The natural way or stick to the modern system..?

Iv a broodmare that's proving to be hard to get into foal. She's 8, perfectly healthy, and is in good fit condition. She's been to the stud twice and no luck yet. The vet has done loads of tests on her to check everything is working right and has done blood tests just to make sure everythings ok.. all fine. When she went to the stud farm the people said she settled in fine and when they brought the teaser out she reacted good and was ready to go to the stallion but they said she seemed to sour very quick around him and they only got to cover her twice. I have considered AI but the studs with stallions I like that provide this service are abit out of our budget. So I was told that it might be a good idea to think about letting her run with a stallion for the summer on our land. Iv a few stallions in mind and all are good natured horses, but I am just worried that when my mares not in heat that theyd fight! Would it be best to try and get him out with her just before she's about to come into heat, so that she's "willing", and they settle better with each other.. I kinda liked this idea because with the stallion being with her all the time he wouldnt miss a heat, even if it was short, and the mares so settled in her field that I think she might take if she's in her own surroundings and is settled..
What do yous think? Anyone else use the natural way?

In rare cases, it is the mare that just doesn't like the stallion for one reason or another. Maybe it is the way he talks, walks, looks, treats her... Lots of mares couldn't care less about the stallion while others are very choosey. If I had to guess, she liked the teaser but was disappointed by the stud. LOL

One of my mom's friends has a few mares that are run with a stallion, but will not let him near them because they just don't like him or any other stallion she has tried. It is a risk when doing live cover that the mare just doesn't like who you picked out. There is also a chance that she turned sour towards him if he didn't have the best manners towards her.

Well she wouldnt have much hope with the teaser he's about 10hands ..shes nearly 17hands lol
Yey I know what your saying about the stallion, maybe she wasnt fussed on him, his manners etc.. but I went out of my way to find a really gentle tempered stallion because my mares so "hot" and when she went to meet him we had to drag her away from the stable door! Was very keen. She stood 100% on the two occasions she was covered but the following morning she wasnt in the mood when the teaser appeared.. Just seemed to be a very short cycle, maybe its just the way her system runs. I took her back to the same yard as all their stallions are approved and have proven there skills through their youngstock.. plus the yard is fantastic and she was very well looked after. But I just couldnt help but notice how delighted she looked when she got back into her field with her buddys and I was starting to think maybe she would take if she was in her own home and settled

I don't have a pic of the mare on the computer but to give an idea of what she's like this is the stallion she's out of, she's his double, simliar height and build..

She may have a short standing heat, and who knows at what point she ovulates (some may ovulate at the beginning or even as late as the very end). Something else to find out is if the stud usually settles a mare in their first heat. Some stallions have a low sperm count/ survival rate to begin with and added to a short cycle really complicates things. The other thing to consider with AI is if she has such a short cycle, it could be just as difficult to get her in foal.

Even if the teaser was 7hands shorter, there are many little studs that have proven themselves on mares that were probably laying down for him. LOL

Do you know if they could do fresh AI, straight from the stud and into the mare? Then you don't have to worry about standing for the stud.

Aw her heats would be regular during the summer months, but like I say there just short.. 2-3days my other mare would stay in heat for 3-5days. Because I would be breeding a foal for myself I wanted to take her to the best we could afford. And I only went to look at approved stallions. The 2 I short-listed have had sperm tests done and no problems there both are young, fit, healthy horses and have plenty of youngstock standing. The people that own this yard are very old fashioned and only do natural coverings, so I reserached the stallions I liked that do AI and its just abit to dear for me unfortunatley, between the AI fee and the vets fee, Id definley try her again but before I do I just want to consider the idea of letting her run with a stallion. See she's out nearly all yr and isnt used to being stabled so I thought that might have played against us when she was going to the stud

If she had settled right in at the stable, that shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes taking the mares out on walks helps, so if you or the yard managers were able to take her out and give her some mild exercise it could help her settle. I wouldn't give up on her just yet, but another thing to look at is if she is coming into heat but hasn't been ovulating. Her system might not be quite ready for a true standing heat, especially if she is a maiden mare. I helped my mom hand breed her 16 year old mare last summer, and she was in a standing heat for 4 days and settled the first cycle. Before that, my mom pasture bred her other mare and put the stud and mare in the pasture together when she was in heat. They ran themselves into a drenching sweat racing around the pasture. The mare wasn't a maiden mare either, but she sure made him work to catch her.

Aw she is ovulating. She got scanned each time before she went to the stud to see what stage the follicle was at. That's what I mean, she's had all them things looked at and the vet can't see anything that's wrong. Just her bodys way of working. She settled in fine in the stable when she was in heat, and theyd let her out for a run about for at least an hour in the sand each morning.. but once she was out of heat she would start box walking and kicking the door, so I was worried that was affecting the fertilisation stages.. I duno, am just making a guess at what it might be.. Am going to ring the people in the next few weeks and see what they think, maybe ask the vet. The mare you said your mum had running with a stallion.. did she have her foal??

The mare that got to run with the stud did settle after he was able to catch her LOL

She is due May 22 and the mare I helped hand breed is due June 6

Maybe if you were able to take her home as soon as she came out of a standing heat that could help? The biggest danger with running a mare with the stallion is the potential for the stallion to injure the mare or that the mare could severly injure the stallion (talked to a trainer last spring whose friend had to put down a stallion after a mare kicked him during breeding)

Sometimes they just don't settle, for whatever reasons. The first time I tried to breed my mare, she was bred through 3 heat cycles and didn't take at all, with very large, pretty follicles and in perfect working order. It sucks! I would try to breed her through a couple cycles and take her home after she is done being bred each time if she is stressing in the stall.