Equestrian Life Magazine February 2018 Edition

horse health
To Breed or not to Breed - That is the question
As there are snowdrops
popping up through
the snow in my garden
today, Spring must
be around the corner. hard to
believe when the weather is so
cold and wet. Mud is everywhere.
Thoughts turn to new starts and
new beginnings. The production
of a foal. Planning the use of
Stallions rippling with muscle
and shining with testosterone in
the advertisement photos.
All people with a passion
for horses do this, we can’t
help it. The most important
consideration however is Why do
we want to do this?
You only have to go to a Horse
Market or look at some Internet
sites to realise that all these
horses and ponies that were
bred with good intent are now
virtually valueless.
When they have little or no value
they may not be looked after
well making their lives hard and
lacking in quality.
Don’t misunderstand me, I have
clients with old or financially low
value horses and ponies, which
lack for nothing - these are the
lucky ones.
So should you give in to
temptation and have a go?
For example, if you own a
successful mare with good
temperament and conformation
you should look for a high
achieving stallion to create a foal
worth having which in turn is
more likely to have a good life.
I have five Dutch KWPN horses,
they are all closely related.
They have similar trainable
temperaments, body shapes,
movement and colour. All have
come from specific studs in
Holland that breed for these
traits.
If you own a registered KWPN
mare in Holland that mare must
undergo assessment as to her
suitability to breed. If she passes,
you will be told by the KWPN
Society which Stallions you may
use.
Aiming constantly for
improvement. If you do not
adhere to this the foals are not
registerable in the KWPN stud
book so have little value.
Should we do this? Yes I think
that we should.
The result would be breed
improvements. All mares and
stallions undergoing grading and
assessment with expert panels
advising on stallion suitability.
Surely this is the way forward.
Too many horse owners have
a mare that they fancy a foal
out of. The mare may be out of
work due to an injury caused
by a conformational, inherited
problem or may be of poor
character and temperament- too
difficult to ride.
Why would you want to breed
with these mares? sending
the problem into the next
generation.
It cannot be for financial gain
as the cost of keeping the mare,
then mare and foal, then foal
until four years old is often way
more than the youngster’s value.
There are too many poor quality,
unregistered stallions out there
being used because they are just
around the corner and don’t
require Contagious Equine
Metritis swabs or any other
expense. It is too easy to breed
rubbish with no future.
So consider this:-
• Why do you want a foal,
for what purpose? not just
because it will be cute.
• Is your mare conformationally
correct and has a lovely
temperament?
• No inherited problems and is
disease free.
• Are you looking to grade your
mare with a society, allowing
experts to look critically at her,
Brilliant!
• Then choose a top quality,
graded stallion, Excellent!
• But if she does not have these
qualities STOP NOW.
Do you have suitable facilities to
cope with a pregnant mare?
Separated from gelding for the
first few months after covering.
Able to fulfil her increasing
nutritional needs especially
during the last third of
pregnancy.
Then the man hours of
waiting...... Mares can go a
month over their expected date,
can you sit up with her that long?
Being close by to intervene if
necessary during birth.
The worry is of a bad foaling,
losing the foal or the mare or
both. Do you have time to bottle
rear a foal day and night? It is a
huge commitment.
Hopefully I have managed to put
off breeding to anyone who has
not previously considered these
factors.
My carriage driving idol George
Bowman senior once told
“You can always buy what you
want but you rarely breed what
you want”. Sound advice.
Chris Jamieson - Morley Vets.
Morley Veterinary
Practice Limited
24 hour Emergency Service
WE OFFER: Yard visits or examinations at our clinic
Vaccinations • Microchipping and Pass-porting
Digital X-rays – at clinic or mobile • Ultrasound
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Surgical facilities • Opthalmology • Stocks
Holiday livery for your horse • In-house laboratory
Parking for trailers & horseboxes
Also small animal practices at 28-30 Lower Stanton
Road, Ilkeston 01159 329322 and
261 High Lane East,West Hallam 01159 326056
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