The mare makes the difference

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Sheri Tozer-Robb

Breeding from your own mare is an exciting but serious matter as breeding a foal is expensive and long term!

Breeder’s wishing to make a rapid improvement in their breeding programme will chose their mare carefully and pay attention to her quality and bloodlines.

Breeders should be honest with themselves and ask the following questions and not leave too much work for the stallion.

  • Does my mare have good conformation?
  • Does my mare have good sound limbs?
  • Does my mare have correct paces (movement)?
  • Does my mare have a good temperament?
  • Does my mare have good ride ability?
  • Does my mare have a proven competition record?
  • Does my mare have breeding status in her studbook?
  • Does my mare have any previous breeding history? (Does not apply to maiden mares)

If some of the boxes aren’t ticked you must ask yourself why? For instance does my mare have good sound limbs? Be Honest! If your mare is unsound due to injury – you must be sure that she sustained the injury purely by accident and that it wasn’t caused by poor conformation or hereditary disease.

Assuming all the above boxes are ticked you can now:-

  • Assess the mare’s physical condition and general health.
  • Obtain the mare’s previous breeding history if any.
  • Watch to see that the mare is cycling regularly
  • Contact your vet to give the mare a breeding examination
  • Swab your mare from clitoral fossa, cervix and sinuses.

Hopefully you will have a clean bill of health. You have prepared your mare well as all the above will save you time and money long term because sending a mare to stud to find out that she has a breeding problem can be costly!

Now is the time to choose your Stallion. He needs to complement the mare and have good blood lines with a proven competition history throughout the generations. Your stallion must have strength where your mare is weak.

THE OESTRUS CYCLE

The oestrus cycle can last 20 to 23 days. The cycle length is variable from mare to mare and in the typical mare aged from 3 – 20 years old it will last for 21 or 22 days.

Typically oestrus itself lasts 4 to 7 days (that is the follicle stage) when the mare will allow the stallion to mate her or your vet can inseminate.

During oestrus the ovaries are enlarged and the mare will show various signs (e .g. raised tail, urinating and everting the clitoris i.e. winking) and the vulva is relaxed and long.

At the end of oestrus the follicle has enlarged and ovulation takes place. Mares may continue to show signs of oestrus for 2 to 3 days after ovulation.

The mare will not be receptive to the stallion – she has now entered the luteal phase of the cycle Your vet may scan your mare as early as 14 days after covering/insemination, but most do it between 15 and 17 days after.

OLDER MARES

While it is true that some older mares are less fertile and some may shut down after the age of 20 this is not an universal occurrence.

Eggs produced by a 20 year old mare are themselves 20 years old as mares are born with all the eggs they will ever have. Older eggs may not be as viable so may be less likely to produce pregnancies.

However DNA is DNA and the genes remain the same whatever the age of the mare.

YOUR MARE IS IN FOAL

The right nutrition from conception onwards helps to ensure the production of a strong healthy foal, so correct feeding of the mare is vital both prior to covering and from conception onwards as this supports the proper development of the foetus.

Minerals are important, particularly copper which is needed to build and create the cells that form the foal. The foetus accumulates and stores the minerals in the liver and once born the rapidly growing foal will draw on this store.

For the mare she requires more energy to produce milk. Whilst good quality grass makes a significant calorie contribution, a type of balancer should be fed to counteract any nutrient deficiencies in the pasture.

The composition of the mare’s milk changes quickly during the first days of lactation.

The first milk or colostrum is extremely important as it contains antibodies to protect the foal. During the first 12 hours after birth the foal’s small intestine is still permeable to the large protein molecules and it is important that it should suckle during this time to get the protection of the antibodies. Ideally it should be within the first 2 hours after birth as the antibodies are at their highest during that period.

WORKING OUT YOUR FOALING DATE

For example:

6th May 2008 + one year = 6th May 2009
+ one week = 13th May 2009
- one month = 13th April 2009That’s your approximate due date.

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