In this day and age, with the depressed economy, and poor horse market, it takes a brave soul to breed a mare. Horses are expensive to keep and slow to sell. Draught conditions have put hay at a premium price and make it a scarce commodity in many areas of the country. The slaughter houses in the U.S. have been shut down, but horses are still being shipped out of the country for slaughter for a couple hundred dollars a head. There is an increased public awareness of unwanted and neglected horses. Many sound, sane and useful horses are falling through the cracks, and the rescue and adoption programs are full. It is often more wise to buy than breed, adopt than buy. It takes careful consideration before the decision to breed a mare is made. The money spent on getting a foal could be spent on purchasing a prospect, or adopting several unwanted horses. But, if we don’t breed, our breed will continue to fall in numbers.
My Grandmother, Gladys Carlson with one of her first Saddlebred foals in 1976
The decision to breed this mare was made several years ago in 2006. It has taken until Spring of 2009 for that decision to come to fruition. My mother has a small horse business, breeding, buying and selling a few horses. We were raised that way. My Grandmother (a farmer’s wife) was a hobby breeder too, and now it has passed through the generations to me. We do not necessarily breed to sell. We breed first and foremost for our own use. However, even if you intend to keep the foal its whole life, you must still give consideration to its future marketability. And with this in mind, we breed responsibly with consideration for bloodline, conformation, disposition and talent.
My mother asked me to help her find a broodmare back in 2005 to replace the old mare she had lost to colic. We went to Tattersalls spring sale with that in mind, but came home with a 2 yr old gelding instead. The following summer, Saddlebred Rescue purchased a mare out of the “As Is” pen at New Holland. When her profile came up on Trot’s discussion forum, I recognized her immediately. She was born and bred not 7 miles from our home by a long time friend. We had owned her ¾ sister who was a very successful broodmare for us, raising National Show Horses (including one National Champion). I had worked for a stable that had her half brother and full brother. Another good friend had owned another full sister. This mare was family, and I needed to help find her a home. We started spreading the word.
A couple weeks later, my mother called out of the blue and said she thought we ought to just go get her ourselves, and would I be her business partner. Events just seemed to fall into place so I agreed. After all, I was enjoying the young gelding we had purchased when looking for a mare, I figured I owed Mom a broodmare. A couple of days later, my husband and I were in the truck headed to Nealia McCracken’s Northwind Stable to pick up the mare. It was an easy decision to make really. Having known her family so well, I could tell you sight unseen what this mare’s conformation, movement and temperament would be. When we met her, she was exactly who and what we knew she would be. One of the best traits of these horses is their excellent temperament and manners. The mare trailered home and settled into our routine without a hiccup.
We already had a stallion in mind to breed to. Back when my Grandmother was breeding Saddlebreds 30 years ago, a local stable stood a stallion and the owner of the stallion, Dave Scanlon had become a family friend. CF First Night Out is a stallion whom I have admired for years. When we heard that Dave had purchased and was standing a son, CF First Black Out, the decision as to what stallion to use was pretty easy as well. There were just a few considerations I needed to address so I got to work on my breeding research. “Clint” didn’t have any foals on the ground at that point, so he was unproven, but the pedigree was there. He offered the conformation points I needed to improve the mare’s less desireable points. Her head is not very feminine, but the stallion has a very fine and expressive head and a neat throat latch. I also wanted to make sure he had a good strong hindquarter. The mare has an excellent croup, hip and tail carriage, and has plenty of hock action. But, her entire family is what my mother once disdainfully called “cat hammed” when speaking of her half brother, a champion 3 gaited horse. So, we needed some substance in the hindquarter, and “Clint” has this.
My broodmare Sensational Copy after being adopted from Saddlebred Rescue
Also, most of us have heard the term “Golden Cross”. That is usually used, in this day and age, to refer to the success of crossing Valley View Supreme blood to Wing Commander mares. But, in the world of Saddle Horses, the original “golden cross” was the Denmark and Chief families. The majority of Saddlebreds today trace back to the Chief family. The Denmarks and many other families are fading away. With the wonderful resource of the ASHA website, analyzing pedigrees has become remarkably easy. My mare traces mostly to Denmark. Almost all of the lines in the stallion’s pedigree trace back to Harrison Chief. I had my “golden cross”. This foal would not be line bred in anyway. There is little if any repetition in the pedigrees of the mare and stallion. Besides the technical aspects of matching bloodlines and conformation, you have to have that “feeling” or belief in your cross. As a hobby breeder, if the idea of the resulting foal does not strike some chord in your imagination, you might as well go buy the product of someone else’s breeding choices.
We have a good farm vet here. His family ran a large Standardbred breeding operation. But, anyone who has tried to schedule artificial insemination will tell you, there are a lot of things to do, and a lot of people to get involved. The fact that the stallion lived less than a two hour drive away was a big consideration. There have been so many advances in the science of breeding mares. We hadn’t bred a colt in almost a decade, and the notion of dropping the mare off at the stallion’s place, for a good old fashioned one night stand was very appealing. Little did we know it wouldn’t work out that way. However, we had a wonderful stud owner, and he knew a wonderful AI clinic. We could not have been more fortunate than to leave the process of procreation in his capable hands.
