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Stallion selection

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RoperAB

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
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Location
Alberta
If my mares dam was a good broodmare does that mean that chances are my mare will be pretty good?
If I breed her this spring as a 5 yo for the first time is it more risky if I use a larger stallion?
Example my mare would be about 15.2hh <never measured her> but she isnt the heaviest horse around. Now there is a stallion not so far from here thats a good 16hh and im guessing 1400lbs. Should I look for a smaller stallion?
What are your thoughts?
 
In my experience, horses are like deer and longhorns. Most will just have a foal, but I'm sure there are some out there who will have trouble having their first foal.
 
we used to breed our draft mares Arab for their first foal-closest thing to a Longhorn in the horse business. Actually got some nice light driving teams out of them.
 
I am like JB I have been lucky enough to never have a problem with a mare foaling. As a old friend said years ago, in horses it seems nature takes care of them... The feeding program has a lot to do with foaling size, or as I was also taught..just common sense in my oppinion. I had one mare that would have the scrawniest foal, but within a month would be filled out and never stop growing, thought I could find some pics of them but..guess with all the moving they are put up in a box that I can not find. She was a small mare about 14.2 (Foundation bred) my stallion was 15.2 old foundation Bulldog type stud. He was 90% and Reg with NFQHA...nice boy. Anyway, long story short..from first foal to last (5 foals while I had her) she never had a problem. They matured nice and made good using horses.

I also kept a old mare I had sold which was bred to a HUGE HUNTER StALLION ..when foal was born, he was over at the knees and had tremendously long legs...lol. Called the vet, was told that with him being so big, that he was folded up and that it would all be okay. Sure enough..withing a few weeks he was fine. Beautiful Huge warmbred/QH ...Just had to stretch them legs out when he hit the ground.

And, yes if she had a good mother...she will more than likely be a good mother herself. It is after all much like a cow, it is instinct and bred in. I have been fortunate again to have been blessed with good MaMa's. I have found that a nervous horse, does not mother as well. They tend to not milk out and look after their babies as well.

Use your instincts.. and good luck!!

Easty
 
RoperAB said:
If my mares dam was a good broodmare does that mean that chances are my mare will be pretty good?
If I breed her this spring as a 5 yo for the first time is it more risky if I use a larger stallion?
Example my mare would be about 15.2hh <never measured her> but she isnt the heaviest horse around. Now there is a stallion not so far from here thats a good 16hh and im guessing 1400lbs. Should I look for a smaller stallion?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Why breed any mare with the proposed slaughter ban some people are in favor of there will be plenty of unwanted horses to be had cheaply :wink: Of course we could just shoot the one's we don't want :roll:
 
Denny said:
RoperAB said:
If my mares dam was a good broodmare does that mean that chances are my mare will be pretty good?
If I breed her this spring as a 5 yo for the first time is it more risky if I use a larger stallion?
Example my mare would be about 15.2hh <never measured her> but she isnt the heaviest horse around. Now there is a stallion not so far from here thats a good 16hh and im guessing 1400lbs. Should I look for a smaller stallion?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Why breed any mare with the proposed slaughter ban some people are in favor of there will be plenty of unwanted horses to be had cheaply :wink: Of course we could just shoot the one's we don't want :roll:
Click to expand...

I have never bought a colt based on its price. If a breeder has what im looking for I will buy it. I cant afford to pay $5000 or $10,000 for a colt like some people do. But I have bought a lot of 2 year olds that were not even halter broke in the $2000 -$2500 range when I could have just gone to an auction and picked up some two YO that I didnt want for under $800.
One of the reasons that im thinking about breeding her is that the three breeders that I have been buying colts from are no longer in the business. One was a QH breeder the other two breeders where Appendix.
One moved to SK, one retired, one got divorved and lost most in the settlement.
Right now I dont know of anybody within 250 miles of me that is breeding what im looking for in a price range that I can afford.
The other reason is that this particular mare of mine is an exceptional mare that I think quite a bit of.
I tell you one thing though. Since I have been thinking about breeding her I have been looking at and thinking about all the expense and risk that goes into breeding horses. Haha Makes me wonder why anybody would do it! Haha Colts that as a buyer used to seem expensive to me are now starting to look like good deals! :wink:
 
Roper AB,

I'd say there is no question but to breed your mare. If she performs to your satisfaction, then she should raise some good colts. I've heard from old timers that 75% of a colt's ability comes from the mare, so if you like her, go for it. I must get it from my Grandfather, who always had a chuckle in his voice when seeing a new foal he'd say, "There's nothing prettier than a nice baby colt!"

The bigger question gets back to the subject line of this thread: what stallion? My recommendation is to select the best stud you can find in a price range you can afford, but... don't be afraid to spend some money. Quality counts.

You may have followed my posts concerning the mare we took to the World Show. She was out of an unproven yet well bred mare that I had, but by the best stud I had ever seen. Frosty Feature's stud fee at that time was $500 plus mare care, which seemed high to me at the time, but I gave him a try and the rest is history. That fee was a bargain. Today, you should be able to get a super stud for less than what you've payed for 2 yr olds. Out of 4 colts, 2 or 3 may be disappointing, but do the math with what you can sell them for and you'll still get your really good one for a comparative bargain.

We have a similar dilema facing us in deciding what to breed our mare to. The temptation is strong to go for the gold, but with the risk in AI or embry transfer, it could be a costly bit of experience.

I am hoping others with knowlege in this area can shed light on stallion selection, AI or embryo transfer for both of us!
 
JF Ranch said:
Roper AB,



The bigger question gets back to the subject line of this thread: what stallion? My recommendation is to select the best stud you can find in a price range you can afford, but... don't be afraid to spend some money. Quality counts.

You may have followed my posts concerning the mare we took to the World Show. She was out of an unproven yet well bred mare that I had, but by the best stud I had ever seen. Frosty Feature's stud fee at that time was $500 plus mare care, which seemed high to me at the time, but I gave him a try and the rest is history. That fee was a bargain. Today, you should be able to get a super stud for less than what you've payed for 2 yr olds. Out of 4 colts, 2 or 3 may be disappointing, but do the math with what you can sell them for and you'll still get your really good one for a comparative bargain.

We have a similar dilema facing us in deciding what to breed our mare to. The temptation is strong to go for the gold, but with the risk in AI or embry transfer, it could be a costly bit of experience.

I am hoping others with knowlege in this area can shed light on stallion selection, AI or embryo transfer for both of us!
Click to expand...

Well if I breed her im under the impression I cant ride her for the first month, then on the last 4 months before she foals I cant ride her. Then its another 4 months until the foal is weaned that I cant<wont> ride her. Then im thinking its going to be a while before I get her into condition again.
Its looking like with stud fees, then booking fees, mare care, traveling costs, plus your reg. vet bills, feed bills for the whole year and a half that I cant be using her. Well if I do breed her im going to be looking at probable somewhere between $2000-$2500 for a foal that might be deformed or get sick and die if our luck runs bad. I know it will probable be a great foal but there are no garantees.
Im going to look at a Zan parr Bar stud and Docs Contental. My horse is actually a zan parr bar mare <three generations ago so I guess there are 6 generations between my mare and the stud. Whats your thoughts on this?
Well here is another question. If I foal her here at home I wont have any other foals for it to buddy up with. Could I make it a run with panels so its a long side <other side of fence>of my other older horses?
To me this is a poor set up. The weanling should be running with other weanlings, they should grow up together until they are ready to be saddled.
They should be running in the hills and drinking out of creeks. If I try to keep that foal here I cant do that because I only have the one foal and my older horses will eat it if I put her in with them, so really I should take the foal after its weaned to a breeder that has other foals.
I also have to consult a vet about vaccinations. Im thinking I wont be able to vaccinate a broodmare for westnile? I dont know if breeding her affects other regular vaccines?
 
Hey RoperAB
It has been our experience that a mare (or Mother Nature) takes care of the foal size issue. As a general rule a mares first colt will be smaller, not always of coarse, but its not like it is with cattle. On the vaccinating for westnile you need to do it at least 45 days prior to foaling and at least 45 after breeding. That is what our vet says anyway.
 
I've heeled calves on a mare a week before she foaled a little light work sure won't hurt them at all. Draft mares used to get the day they foaled off then back in the harness. I guesss I just let horses be horses-they run in a bunch-mares foal on the grass and the foals get socialized with other horses from birth on.We let the mares wean the foals off on their own. I think half the trouble with horses is that were trying to decide what's good for the horse instead of letting the horses show us. Same as running horses with cattle-the brood mares winter with the cows and I never have behavioral troubles between them. It's them shut up in a pen barn soured suckers that you can't let out from under your thumb-I think you've pretty much talked yourself out of breeding her anyway-remember perceived dangers are always worse than real ones. Mind you mine are just lowly ranch horses not the upper crust but I'm sure some of what works for them might work for others.
 
RoperAB said:
If my mares dam was a good broodmare does that mean that chances are my mare will be pretty good?
If I breed her this spring as a 5 yo for the first time is it more risky if I use a larger stallion?
Example my mare would be about 15.2hh <never measured her> but she isnt the heaviest horse around. Now there is a stallion not so far from here thats a good 16hh and im guessing 1400lbs. Should I look for a smaller stallion?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

My only fear would be that the foal matures to be too big. My experience with big studs is as often as not the foal ends up larger than the stud. Might have just been my luck though. And maybe you want a monster heading horse. I'm no team roper, so I like 'em a little shorter.
 
Silver said:
RoperAB said:
If my mares dam was a good broodmare does that mean that chances are my mare will be pretty good?
If I breed her this spring as a 5 yo for the first time is it more risky if I use a larger stallion?
Example my mare would be about 15.2hh <never measured her> but she isnt the heaviest horse around. Now there is a stallion not so far from here thats a good 16hh and im guessing 1400lbs. Should I look for a smaller stallion?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

My only fear would be that the foal matures to be too big. My experience with big studs is as often as not the foal ends up larger than the stud. Might have just been my luck though. And maybe you want a monster heading horse. I'm no team roper, so I like 'em a little shorter.
Click to expand...

This Zann Parr Bar/Docs Contental stud is only 15.2HH.
I dont know it seems like if somebody wants a smaller horse and he buys a colt it will keep growing and growing until its 16hands. Then if somebody like me buys a two year old and hopes that it will get taller it will quit growing as soon as I buy it :lol:
My ideal horse would be about 15.3 hands, heavy boned but not a tank. Maybe take a #1 shoe, good whithers, small head. Guess it would be easier for me to post a picture sometime.
 
I posted a picture in the photo gallery. Hopefully this link will work?
http://www.ranchers.net/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/828/limit/recent
 

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