I have been toying with the idea of breeding my mare. While doing research on the whole process, stallions, etc., I have come across people who have told me not to do it. So I am curious if anyone regretted breeding their mare.
No. I have to thank my family for putting up with me and 4 foals. Nothing beats babies in the straw come spring time. And it completely rounded out my horsemanship. Especially if you KEEP them long enough to learn from the WHOLE process; how they turn out, learn the growth cycles, the training challenges - who they grow up to want to be. Like children. But, big buts ā¦
It is expensive, time consuming and 100% a gamble. It can be heartbreaking. Now in my elder wisdom it is cost effective to go buy a well bred 3-4 yr old. I just never had that kind of money in a chunk. I had to do it the installment plan. At 3-4 you can more aptly evaluate who they are. Whether their best use suits your interests, how sound they are, how trainable.
First question would be do you have the facilities to raise a foal? It could be an expensive board out situation. And raising a lone foal has itās problems. Do you have an experienced mentor? A GOOD vet?
1 Like
Thank you for your response! I do have good mentors, worked at a breeding farm in high school and learned as much as I could about the process. My vet is amazing and would seek his advice and referral.
The first (maybe only foal) I plan to keep but also do everything keeping the need to sell in mind. I unfortunately would be doing a board out situation but thankfully my Dad is strangely game for this and has offered his help. I also have a friend who breeds and would be more than comfortable sending my horse there.
The owner of a farm that I taught lessons at had said āFools breed horses, smart people buy what they want as there are no guarantees one will get what he/she actually wants.ā She bred TBs.
I bred and raised nine foals and showed them, each was different in his/her own way and worked at two breeding farms. I had my colts gelded at Cornell University as they had a low cost gelding program but ended up with three dwarf foals with my minis (one was stillborn) and one miscarriage. It is a lot of time and money invested to lose a foal or end up with one that has a deformity. I also had one foal positioned wrong - she would not have made it and the mare could have diedā¦I had my son call the veterinarian while I repositioned the foal and got her out safely and the veterinarian said it would have been a challenge for her. I was very lucky.
Still, feeling those foals kick in utero, waiting and watching for the moment of birth (one of my mares was good at stumping me - somehow she knew I was watching the camera at night so she timed her deliveries during the day) and raising the foals to be good equine citizens with good manners was worth the losses.
I donāt regret breeding but it is not for the faint hearted. Would I do it again? Yes, if I had the facility, the right stallion and the monetary plan in place to support another big horse in my life, but then again, when I think about it, there are lots of TBs out there looking for homes and I would probably go that route if I needed another horse. 
I would be able to find another mare marked the way I wanted her to be. Just my very humble opinion.
2 Likes
@CoraāsMom thank you for your very humble opinion! Iām still debating the risks. Just trying to get as much info as possible to make an educated decision.
I agree with you about the TBs, and thatās why most of my horses have been off the track.
1 Like
Well when things go wrong or didnāt turn out as you had hoped everyone regrets that breeding so sure. When things go right you can end up with a horse that you could never afford to buy outright. Itās a crap shoot and absolutely will break your heart at some point.
13 Likes
Iāve loved every minute of my babies; Iād like one every year as I feel they are my forte - But there are the disappointments, the expenses, the waiting for a result that you have a pregnant mare, when she comes up empty.
Expenses add up mighty fast.
Buying your young one is the āsensibleā thing to do.
1 Like
We have bred some, been pretty happy with the results. We have also purchased a couple weanlings, from a breeder with a similar foal handling pattern to ourselves, with good results.
We are into driving horses, using Cleveland Bay horses. They need to be similar in height, way of going, willing to work with the other horses and us to make driving successful.
Starting with a foal, we handle them daily, they know what is expected of them, we get the voice commands instilled firmly. Driving uses a LOT of voice as an aid, you have no leg aids. We get to know each horse deeply, their reactions, develop the trust between us so they go willingly into odd, maybe scary places, because we ask them too. We have to be able to depend on each other all the time, doesnāt happen overnight or even in a few months with older horses driving. Just not the same āconnectionā as with ridden horses and being able to use your legs as an aid.
