The breeding stallion & fertility

[Riverrose28]

I have consigned four mares to a sale and am currently breeding them to my Champion stallion to insure I get the best money possable. Hubby bought this guy as a weanling and he knows how to behave and the word wait, which is great for me, cause I can take him in with mares in season and as long as I say wait, he waits. In the past we have teased the mares to him then taken the mares back to the breeding paddock, then taken him back there and turned him loose to pasture breed. Only problem with that is they are all together for three months and even if I sit back there all day I don't know which mare is bred, or on what date. So since I need to get these mares bred and know the date so they can be sono'd I thought I would try something more controlled. I brought the four mares into the indoor arena and put them in stalls, I put the stallion in the round pen, he also has a stall away from the mares. I tease the mare and when she is receptive I put her in the cross ties, put the stallion in his stall. I then put the mare in his round pen with his smell, she shows signs there as well, then put the stallion in with her. I allow them to breed twice, then call him and take him out. Go about my day. Well yesterday, two mares were showing full blown estrus. So I bred him to one, then went back a couple of hours later and let him breed the other mare. In your opinion, am I over doing it? How many mares can he bred in a day and maintain fertility? I have also increased his feed intake, and alfalfa. All info will be appreciated, been breeding since 1985 but only a couple a year, I don't want to over do my stallion he is worth the world to us.

 

[disneyhorse]

I have heard its best to breed two mares every other day if two are in at the same time, so the stallion is covering once daily. If you want to cover every day, I'd do one in the morning and one in the evening.

 

[Riverrose28]

Thank you, I will only breed one today and the other one tomorrow. The first one to show estrus I bred her every other day for three times and she is still showing, I told her she will need to wait. The other one is showing nothing, but a little tail swishing, she is not a maiden. That is what I did yesterday let him breed one then waited till evening and let him breed the other, but I was concerned about the amount of sperm, fertility, so to speak. I'll take your advice, thank you.

 

[Windhaven]

It is very early in the breeding season and these mares are probably in their transition heat cycle and this heat cycle is usually very long (around 2 weeks) and doesn't produce a fertile folicle. MOST mares don't take in their transition heat.

It does depend on the age of the stallion also, in how much you breed with him. A stallion in his prime and no fertility problems would not have a problem with breeding two mares a day. One in the morning and one in the evening.

Also, normally it is recommended you shouldn't start breeding mares until their third or fourth day of their heat cycle. And you only need to breed them every other day. Sperm usually last 48 to 72 hours in a mare, so every other day is enough.

So if you have two mares in heat just breed one a day.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

A stallion produces so many sperm per minute, so the farther apart the breedings, the better. Also, the less fluid inside the mare (including the stallion's fluids) the easier it is to get her pregnant. Fluid = inflamation = less fertility. The best ideal way to breed is one covering every other day. If you have two mares, ideally you'd breed them on alternating days, so the stallion gets to breed one mare every 24 hours. That way you'll maximize his quality and minimize her fluid buildup. If you have more than 2 mares, things get more complicated. You do not need to breed each mare more than once every other day, anything additional is overkill and can actually decrease your chances.