Breeding & Teasing

[Sandy B]

After being spoiled for the past 18 years with Artificial Insemination and a vet doing the breed work/ultrasounds on my full sized horses, I am a bit rusty with live cover & teasing although I handled a breeding stallion for many years eons ago. Last year, our first year breeding mini mares, we pasture bred and two out of three carried. This year I want actual breeding dates and have an idea when they are due. So Gracie and I are hand breeding all the mares. I know the cycle of a mare is approximately 21 days and that mares are in heat an average of a week and the out of heat for about 2 weeks. I also know that this varies greatly in mares. Now it is my understanding that the most accurate of times in a mares heat cycle is that of when she is out of heat which is that 2 week period. We have been teasing daily and have a couple mares that are past that 14 day time frame and from their last breeding date and not coming back in to heat so far. How much longer until I consider them "in foal" and can stop teasing them?

Thank you!

 

[targetsmom]

I sure don't rely much on the 14 days - I would say keep teasing to at least 21 days after last breeding to be safe, and if you are as paranoid as we are, we keep teasing every few days after that. I just had one come back in at about 18 days post last breeding. I read that showing heat 18 days or so post breeding CAN be due to an estrogen flash in a bred mare, so that is something to consider. Our mare stayed in heat and was rebred. But the best thing would be to get the mare(s) ultrasounded to see if they are in foal. We are doing the Wee Foal urine tests (3 for $95) at 38 days instead, so we have longer to wait.

GOOD LUCK!!!

ETA: Our mares haven't read ANY of the books: one stayed in heat for 18 days and we are at 12 days on another one. The latter one did that before (14 days) and did conceive, so do not give up if they stay in heat more than 7-8 days. Remember that they ovulate at the END of the heat cycle.

 

[JAX]

VERY rarely have I had my mares comes back into heat by day 14. Most all but one come back into heat from day 18-21.

 

[Sandy B]

OK, I had one mare stay in heat for two weeks, our stallion was getting tired of looking at her

, even though we bred her every other day she was back showing slight heat by 17 days after her last breeding date and then got stronger in heat as the 3rd day came so we covered her and she was only to happy to accept. We had another mare show very slight at day 16 post breeding with a tiny dribble and a few winks, but by the next couple days she has been showing nothing at all. I am just so spoiled when my large mares are ultrasounded at 15 days and no teasing has to be involved. I will look in to that Wee Foal test though.

Over the years I have had a couple different full sized mares show heat for many months through their pregnancies and I would freak and get the vet out to scan and they were still pregnant. This drove me crazy until I started seeing a growing baby bump. Their teasing was similar to that of a mare in real heat, but they tended to be a bit more vocal, so I did learn to recognize the difference.

We will continue to tease probably for 25-30 days post last breeding date just in case.