I should have known it would get complicated when Mom called to tell Dave the mare was in heat, and the first thing he asked was “what size follicle does she have?” There sure is a lot to learn about horse reproduction these days. But, with the cost and scheduling involved with each AI, I can see where you would want to get this stuff down to a science. Here is my diary from the decision to breed through actually getting the mare settled.
Feb 7th, 2007
OK, I’ve done it. I’ve mailed the booking fee for Copy’s breeding this year. We chose a friend’s stallion, CF First Black Out (a.k.a. “Clint” as in Clint Black), a black stallion by CF First Night Out. I have admired First Night Out for many years, and certainly couldn’t afford a breeding to him. When our dear friend Dave Scanlon said he was standing his son, I couldn’t resist.Now we are just awaiting the vet to take a culture, check the mare for breeding soundness, and get her up to date on her vaccines. The weather has been awful, so the vet hasn’t been easy to pin down when the mare is in heat. Not to worry, Copy comes in heat about every other day, so it shouldn’t take long. The stallion stands not far from our house, so we will be shipping her there and keeping this all in the neighborhood, and old fashioned in this day and age of mail order sperm.
May 11th 2007
I took a much needed afternoon off today, and Mom and I went down to visit the stud we are breeding Copy to. I hesitate to breed anything I haven’t met in person, and let me tell you, his photos don’t do him justice! He is stunning and coal black. His disposition is excellent! Good bone, beautiful head, and correct all over. Mom snapped a couple of candid photos. I’m expecting Copy to come in heat by Monday. I’m so excited!
May 17th 2007
Copy has been at the stable where the stallion is for several days. She has been the model of a polite house guest. I told them she would be in heat on Monday or Tuesday, and even though she was not showing standing heat, she was also not telling the stud “go $%&* yourself” either which she will if she is really out. So, they started teasing her Tuesday and she is standing for the stud. The vet was there today and palpated her. She has a very good follicle and should ovulate by tomorrow. The barn owner, the barn help and the vet are all just raving over Copy and her wonderful behavior. “We just Love her”. They are going to cover her again tomorrow and Saturday and I will probably pick her up on Sunday.Copy is doing her best to be a wonderful ambassador of the Rescue program by showing off her great manners, laid back personality and now shiney coat to everyone. I just can’t say enough good about this mare, and I don’t usually even like mares.
May 20th 2007
Copy is home safe and sound and hopefully in foal! The stallion owner said he noticed a small amount of bleeding from the live cover, so since he had to take the stallion to the clinic to collect for someone else’s semen shipment, he loaded Copy up too and trailered them both down to the clinic and had her AIed when he was collecting for the fresh cooled shipment. Everyone behave perfectly and she was examined by the vet to make sure everything was OK after the live cover. Imagine a mare and stud so well behaved that a person has no problem loading them in a trailer by himself and taking them to the clinic for a little AI in the afternoon! After about 18 days we can have her sonogrammed and make sure she settled. Just keeping my fingers crossed for the next 18 days.
June 8th 2007
Well, since Copy was checked and not in foal this week, she has gone off for a “one night stand”. Dave has no stalls available, so we dropped her off this morning and he loaded her and the stud up to head to the clinic where she will be AIed when he collects for a shipment to Missouri. Now it’s back to work and wait for her to call for a ride home. I got her all spiffied up this morning, clipped her ears and gave her a shave. She got one look at the trailer and got all excited and hopped right on! She sure does love “Sex Camp”. I sure hope we got this timed as well as we think we did. All of this running around and giving hormone shots is exhausting. Thank heavens we don’t do this every year. I just want one nice colt to start before I get too old to bounce.
June 11th 2007
This time we caught her on the last day of strong heat, so hopefully we got it right.
Dave said when he got to the clinic with the mare and stallion, the stallion was so primed after having to ride with Copy in front of him for an hour and a half that the clinic said they had never seen a stallion so ready to go.
They had to drive through a horrible thunder and hail storm to get home, but everyone behave themselves perfectly throughout.
June 28th 2007
I’m going to be a GRAMMA!
I’ve been waiting for the vet to come for THREE days, holding my breath, teasing her, crossing my fingers and praying! He sonogrammed her just now, and she’s in foal!
Now a few more months to hold my breath that she doesn’t absorb, followed by a few more month of holding my breath that she doesn’t abort, and then holding my breath that everything goes ok.
July 10th 2007
Pregnancy is suiting Copy just great. She has become even more mellow and low key. She spends a good part of her day staring dreamily out the window. My husband wants to know what she’s thinking about. Well, baby names of course!
In fact, she has mellowed out so much she will even let my Mom catch her in the paddock, instead of having to be rounded up in a makeshift catch pen consisting of a longe line tied to the fence at the corner. Mom has now started referring to her as “our” mare instead of “your” mare.
July 23rd 2007
Mom was complimenting Copy’s personality change again yesterday. She was saying that Copy is the easiest one to have in the stall. She doesn’t chew or kick the walls. She piles manure all in one spot. She is generally a mild horse. Let’s hope she passes her temperament and manners to the foal through either nature or nurture.
