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Studs for my mare?

4K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  kitten_Val 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Ok Darlin'. What you've got here are two mediocre stallions of different breeds. What breed is your mare? These stallions also have no pedigree to speak of, pretty markings of course, but mediocre conformation. What are you looking for in the foal, other than a nice color? The paint has a very upright shoulder and no neck which is rare for a stallion. The appy is cow-hocked and you really can't tell anything else about him from these pics.

I know this is not what you want to hear. If you post some pics of your mare we would be more able to help you find a stallion that compliments her.
 
#3 ·
palogal said:
Ok Darlin'. What you've got here are two mediocre stallions of different breeds. What breed is your mare? These stallions also have no pedigree to speak of, pretty markings of course, but mediocre conformation. What are you looking for in the foal, other than a nice color? The paint has a very upright shoulder and no neck which is rare for a stallion. The appy is cow-hocked and you really can't tell anything else about him from these pics.

I know this is not what you want to hear. If you post some pics of your mare we would be more able to help you find a stallion that compliments her.
I completely agree. If you're wanting to breed, breed the best to the best. Breeding mediocre horses will accomplish nothing - you want to set the foal up for the best possible chance at life.
Horse prices are at an all-time low, with great broke horses going for no more than a couple hundred dollars (not a few thousand like they should be).. I guess my point is, with things the way they are, I'd seriously think twice about breeding ANYthing.
 
#4 ·
I dont have any good pics of her. I think she was just bred for her color...but I dont know much about conformation either. I have someone wanting to buy the foal aready. She is a TB/QH cross, but she is a registered paint.
 
#5 ·
girl_on_black_pony said:
I dont have any good pics of her. I think she was just bred for her color...but I dont know much about conformation either. I have someone wanting to buy the foal aready. She is a tb/qh cross, but she is a registered paint.
In my honest opinion, and I will give this to ANYone who asks, leave the breeding to the pros.. if you don't know much about conformation, chances are you won't pick complimentary stallions to your mare... and goodness knows the world doesn't need another "just okay" foal..
Foals in my area are selling for $75. There is a reason for that. The market is swamped with unwanted horses - why not just go buy one for a fraction of the price of what it will cost you to breed one?
I am not meaning to sound mean or rude in any way, this is my honest opinion, take it or leave it.
 
#6 ·
Mkay. The person really wanted a foal from this mare, and she is a really great mare, so we said 'why not?'. Pluse I have a really great trainer, so hopefully we can start a line of equestrain drill horses. Well I found some more probable studs:

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1207739

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1156535

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1156530

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1102264
 
#7 ·
If that's the case you need a contract with whomever is buying the foal that they will in deed buy it and generally with that kind of arrangement, that person would pick the stallion.

Anyway, the best one of these is the last one although I can't tell much about his confo, he has very nice bloodlines. He hasn't done anything show wise so I would pass but he is the best prospect of all of them. The others have no bloodlines and so-so conformation.
 
#8 ·
yeah, I liked the Doc O Lena in his lines. The person buying it is a close friend and barn-buddy, so a contract is not needed. I may just give the foal to them, after all, they do let me board for free. We are just looking for a training project and we love our mare, and she is getting old, so it'd be nice to have a part of her when she passes.
 
#9 ·
How old is she? And is she maiden?

These are some excellent questions copied from another site (hope no one minds).

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Should I breed my mare?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then yes. Go for it because you know the risks and you are ready.

Does my mare represent a good example of the breed?
Is she free of major conformation and temperament flaws?
Do you know whether or not she has any genetic flaws that she could pass on?
Do I have the knowledge to choose a stallion who will compliment her?
Will the resulting foal be bettering the breed?
Do I want to have my mare pregnant and out of work?
Do I have the facilities to have a foal born safely?
Do I have the financial means to pay for:
Stud Fees AND mare care
Feed and Supplements for my mare AND foal
The many standard veterinary bills during the pregnancy
Unexpected emergency vet bills
The costs of raising that foal to ride-able age (feed, vet, farrier)
The costs of training for the foal
Do I have 3-4 years to wait for the foal to be born and grow to trainable/ride-able age?
Am I prepared to risk my mares death?
In the event that she dies or rejects the foal, do I have the knowledge and means to care for the orphaned foal?
Am I prepared to risk losing the foal?
Am I prepared to risk losing them both?
Am I experienced in handling and training a young foal?
Do I have a plan for the foal if I can no longer care for it properly?
Do I have an intended purpose for the resulting foal?
After all this, am I willing to risk that the foal doesn't live up to my expectations?

My point is this: Look at the list above, they are the realistic responsibilities of breeding. If you said no to some of them, then you are better off saving the money, possible heartache, or whatever it is that turned you off from breeding and buy the horse that you want. I am not being mean or rude, just showing plainly things that need to be considered when lives are being created.

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And even though you are friends with the person who wants to purchase the foal, you never know if something is going to come up or they suddenly change their minds and then your stuck with a foal that you may or may not want. What if something unexpected comes up in your life and you are forced to give up the foal? Do you have back-up plans of where the foal would go to? These are all very real questions that you have to ask yourself.
 
#14 ·
Yeah, you sorta bummed me out. I guess there is alot to this. The foal would just be a bcakyard horse, but I dunno if Id risk my mare. Maybe when she is retired? Yes, she is a maiden
 
#16 ·
girl_on_black_pony said:
yeah, I liked the Doc O Lena in his lines. The person buying it is a close friend and barn-buddy, so a contract is not needed. I may just give the foal to them, after all, they do let me board for free. We are just looking for a training project and we love our mare, and she is getting old, so it'd be nice to have a part of her when she passes.
This is not a good reason to breed, sorry,it just isn't. It's a great risk for the mare, not to mention potentially a very expensive process for an aging mare. Enjoy your mare and let her live her golden years without the stress of pregnancy and nursing a foal. It's very hard on their bodies especially if they've never done it and are aging.
 
#17 ·
You really shouldn't breed her. A first foal on an older mare is extremely hard on them. Unless you are doing an embryo transfer (and that's not successful that often on older mares, and costs around 5000+ to do).

I wouldn't breed to any of those stallions. I wouldn't buy them as geldings for trail horses. They just aren't good enough. I suggest looking around more, and really looking at the conformation of the horses. Look beyond the color. Color can make a great horse even greater, but it never improves a bad one.

If you do breed, I'd get a lot of advice. I wouldn't suggest breeding an older mare though. A lot of things can go wrong.
 
#20 ·
girl_on_black_pony said:
Thanks, all.
I may just buy a young horse for a training project.
That is a great idea! I'm sure you will find an awesome young horse, and you can still buy a foal if you want.

I'm sorry for my extreme blunt-ness in my earlier posts, I didn't mean to bum you out or anything; I just feel so strongly about the horrific horse population and I do tend to get a little hot under the collar, so I apologise if I came off snippy.
 
#22 ·
Not to mention, do you know that this foal will have a good home till the day it dies? What if the girl who says she wants it keeps it till he's three then she loses her job and cant afford to feed him? What happens to the foal. What if she decides she just doesnt want him? What happens to the foal?

Slaughter Houses will kill pretty coloured horses.

At least if you have a horse of substance you have a little bit better chance of him finding a better home if for any reason something happens down the line.

I agree with Harlee about the studs.
And I agree that you should leave the breeding to the pros.
 
#23 ·
I'd look at money side of it first. Even though you'll give foal to the friend (for free or whatever) the vet bills could come up over $1000 (in case of emergency and all). Besides foal can be born dead or something can happen with mare (knock on wood!! but my friends had it happen twice :( ). It's just the whole cost may not worse it.
 
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