around.

: :bgrin

 

[Jill]

Sounds good ladies! Right now, only one of my chosen mares (Khaki) is in heat and have been breeding 2x a day -- but from a stand point of helping DunIT learn the ropes!!! I'm happy I wasn't the only one who looked at it as a way to train him to "do" something (even if the something is to do it LOL!). Hopefully as the years go on, I won't have to keep holding his hand so to speak because he will have learned how to get the job done w/o continued help

But, from a real results standpoint, I didn't know how to maximize the chances of getting the mare in foal and if it is best to do it less often when it comes to maybe having more than one mare in heat at the same time since Lou, Goldie and Hope are his other brides of the season.

 

[Joyce]

I have always bred daily starting middle of heat to the end.

 

[minih]

I usually breed mine every other day, unless I have them out in the pasture together. I have a couple of mares that I do not like to pasture breed so they go in the every other day.

 

[Bess Kelly]

When the other gals decide it is their time, you can always breed them daily by matching him with one mare in the morning and one in the evening. DunIt will certainly work hard to please everyone

: and in this way 2-3 mares can be bred simultaneously by one stallion.

The little guys are far more capable than you may think at "recovering". In tests for rebound ability they test the stallion by multiple collections an hour or less apart. My 15 yr old had NO issues with providing excellent results 3X in a row, at 1 hr apart.

: Your animals are well fed and maintained. DunIt will be fine (and enjoy the "work"). Now, I'm not saying this is to be done daily for weeks on end but, a week of it won't hurt him. Just be sure to keep track of whose turn it is........and give him rest time away from them.

Like others have said, I don't breed the first couple of days (UNLESS I know this mare is short cycled or almost silent). I usually do once a day. You know, the sperm lives about 24-48 hrs but the egg only a few hours. That egg drops at the end of the cycle, so if you want to go 2X a day on one mare, the end is the most viable for this. In the beginning, they're just having fun! :bgrin

And while many older stallions won't breed until the scent changes, the young ones will just keep on and on. That's why a young one in the field may NOT service several mares successfully unless hand bred.

Also, the chemicals/hormones that change the scent is fully detectable on their breath. That is why it is important to let the stallion nose to nose FIRST.....ok, plus not startling the mares and so on.....then work down her side to mount calmly. Some are real "lovers" and nicely nuzzle the neck, whisper sweet nothings and gently caress the mares back ------- (then, if trying to be a raging idiot --------when I tell them NO! and start over). They learn quickly when the reward is so great.

:

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Every other day is more than adequate- twice daily I would not do- build up of semen etc in the womb is not a good thing- remember it only takes one determined sperm, at the right time , to get a pregnancy!!!

 

[River Wood]

Every other day here too

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I would suggest every other day if the stallion is fertile, starting on the third day of heat.

 

[bitsy]

We normally breed every 36 hours. or every day and a half. I've been told by the vets that too much semen in the womb is not a good thing and can actually be detramental. Most sperm will live within the mare for 36 to 48 hours so we breed every 36 hours to make sure there is always live sperm there for when the mare ovulates. We also wait three days before we start covering the mares, I have some that like to show heat for 7 to 10 days, don't want to totally wear the poor boys out.

 

[disneyhorse]

Jill... I would personally suggest breeding your mare once daily. You can only breed every other day, but I personally feel more comfortable breeding once daily. I would breed every other day if my stallion had a large amount of mares to breed at one time.

Twice daily is overkill in my opinion... you really are opening your mare up to infection by breeding so often, unnecessarily.

Andrea

 

[Jill]

Thanks again, folks!

This will sound "awful" to some people, but the first evening, DunIT did it 3x... so I know he can complete the mission but not sure how potent, etc. To see him now -- three days into KNOWING what being a stallion means, he sure thinks he knows all there is to know.

And then there is DERBY, my former show stallion and now a gelding... To hear him and SEE him, you'd not know he is a gelding including what he's got going on under the hood!!! Crazy... he is quite the voyeur and obviously has no qualms about plotting designs on his own sister (Khaki is his paternal sister). He and Khaki are not turned out together and "his" only mare is many inches out of reach. But, what can I say, horses are funny.

This is pretty much what we're working on...

Erica's Gone and DunIT

and his women:

Triple H Buckin Khaki

Edgewood Skip To My Lou

Harrells Rowdys Reflection of Hope

Harmony Hills Harvest Gold
Wish them and ME luck

: :bgrin

:

 

[Gena]

I agree with once every other day.

You have some beautiful horses Jill, can't wait to see your foals next year!!

:

 

[Songcatcher]

the first evening, DunIT did it 3x...

: Those were the days. . .

 

[Jill]

the first evening, DunIT did it 3x...

: Those were the days. . .

 

[Latika]

Nice horses Jill!!

Last year I only had one mare to serve with my stallion, it was his first year, I hand served her once a day, twice if I could. I have come across far too many mares in the past that dont cycle the full 5 days, so waiting til they are 3 days in just isnt something I would do incase i missed the cycle completely. It was an outside mare so I also wanted to be sure she got full exposure. If it were my own mare I may not do it quite as often as if she doesnt take on the first cycle it isnt a problem to wait & try again.

 

[FairytailGlennMinis]

Now how could you look at Dun-It's pretty face and big brown eyes and tell him no??? :saludando:

"Mommy wow! I'm a big kid now!" (from the pull-ups commercials)

Hehe

-Amy

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Go DunIT!!! Big brother Ozzy is going to get his first mare any day now. Maybe DunIT could give Ozzy some pointers, LOL.

We usually breed every other day, sometimes every day depending on the situation. And at one time last year, we had three mares in at once, so for an example, we bred Mare #1 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, Mare #2 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening, and Mare #3 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

OK Latika if you have mares that do not cycle the "full five days" Boy are you lucky!!

Take your Big Horse knowledge on breeding and just close the book, because Minis can cycle for up to ten days as norm.!!

The other thing about the little beggers is....starting breeding on the third day is all well and good IF the mare is in heat for three days!!

I do hold off breeding as long as I can but I tale the stallion to the mare every day until I do breed- it is the LAST day of the heat cycle that is the only one that is important, after all, so everything up until then is just ..um...light relief???

:

I had one mare a few years back who was in heat for exactly three days- if you did not catch her on the first or second day you were in trouble because by the third she was antsy and on the fourth she would kick the horse into next week- now I would give a lot for a mare like that as I have a field full of mares that seem to cycle constantly and one mare that cycles throughout her pregnancy but loses the foal (obviously not noticeably) if she is bred past the third month- so I have to "guess" if it is normal season or bred season- oh JOY!!!

I also have mares that cycle up to 15 days (although to be fair this is usually if they are open and having the first season) AND still get in foal on that season- the stallions get a wee bit fed up with breeding them, I can tell you.

What I am trying to say is, with breeding there are no hard and fast rules, only guidelines- I would never breed more than once a day-UNLESS it was the last day of season and then I might, if the stallion were not too busy, whack in one last "shot".

My stallions have a very, very busy, hopefully very short, season, so more than once every other day is not possible.

Although I am able to get Golly and Carlos out with their mares they do not breed loose- the mares go out once they have settled.