Mom has been letting her camp overnight in the indoor arena. She still gets out in the paddock every day, but as soon as a fly bites her ear, she is ready to come in. I haven’t ridden her since she was confirmed in foal. Mom still has paranoid days and thinks she is coming back in heat, but nothing ever comes of it. So, it looks like she is settled nicely in foal. My husband is looking forward to her “showing” her pregnancy but with her long body, that will be months and months yet.
Sept 11th 2007
Two weeks ago Mom thought Copy was showing some signs of heat. We had the vet check her today, and sure enough, she absorbed it. It is too late to bother trying again this year, so we will wait for next year. Next year we will also monitor her hormone levels more closely, and she will be on Regumate.
We are now on year two of our breeding adventure. We tried twice to get the mare to settle, but elected not to keep her on Regumate. To date, excluding the stud fee, we have spent $550.00, and still have nothing to show for our efforts. This year, we are taking some extra steps. We have given ourselves over entirely to the advice of the stallion owner and the clinic, both of whom are far more well versed in this process than we are. The mare will be sutured to reduce the possibility of infection causing her to “slip”. She will also be on Regumate to regulate her hormones. Time to try again…
Apr 15th 2008
Copy is off to sex camp again! She was vetted last week and had a clean culture. She is presently on her way to the equine fertility clinic for AI. Then she will be getting Regumate ($3 a day) for the duration. This whole “grow your own horse” project is getting borderline expensive! I won’t even admit to what we spent getting the last one we raised, and he is 8 years old and has never done an honest day’s work in his life. Yes, being born into this family is a meal ticket for life.
May 09th 2008
Copy is in foal again. She is also stapled and on Regumate, so it better stick this time!
May 31st 2008
The vet was out last week, and yes, our gal is still in foal! This is the point we lost it last year. Staples are out and stitches are in. Copy is such a wonderful patient, that the vet brought his student for the express purpose of learning how to suture a mare. He knew Copy would be the perfect subject.
June 23rd 2008
On recommendations from our vet and the stallion owner, Copy got a pneumabort (Rhino) shot this weekend. We have never given our mares anything, and are still at least a decade behind on reproductive trends. They recommended giving her a shot every two months. Now I remember why we only raise a foal every 5 years or so. It takes that long to forget what a big hassle and crap shoot it can be.
Mom did it, and she is reasonably comfortable with giving shots, but she got blood and liquid back from this injection site. Copy has a little swelling around it (about 4×6 inches) and is very sore. She wouldn’t even let me put her halter on yesterday to bring her out for grooming, so I just spent some time in the stall brushing and itching her favorite spots. She has been a very cranky pregnant lady this time.
July 24 2008
…still in foal…
We just had her sonogrammed again. This mare is SO hormonal right now. Sunday morning I came in the barn and she had her tail flipped up over her back like she was in heat. Checked back three times. Still waving around. She had her “Bombeasta” attitude on. We decided to have her checked again rather than open the new package of Regumate.The vet was just here and we’re A-OK. He stepped back to admire her. “This is such a nice mare. I really like everything about her.” (Vet raises Standardbreds) Mom raised an eyebrow… “She acts like a crazy stud every other day”. Vet…”oh just forget about that, that doesn’t matter”. Easy for him to say. He doesn’t have to repair the stall walls. But, it is always a good thing to hear approval from an unbiased third party about your choice of mares. Of course we like her, but the idea is to produce horses that other people like as well.
So, I guess the whole tail waving thing was just the heat. I even said the other day “She’s probably just trying to catch a breeze through the window”.
The life and times of a hobby breeder….
Things continued like this for several months. Copy reacted to the Regumate by behaving like a stallion. A very poorly mannered stallion, I might add. Already an alpha mare, she was now not only not able to be turned out with other horses, she was now not able to be turned out in the sight of other horses. I spent the rest of the summer hand grazing her. Since she had such a reaction to the pneumabort shot, we decided not to continue that program. Instead, we have placed our barn in informal quarantine… no new horses, no trips for our own horses, and other precautions to prevent anyone from bringing an illness onto our property.
As winter approached, she mellowed somewhat but was usually turned out for exercise in the indoor arena rather than the paddock. Other than that, life with an expectant broodmare is fairly uneventful. They can resume their normal activity level up to about two months prior to foaling. And that is where we are now. Due date is March 26th. She is getting bigger and bigger. It is hard to imagine that she might actually get bigger between now and then. Sometimes, we can see her flanks bulged as the foal repositions itself. Beyond that, it is just a waiting game. The second year with one AI cover, and Regumate totaled $3000.00. So for two years, we are now at $3550.00 for only breeding related expenses. That doesn’t include the annual upkeep of the mare.
Could I have gone out and purchased a weanling or yearling for $3550.00? Yes, I probably could have gotten a nice one, and had my choice of color and markings. But, like so many hobby breeders, there is something very fulfilling and satisfying about doing the research, making the match, and seeing the resulting offspring. Besides, there is always that chance that your foal won’t be merely “a nice one”, it will be a “great one”.
