Can I whine?

[ChrystalPaths]

Ok, here I am alone this year. Bad back, bad neck, female problems, hotter than heck and all of a sudden my mares are in full blown embarrassing heat. My stallion is a virgin and is going totally nuts. If he could fit it through a 1" mesh he'd be doing it.

So I'm thinking...big trouble right there. How can I do this alone? My daughter has always been here for breeding, even last year with being preggers!

So..I take candidate #1 mare(Thera) into the stallion pasture with a halter on and leave her there. No worries, no panic...ok..off to get the idiot,er stallion

. I put the "breeding halter" on him (has a nice chain over and under the nose) and we walk out towards his pen. (NOW picture this ok?) He stops, stands so pretty....what does he see? A vision of lovliness in HIS pen...no way.

He whinnies and YES..she answers. OMG it's a miracle he thinks. A woman FOR ME!!!!

He actually walked with his neck arched and his tail up and his knees up....my kingdom for a pic of that....to his gate. We walk through..still ok. I think..this is great! He's listening to me.

Then his lady love comes trotting up. Sniff sniff...OOOOOOOOOOOO you smell wonderful...so do you big fella. Man I am so excited says Glow, well you just take you T I M E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know it. He's on her like a rocket to a flame. She's confused by this attack and kicks him whilst I pull him down. He's not even...shall we say...ready? We appraoch her again. That blonde haired beauty. They kiss and sweet talk, I'm smiling. He nips she squeals. He approaches her side

she stands....he's all excited now

BUT he can't hit the target.

He tries again and again. I can't get ahold of IT and hold him and the mare and.......................................................................................it didn't happen.

We tried.

Now we have to try to separate these 2 potential lovebirds. Ya right. I tie him with a slip knot, catch the mare and we walk to the gate and it's SUPER MARE to the rescue of her best friend.

Treasure the wonder horse. All 36" of her is gonna beat the tar out of this guy for messin with her best girlfriend. NOW it gets fun. He gets untied, darn slip knots. I've got 2 mares beating the tar out of poor virgin Glow and he's lovin it!

Thank God I put a 12 ft lead on him cuz I caught the knot ducked behind his pine tree and did the old western snub! Stopped that bad boy cold. SO I tied him with BIG KNOT to the pine tree and one by one got the girls OUT of his paddock, ran down and unhaltered him and he's a sweaty mess.

Took the halter of my femm fatale (yes that's right! Debbie does not leave halters on anyone anymore ain't ya proud of me! Course it was heck trying to catch Treasure the 36" wonder horse with just a lead line.)

Now I can hardly move. Can't begin to tell you how much I hurt. Still off the pain meds but guess what? I have 3 stashed for an emergency. Do you figure this qualifies? Me too.

All this took place between 5:30 am and 6 am. I did manage to clean stalls, hey I can be wonder woman too.

Nah, I just knew when I sat down I would have a hard time getting back up again.

Does anyone care to tell me emphatically that I should separate my young kids and throw caution to the wind and leave that Glow with my breeding mares? I have ALWAYS hand bred. If I wrap tails do you think he can manage not to get killed and get the job done. I love being on my own but man o man I didn't see this one coming.

I miss Hopes!

Oh yea, I still have my sense of humor...hope you enjoyed my saga!

 

[minimomNC]

So sorry for all of your problems, I had the same ones this year to start with. but we worked them out finally. YOu might try tying the mare too. Then bring him to her, not let her come to him. That way you know you are working in the space the lead lets her go not the entire pen. Once he gets the hang of it, he will be fine. I hand bred two mares first to teach him some manners and then put him in the pasture with both mares. He was great with them and i do believe both are in foal, ultrasound will tell for sure.

Good luck and please be careful. Breeding is not worth hurting yourself.

 

[CharmedMinis]

Hey Debbie thanks for the Friday morning giggle

I always hand breed by myself.

Here is what I do..............

Take mare into breeding pen, yup I have a seperate breeding pen. Tie her head in a corner. Wrap her tail.

Go get the stallion and lead him into the breeding pen, and I handle the stallion while the mare is tied up.

I won't pasture breed with my stallions and mares, I'm just too afraid of injury to either the mare or stallion.

