love_casper
Well-Known Member
VERY excited to announce we'll have our first home-bred foals next year! I've owned Freedom for 2 years now, but due to 2 moves and a colic surgery on another horse, didn't have the time or space. But NOW I'm home all day on 17 acres and life is good.
So mare #1 - teased her daily for two weeks until she finally came into heat. And when she's in, it's pretty obvious, as she was pestering a quarter horse gelding and peeing on the barn floor, AND mounting the mini gelding. On the second day of her cycle, Monday, I hand bred her. She peed for him from about 100 feet away when she saw him coming, and it all went just fine. Better than I expected even, since it was his first time.
Tuesday got Mare #2. All went well.
Wednesday, I tried going for mare #1 again (plan being to breed them every other day until end of cycle) and she absolutely wanted nothing to do with him. Acted like she does when she's not in heat, but it didn't really seem like she was out of it. She was walking around with her tail up, not peeing much, but she seemed like she was still in heat, just did NOT want to be bred. This mare is an experienced broodmare with 6 foals.
Today: Teased Mare #1 again.... nothing. Today she doesn't even act in heat. And Freedom's beginning to KNOW who's in heat, as I had to use him to tease the mares that weren't interested in the gelding .... he would stand right next to a mare not in heat, and be way more interested in grass. In heat, he screams when they walk into the barn, and starts getting excited about 20 feet away. And today I had her on one side of the fence and brought him over, and he didn't so much as whinny at her. But we got mare #3 done after that. Funny, nobody's in heat and then they ALL come in at the same time.
I'm quite certain that we bred her (mare #1) on day 2 of her cycle, and usually it lasts more than just two days, I've noticed from years of cleaning her stall lol. Would the effect be that immediate if she actually got in foal on the first try? Or is this just an abnormally short cycle? Or is she just playing hard to get? Anyone had that had a mare do this before???
Thanks!
So mare #1 - teased her daily for two weeks until she finally came into heat. And when she's in, it's pretty obvious, as she was pestering a quarter horse gelding and peeing on the barn floor, AND mounting the mini gelding. On the second day of her cycle, Monday, I hand bred her. She peed for him from about 100 feet away when she saw him coming, and it all went just fine. Better than I expected even, since it was his first time.
Tuesday got Mare #2. All went well.
Wednesday, I tried going for mare #1 again (plan being to breed them every other day until end of cycle) and she absolutely wanted nothing to do with him. Acted like she does when she's not in heat, but it didn't really seem like she was out of it. She was walking around with her tail up, not peeing much, but she seemed like she was still in heat, just did NOT want to be bred. This mare is an experienced broodmare with 6 foals.
Today: Teased Mare #1 again.... nothing. Today she doesn't even act in heat. And Freedom's beginning to KNOW who's in heat, as I had to use him to tease the mares that weren't interested in the gelding .... he would stand right next to a mare not in heat, and be way more interested in grass. In heat, he screams when they walk into the barn, and starts getting excited about 20 feet away. And today I had her on one side of the fence and brought him over, and he didn't so much as whinny at her. But we got mare #3 done after that. Funny, nobody's in heat and then they ALL come in at the same time.
I'm quite certain that we bred her (mare #1) on day 2 of her cycle, and usually it lasts more than just two days, I've noticed from years of cleaning her stall lol. Would the effect be that immediate if she actually got in foal on the first try? Or is this just an abnormally short cycle? Or is she just playing hard to get? Anyone had that had a mare do this before???
Thanks!
Last edited by a moderator: