Proof it isn't cheap to breed 101

I too breed my mares back on foal heat or just past it really. I find that if you extend their foal heat out a bit you have much better luck. However flushing a mare with Antibiotices when not needed is not a good things. One it cost you money and the other is changes the Ph balance of the uterouse and can lead to problems down the road. When breeding more is not better.

Since you don't know when a foal is born you can't schedule an appointment .......so when foal was born and my vet is completely booked for the week.......someone else has to be bumped ....hence the unscheduled appointment which costs extra.....even with out complications I would have had my vet out to do a colustrum test and then follow up blood work on the foal to make sure passive transfer has taken place.......this is cheaper than finding out later.....its cheap insurance.


Super Nova

Again I have no problem with people having the vet out to do all that. It comes down to what you are comfortable doing yourself and what you are not.

As to other cost. Even if you went out and bought a foal there is always a chance that you are going to have added cost past what it cost to buy that foal. There is always something.

This is why I do not factor in any cost that I would normally have into the mare as these are things I would be doing anyway.

I think it would depend on where the stallion was to whether it would be cheaper cmarie. I've never done AI...only live cover and most stallions have been within 3 hour drive. I have also had an agreement with a friend and kept her stallion standing at my farm for a breeding season. I must say though this year with 4 unplanned breedings. 1 abortion 1 still born and 2 still cooking we have totaled up nearly 3000 just since Jan....from extra food, to vet. Visits (several on weekend and night calls),abortion cost plus care while at the vet for 4 days, now my mare that had the still born, emergency call, several test, necropsy on the foal, special feed with supplements for a few days, then the 2 mares still cooking extra feed, more vet. Visit to ensure they deliver safely heavens if we have to call vet out for delivery! 3 mares with vac...PLUS getting the stallion who caused all this gelding! I think that has been the happiest day! Now to focus on the healing of one mare and hopefully the safe birth of 2 others!

If (when) I get mares again I will check the PH thing. Thanks for the heads up....

It worked well for my back then however, I am sure many things have changed.

I wasn't worried about any the money it cost.

Many times the foals where sold.

The Ph is not somthing you can really test. It is there or it is not. Flushing a mare changes it and can cause problems. I ONLY will flush a mare if I KNOW 100% that it is needed.

I have found that a lot of people seem to think that more is better when it comes to breeding and this is NOT the case. You should see all the semen I have dumbed over the years. The more you put into a mare the more has to come out and the greater the rist of problems.

I can't say what I've spent getting my foal on the ground, I haven't really taken the time to add up the total, although just the vet fees were probably around 6-700 dollars. My vet doesn't charge any sort of extra fee, I just call up there and he fits me in, so the vet check the day my colt was born was only $40. I am going the route of taking my mare to the breeder's place next year when I breed my mare to RC Fancy Step, I am curious to see what my fees might accumulate to since I already have $3500 invested.

I have done it both ways in the past. At the end of the day shipping it in is less expensive 90% of the time. By the time you haul the mare to the stallion. Pay mare care chut fees their vet fees and so on. Then hauling her back home your time to do so and so on. It works out to be about the same.

Well, all their ultrasounds are included in their booking fee, so I pay mare care and any shots (lut, etc) they give her. RC only has one working teste, so they AI the mare via deep horn insemenation, which my vet is not accustomed to, so figured I'd leave it to the experts as they have experience. They are only about an hour and 45 minutes away, so the haul isn't bad at all. Still, their 15/day mare care can get high, lol.

Ya that is normal for that line unfortunitly. If you do not have a good vet or do it yourself sometimes it is better to send them off. That is not to fare either so that helps.

Last time I sent a mare off was my Poco Bueno G-dauther to Zan Freckles Hickory and that cost was a bit more then what it cost me last year. That was 10 years difference too. Same can be said for all the other AI breedings I have done here over the years.