Good Luck

 

[midnight star stables]

CharmedMinis i like your ideas & i tottaly agree w/ you

good luck w/ breeding

 

[justaboutgeese]

Well after he has the deed done he will no longer be inexperienced. As far as him missing the target, trust me when she is that ready she will put it where he can get at it. In the meantime you do need to remember that at our ages things take much longer to heal. You mentioned about the getting back up again. I can still get back on my feet but I sound like a bowl of Rice Chrispies.

 

[bob r]

pasture breeding sounds great about this time!!!! they will usually get the job done even without our help and the girls will usually teach him some manners.

 

[Lauralee]

I very much agree with bob r.

Pasture breeding will teach him a whole new perspective, compliments of the mares. Young stallions NEED that learning, and the mares are the best teachers.

 

[minimule]

Deb I think you have every right to WHINE anytime you want!!!!

I personally hand breed all of mine but sometimes I wish I had the facilities to allow pasture breeding. Our hand breeding is very successful but I've heard that pasture breeding is sometimes more so!

This young fellow WILL figure it out. My 2 yr old did it on his own. A good experienced mare will teach the youngster what he needs to do.

We had a 26.75" stallion here that I was breeding to a 34" mare. That was interesting!

I actually had to lift him a little and hold him in place 'til he was done.

He had bred mares without any problems on his own too.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Thanks all. Knew I could count on you all. Vic, you are SO right and I will never be 100% again. Abd sge is just beginning her heat cycle so I realize it isn't quite the "moment".

Shawna...I DO have perfect pastures for breeding but haven't really done it. We had Keesha teach Hopes when he was 2 in hand then let him have her in the pasture. I shall try later when it cools off tying her.

Thanks for the tip Lindsey, I have a good sturdy post I'll try.

Minimom, I thank you also, one of these days a round pen would be SO wonderful.

I'm having a wine cooler at 1:30 in the afternoon (feeling very naughty) but I hurt and I'm so hot and tired and sore. Think after this I'll have a NAP

I feel like a newbie, No offense intended towards any one new. I just wish I were whole and healthy again. Sure wish there was a mini person nearby. Sigh.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Deb, you know that, until I bought Cody, I always hand bred- big horses and little. Cody will cover in hand but not willingly and not very well- he HAD to with the visitors as NO way will I have Evil Edna and her friends out with my precious foals

but it was under duress and as a favour to me!! I ALWAYS tie up the mare, never have her loose as she will wander off at the MOST inopportune moment leaving him floundering, which does NOTHING for the ego!! I also do not cover in their own field/paddock/lot, whatever- Pavlov's dogs have got NOTHING on my stallions- all they ever did was salivate- I do not have to tell you what my stallions all did as soon as they got near their "Breeding Patch"

So- take your medications, have a strong drink (at least two hours later) Give Glow a strong drink, and try again. I would never leave a colt to find out for himself, some mares would kill him, some mares would get hurt- and your precious babies would be in the middle. Also, as you have an over dominant mare there anyway, you need to ultra careful she does not attack him at the moment of truth!!!

 

[qtrrae]

dimi,

You gave me a chuckle and I think many of us can identify with you. Wish I were closer to help out.

I also have to do the breeding by myself. Last year I only hand bred with our 2 yr. old cremello stallion-I actually put the mare into his paddock and held her on a lead line leaving him free to experiment. He was wonderful with the mares.

Now, this year as a 3 year old I put him in the pasture, there were 2 mares in heat at the time, he was so "full of himself" and thought he was king of the herd. It didn't take long before the "Boss Mare" had put him in his place, he actually came running over to me, like "please save me from those girls" We went back into our own paddock, did some hand breeding and then tried turning him out again. He is now the PERFECT gentleman, he respects the mares and is wonderful with the babies!

I just love this little stallion-he has an awesome disposition, I will be soooo anxious to see his foals in 2006.

Enjoy that wine cooler!! You deserve it!!!

 

[justjinx]

Dimimore--

I sometimes have to handbreed by myself with my 2 year old colt/stallion. I take the mare to a special breeding spot, tie her securely in an emergency release knot, then bring my sweetie stallion to her. It has worked great and my 2 yr old has covered his 3 mares for this year.

jennifer

 

[Margo_C-T]

Dimi-

Love your descriptive abilities; sympathize with your situation!

