I can’t believe it’s almost 2025 already! Breeding and foaling season will be here before we know it. What does everyone have going on this year?
I only have one in foal for 2025, after a 2024 season that had more twists, turns, and drops than any roller coaster I’ve ever ridden. Lots of big plans for this year, though, including my first embryo transfer. I’m not sure whether I’m an eternal optimist or a masochist!
AM Dazzling Carina (Al Marah Horatio x AM Dazzling Dizzy by Opalo) is due June 3rd. She is in foal to an AQHA stallion named Countrys Top Gun (Country Little Lena x Judges Roany Rosey by Line Judge). I don’t know who was more shocked when she settled on one cover with no more prep than counting six days after a shot of Lutalyse and hauling her over to be bred, my vet or me! Fingers and toes crossed, but her pregnancy has been blissfully uneventful so far. This will be her 7th foal but her first with me (I purchased her in April 2024). If all continues to go well and she has no complications foaling, the plan is to breed her to E Zee Slider +// (Hesa Zee x Zee Starlight by Zee Impressive) and hope she gives me a keeper filly before retiring. I have some questions about her previous breeding/foaling history and will be traveling for work the first week of June, so the plan is for Carina to foal out at the repro clinic that will be doing most of my breeding work this year.
TCR Accidentaly Dunit (Shiner Dun It x SAS Arielle by Al Marah Horatio) will be bred to Major Mac V (Maclintock V x Majors Tiffany GA by DS Major Afire) on a LFG breed back after she lost her 2024 filly in a dystocia this past April. I waffled for a long time about what I wanted to do with Sydney after the heartbreak of losing the filly. But multiple vets have assured me that what happened was almost certainly a freak occurrence. I took a deep breath and decided to give it another go - though she will absolutely be foaling out in a clinic setting, assuming she conceives, out of an abundance of caution.
SAS Arielle (Al Marah Horatio x AM Daphne Ho by AM Fond Friar) will be bred to Zee Kahili +++// (Mexicali Mac V x Zees Kopy Kat by Zee King) via embryo transfer. After a very frustrating couple of breeding seasons, including a pregnancy loss between days 26 and 48 this year, we pulled an endometrial biopsy on Arielle that came back a IIB (10-50% chance of carrying a foal to term). I do not want to make a habit of breeding via ET - I think having my super good-minded mares raising their own babies is so, so helpful - but both the stallion owner and I have sky high hopes for this cross, so I’m giving it a go. Unless someone comes along who wants to buy an embryo out of her in the future, this will be Arielle’s last foal (she’s had 5). She and I will be showing next year, as well; the only upside of her fertility issues has been discovering what fun she is to ride and show.
Arielle and Sydney have been wearing Equilume masks for about two weeks now in hopes that I can get the breeding season started in March instead of April this year.
What does everyone else have coming up in 2025? It’s going to be a loooooong wait until June for me; I need some distractions!