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Breeding Information
Congratulations on your decision to breed your mare. You will want to prepare your
mare prior to the breeding season. She will need to have a coggins test (current
within the last year), all of her vaccinations wiithin the last sixty days. She should be
wormed two weeks prior to her arrival at the breeding farm. The mare should arrive for
breeding barefoot (without shoes) and her feet must be trimmed if she is being live
covered. She should have a reproductive exam. This could include a swab, a culture
and/or a biopsy. A swab will indicate an abnormally high white blood cell count. A
culture will provide bacterial information, including what type of antibiotic any present
bacteria are susceptible to. A biopsy will provide information on the condition of the
mare’s uterus. It will include her predicted chances of carrying a foal to term. Ideally a
mare is cultured and biopsied to acquire the most information possible. Although the
initial expense of a biopsy and a culture seems high, it is well worth the money spent.
Untreated infections and conditions can prevent conception, cause miscarriages,
stillborns and foaling complications. All are financial and emotional losses. It is wise to
perform these tests at least two months before the desired breeding so that adequate
time is available to clean the mare up. A culture or biopsy require a minimum of ten
working days to process once performed. If they come back positive for infection, it takes a
minimum of four days to treat and four to five more days before you can culture the mare
again. Ten days after that your second culture will be back to confirm the mare clear for
breeding. This could take up to 30 days if your mare has an infection.
You can expect the mare to be at the breeding farm for five days or more. The length
of stay varies upon what point in her cycle she is at and what condition she is in when
she arrives at the farm. It is up to you whether she goes home right after breeding or
stays to be confirmed in foal. Some mares require more than one breeding cycle to
settle (conceive). So be patient, God is in control, the breeder isn’t. It is imperative
that the mare be ultrasounded at 14 to 20 days to ensure twins are not present. Less
than 5% of twins survive. If found before day 24, one can be eliminated without harm to
the other in most cases.
Care of the post breeding mare: Day 14 to 19 ultrasound for twinning
Day 30 to 40 ultrasound for heart beat to
confirm pregnancy
Day 45 to 60 ultrasound to confirm pregnancy is still
viable-fetal attachment confirmed
Five months rhinopneumonitis vaccination
Seven months rhinopneumonitis vaccination
Nine months all vaccinations including West Nile &
Rhinopneumonitis
Ten months - return mare to breeding farm for foaling
and remove Caslicks if she has one. If you plan on
foaling her at home-begin daily observations and start
bringing her into the barn at night.
Limit hauling and strenuous work with your mare until she is 45 days pregnant. The
initial fetal attachment is weak. The secondary attachment occurs around day 45 and is
much stronger. Keep your mare on a sixty day worming cycle after she is ninety days or
more pregnant. Do not vaccinate or worm your mare for the first 90 days of pregnancy.
Keep her "toxin free" for three months. Cut down on her workload and increase her
feed in the last ninety days of her gestation. Maintain the pregnant mare’s hooves
every six to eight weeks. Pregnant mares do not need to deal with with lameness from
split hooves, long toes or overly snapped off hooves.
Horses are not born with an immune system. The foal receives antibodies from the
colostrum (first milk) from the mare. Test the colostrum. Do not go by the consistency
or color. With this in mind, it is not a good idea to imprint the foal a great deal in the
first 48 hours. You want the foal to have ample opportunity to ingest and process as
much colostrum as possible and to have minimal contact with people until the immune
system is intact. Too much imprinting can keep the mare and foal from bonding
properly. If you have a cold or cough, DO NOT GO NEAR THE FOAL. Limit visitors to
avoid infection to the foal and limit stress on the mare for the first 48 hours. An upset
mare can injure her foal while driving off a perceived threat (over-eager visitor). A
little self-control and common sense can save you a ton of heartache.
It is important that your mare not foal unassisted. Four percent have complications in
delivery. Less than one in four foals that have untreated failed passive transfer live to
be ninety days of age. This condition can be avoided by Igg testing to ensure
colostrum quality. The foal’s blood can later be tested for Igg absorption. Depending
on the test you use this should be performed 12 to 36 hours later. It is important also
to check for NI-blood cell compatibility. Attendant assisted births allow for quicker
treatment of umbilical cord, confirmation of nursing, placenta delivery, merconium
passage, assistance in the presence of dystocia, clearing the foal’s airway, any
necessary tetanus and antibiotic injections, enema and probiotics administration.
Mares often experience severe pain after the delivery of the foal during the third
stage of labor. This pain can cause the mare to roll on her foal or twist an intestine if
aid is not rendered in a timely fashion.
A healthy foal can go downhill quickly. Check the temperature of the foal every
morning for five days. Keep an eye on breathing and respiration. Make sure the mare
has been nursed well. Any milk dripping or fullness of the udder is cause for
immediate concern. Watch for colic in the foal. Odd positions such as laying on its
back, frequent rolling, biting at its sides, straining without movement are all causes for
concern.
As our friend Jon Weisman of Exodus Breeders supply says,
"remember always to give thanks to God for each healthy foal
you are blessed with".
We pray for success in all that you do. May all your
mares, foals and all your endeavors be blessed by
the hand of God.
The Ince's
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