Stallions in Ohio

[TRACYQH]

I'm on the fence about breeding my mare. She is 10 years old and has never been bred, nor is she registered. I work for a Standardbred breeding farm, but none of the veterinarians have experience with minis. We only do A.I. and can palpate the mares.

Are minis all live cover? I also worry about dystocias. They are hard enough in regular sized horses, I can imagine how they are in minis.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Standards Equine]

I breed warmbloods but I adore standardbreds. I have a gelding, he's got more heart than any horse ought to. He'll stay with me for the rest of his life.
While I breed, albeit on a very small scale, I would encourage you to buy a mini that's already on the ground. I'm not sure about your area, but in mine, they're a dime a dozen, literally, there are so many and even more are neglected. We paid $50 for our dynamite little girl (unregistered as well) and she's the best thing on 4 legs. Several others have come through out place for free. What that speaks to is overproduction, like puppies... So rather than breeding with potential for problems for your lovely little mare, why not buy what you want already on the ground?

 

[TRACYQH]

They are hard to find in my area.

 

[Dreams of Ashes]

I breed warmbloods but I adore standardbreds. I have a gelding, he's got more heart than any horse ought to. He'll stay with me for the rest of his life.
While I breed, albeit on a very small scale, I would encourage you to buy a mini that's already on the ground. I'm not sure about your area, but in mine, they're a dime a dozen, literally, there are so many and even more are neglected. We paid $50 for our dynamite little girl (unregistered as well) and she's the best thing on 4 legs. Several others have come through out place for free. What that speaks to is overproduction, like puppies... So rather than breeding with potential for problems for your lovely little mare, why not buy what you want already on the ground?

wow! I couldn't find more than a half dozen listings even remotely close to me when I looked about two weeks ago, unless I went someplace like craigslist and what they called ponies where full sized horses most of the time. The more reputable sites were tried and true show ponies or kids riding ponies and cost $2000 plus.

 

[LostandFound]

It varies a lot on your area. We are near Lancaster, and the Amish breed small ponies for their kids. So we have tons of tiny, unregistered, broke ponies here.
They sell from $1000-$2500 though, we never see them for $50. $600 might get you one that's lame, 30 years old, or dangerous.
Very few minis do AI, I believe I read that it doesn't ship well. So you would have to send your mare for live cover. Finding a stallion, paying the breeding fee, waiting a year, and then you have to hope that everything goes well. The danger to the mare, red bags, dystocia, foal rejection, a meconium impaction that brings you a $1500 vet bill. Lots can go wrong. But it's worth it for some of us. It's something special.
But it's definitely cheaper and safer to buy a foal. Even if you have to ship it halfway across the country it's cheaper.

 

[TRACYQH]

wow! I couldn't find more than a half dozen listings even remotely close to me when I looked about two weeks ago, unless I went someplace like craigslist and what they called ponies where full sized horses most of the time. The more reputable sites were tried and true show ponies or kids riding ponies and cost $2000 plus.

I know, right?

 

[TRACYQH]

It varies a lot on your area. We are near Lancaster, and the Amish breed small ponies for their kids. So we have tons of tiny, unregistered, broke ponies here.
They sell from $1000-$2500 though, we never see them for $50. $600 might get you one that's lame, 30 years old, or dangerous.
Very few minis do AI, I believe I read that it doesn't ship well. So you would have to send your mare for live cover. Finding a stallion, paying the breeding fee, waiting a year, and then you have to hope that everything goes well. The danger to the mare, red bags, dystocia, foal rejection, a meconium impaction that brings you a $1500 vet bill. Lots can go wrong. But it's worth it for some of us. It's something special.
But it's definitely cheaper and safer to buy a foal. Even if you have to ship it halfway across the country it's cheaper.

How many do you breed a year and sell foals?

 

[MaryFlora]

Am I remembering correctly, TracyQH that your mini mare is a recent addition to your farm? If you decide to breed her, I don’t think you could go wrong spending part of a year working with her and getting a really good idea of her talents and personality. That way you would have a good idea of which stallion would complement or boost her attributes.

 

[LostandFound]

I try to have one foal a year. This year I had one. Next year, if everything goes well, I will have 2. I usually have one for sale, although I'm not trying real hard to sell this year's baby. He is so stinking cute I can't stand it.