"Pasture breeding" seems to me to always be a calculated risk; it is not really that unless you actually have LOTS of "pasture"-that is, SPACE-and safely-fenced, at that. Only you can decide whether you feel comfortable with trying such a thing-but-the bigger the area, the betterI strongly feel-as long as it isn't just a dirt lot-and as I said, is safely fenced. Lots of things should be factored into deciding,including the age, temperment, and character of all the horses that will be together in the pasture, freedom of the area from obstacles that could be hazardous when the horses are excited/milling, etc., etc., etc.! Putting a stallion with one or more mares in a pen or paddock, even if it is of good size, is NOT a "pasture breeding" situation; IMO,should not be thought of as such-and is not something I personally would do.

I ALWAYS handled the breeding alone. I built a teasing fence-solid wood, I could adjust the height, at first-later, I made do by tying the stallion inside of a run, on one side of a strong pipe gate-the stallion could reach through the gate to sniff, talk, and nip, but NO WAY could he do more. The two horses were never unattended; I was always there. I would tie the mare to the outside of the gate, the stallion to the inside(A:WAYS with quick-release knots, of course). Where the mare was, was enclosed in a paddock situation-even if either horse got loose, there was no "running off". I would slip into the run where the stallion was tied, and could wash him, once he was erect, then slip back out, wrap the mare's tail and wash her(plain warm water and their own individual clothes, only!), then, if the mare was clearly ready, bring the stallion out, and let him cover, as the mare braced against the gate-sometimes I would have to steady one or the other. When the stallion dismounted, I would drop his lead, untie the mare, and lead her quickly out of the paddock, leaving the stallion grazing, and shutting the gate behind us. Though it's sometimes considered unnecessary nowadays, I did, and still would, lead the mare around for just a couple of minutes, then unwrap her tail and return her to her own place. Then, I'd go back and get the stallion, and put him back where HE lived. The breeding area was somewhat separate from where either animal actually lived, so going there came to have a specific meaning, esp. for the stallion. I did not bother with a "special" halter for the stallion; taking him to that location told him what we were about to do. If breeding hobbles were needed, I put them on the mare and let her walk around and get accustomed to them before snugging them up and tying her for the teasing and washing ritual. Worked quite well....sometimes a chain under the jaw was needed on the stallion, not always-and nothing more.

Good luck, and be careful! Don't let them cause you harm....

 

[capall beag]

Hi Deb!

You poor thing! I hope someone gave you a big hug!

Your story was very well told and amusing BUT I am sure it was not so funny for you!!

If I lived closer I would be there in a flash to help you!

However, I will tell you what I do.

As mentioned before my husband pretends the horses do not exist, literally!!

So I never get any help with anything! That is OK but I make decisions based on this!

I would never hand breed, I just cannot imagine trying alone and I always have people dropping by and they are rarely horsey people. This is a smallish town and the gossip would fly if anyone saw me doing this, heaven knows what they would think I was doing!!!!

So I put the mare and stallion loose together but in a small pen. My stallion is young and not very experienced, he gets the job done no problem even with a larger mare! The only caution with this IME is that the mare must be really ready or the stallion can get a real whooping! But if the timing is right the mare will be VERY helpful and accomodating! My stallion gets his job done and then all is well and I seperate them again. I have had no injuries and he settled the mare on her first heat. Like I said I have no other options so this works well and it is not stressful for anyone involved!

My stallion is not very aggressive with the mares but he gets the job done!!

If I were you I would just turn them out together.

Gotta run my son just took his diaper off and pooped in his crib!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Ha Fiona..that emergency has me beat...I needed that laugh!

 

[auledasacres]

You need to submit this to Marty for the doufus award. It was so cute reading this. I am sorry for all the troubles you have been having.

I wanted to share that our virgin stallion was just histrical when he bred his first mare this year. Actually fell a sleep while on top and then slipped off straight to the ground. She turned and looked at him like he has lost his mind of something. She had no patience for his problems.

He also mounted with nothing going on underneath, and when he did get aroused couldn't find the right place.

Keep trying, don't give up, maybe ask the neighbor to help you.

Thanks for the laugh,

Smiles

Traci

 

[capall beag]

Traci,

That is hilarious!!!!!!!!!

Deb,

I hope you are feeling better, you poor thing! Don't you have anyone who lives nearby who can help???

I hope you are relaxed now and can take a break! After all that did he get her bred???

Boys, Boys, Boys.... What are we going to do with them!!

My little boy thought he was hilarious with his diaper off and all the ...... EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But he is so darn cute I can't be mad!!