WLS
Well-Known Member
I would like to know how to get mares and a stallion live happily together. We have been breeding minis since 1994, and always hand breed because I like to know exactly when foal will arrive. I guess I like to be in control of foaling season!! But we have tried pasture breeding over the years and the stallion always ends up getting beat up. So I have the mares on one side of the fence, and the stud on the other side of the fence, and they seem to get along well. When a mare comes into heat, she starts teasing the stud through the fence, so we do our hand breeding till the mare is out of season. All goes well.
But this year we have one mare who has never come into heat, and did not get bred last year either. So I had this brilliant brain wave, I would let the three mares assigned to our 5 year old stud, run together and business would be taken care of. Two of the mares have already been bred by this stud over a month ago, and I was convinced they had settled.
Yesterday, I let the stud in with the three mares and what a circus. The stud took off after the one bred bred mare and was determined she needed breeding immediately!!! I think he actually got her on the run. The second mare, decided she should defend her friend, and kicked the stars and stripes out of the stud all while he was raping the 1st mare. Stallion never missed a beat.!!
The 3rd very shy mare stood and watched the entire circus going on around her, with her tail up over her back and peeing like crazy. This mare was in dead heat, and neither I nor the stallion noticed this. So after the stud got kicked up pretty bad by the two bred mares, he noticed the mare "in dead heat", ran over, jumped her and she was bred in like 30 seconds. And he managed to breed her three times before I got them parted. Note: This stallion is a wonderful boy for hand breeding, gets his job done and nice to the mares and respects me as the handler.
So what is the secret to having the stud run with the mares? I can't stand the chasing, squealing, kicking and worry about broken bones and kicked out eyes........all known as "vet bills". Life would be so much easier if they could all live together over the summer months, but does not seem to happen at my place. What am I doing wrong?
But this year we have one mare who has never come into heat, and did not get bred last year either. So I had this brilliant brain wave, I would let the three mares assigned to our 5 year old stud, run together and business would be taken care of. Two of the mares have already been bred by this stud over a month ago, and I was convinced they had settled.
Yesterday, I let the stud in with the three mares and what a circus. The stud took off after the one bred bred mare and was determined she needed breeding immediately!!! I think he actually got her on the run. The second mare, decided she should defend her friend, and kicked the stars and stripes out of the stud all while he was raping the 1st mare. Stallion never missed a beat.!!
The 3rd very shy mare stood and watched the entire circus going on around her, with her tail up over her back and peeing like crazy. This mare was in dead heat, and neither I nor the stallion noticed this. So after the stud got kicked up pretty bad by the two bred mares, he noticed the mare "in dead heat", ran over, jumped her and she was bred in like 30 seconds. And he managed to breed her three times before I got them parted. Note: This stallion is a wonderful boy for hand breeding, gets his job done and nice to the mares and respects me as the handler.
So what is the secret to having the stud run with the mares? I can't stand the chasing, squealing, kicking and worry about broken bones and kicked out eyes........all known as "vet bills". Life would be so much easier if they could all live together over the summer months, but does not seem to happen at my place. What am I doing wrong?