Also driving related, is how they get handled daily, stabled, being around other driving horses, that seems to make them more accepting when training starts. Certainly other horses drive very well doing things differently, but this works nicely for us. We make mistakes at times, these horses are pretty forgiving, patient, not explosive, because of their breeding and ā they were raised that way!ā
We just have not had as good of luck with purchasing older animals to drive. Those horses were EXCELLENT horses to ride, later competed in various disciplines. They just did not drive the way we needed from them or were not suitable at all for driving. They got sold on. One we raised grew too tall, HUGE stride, so he did not match all the rest. He drove well, but we donāt compete with single horses. He had to go which broke our hearts. He was very successful for his buyer who still has him 18 years later, loves him deeply. We get to visit and pet him! Ha ha Still a great horse.
We ābelieveā we know what we are doing in choosing mares and sires for our foals. We have our horses at home so things are pretty hands on all the time. No medical or deformed, problem foals, though one mare aborted after getting a bacterial infection. Could not carry to term, which was a heartbreaker because she was so nice and a good mother.
So far our methods are working for us. We have 4 stairstep young horses, 2yrs apart, getting ready to drive with the older horses after being polished as single driving horses. . The just turned, 2 and 4 yr old are not driving YET, but coming along nicely. Both fillies, and we expect good things from them as they develop. They would not be the same, as ready and accepting, without all the time we have put into them so far.
Your end goal can determine what you do to get your next horse. We feel the time breeding our own foals, then letting them grow with us, makes them better workers for OUR uses. They know and trust us to take care of them when things are scary! The two we purchased as foals are really nice, but they WERE quite expensive, canāt afford more. Yet the good Breeder has to get paid for their investment of mare, breeding expenses, daily handling time, to create such nice foals! I would gladly buy from them again, if we needed another horse!!
1 Like
I have no personal experience, but have been around as employers and friends have gone through the breeding process over the years. My takeaway is that you should only do it if you explicitly want that experience and enjoy the youngsters. Most of my acquaintances would not say that they flat-out āregretā breeding. But almost every single one would tell you that the horse they got was not the horse they hoped theyād get, for a variety of reasons including temperament, early or longer-term health and soundness issues, or ultimate talent for the intended discipline. So it didnāt āwork out,ā though certainly those youngsters all found their place in the world.
Obviously a lot of nice horses get bred every year, and maybe I just have a weird sample set. But I donāt think itās unusual for one-foal-a-year breeders to end up on the āunluckyā end of the spectrum as compared to bigger operations - just a numbers game in a lot of respects.
3 Likes
As the years have passed I breed less and less. At this point, I have a couple of special mares that are proven producers and experienced mothers and I donāt breed every year.
First of all, economically it doesnāt make sense. If you are boarding out, this is especially true. Breeding vet bills are invariably a LOT more than what you think. Good mare care and good foaling care and good mare & foal care is EXPENSIVE, and there is no way around the fact that it is even MORE expensive if you try to skimp on this.
Secondly, thereās the heartbreak and tragedy. Itās hard to watch mares and foals die, but it happens. Sometimes itās fast, sometimes you spend weeks with little sleep and $10,000 in vet bills first.
Thirdly, thereās a huge learning curve. I see a lot of first time breeders make a lot of mistakes. Also, whether you are boarding out or keeping the mare at home, broodmares and foals need specialized care and a specialized setup that can be difficult to get right. Handling is also a big issueāhandling and training foals is a totally different skill set than handling and training adult horses.
Fourthly, there are simply no guarantees you will get what you want. If you specifically want a jumper or a hunter or a dressage horse or an amateur friendly horseāthereās just no way to be sure that is going to happen. Thereās also no guarantee that you will even end up with a sound, healthy young prospect for any discipline. A lot can go wrong. Foals and young horses can have crooked legs requiring surgical intervention, conformation defects, septic arthritis with residual joint damage, OCDs, crippling but not lethal pasture accidents, etc. Itās entirely possible to spend a fortune on breeding and raising a foal only to end up with a pasture ornament.
3 Likes
I had 4 text book deliveries, 4 correct foals healthy into adulthood that didnāt injure themselves, all the inseminations we had done took first time. 4 is not any real sampling size! but I figured that the odds werenāt in my favor anymore :no:
1 Like
After seeing two friends have terrible outcomes, I personally would never breed. One gal lost her beloved mare in delivery and raising an orphan foal was extremely stressful. Foalās conformation was not well balanced (croup high) so not really a performance horse build she was looking for. Another friend had a stillborn foal after all the expectation, expense and heartache. You can spend a lot less buying what you want. As we all know, even that is a crapshoot sometimes when it comes to long term soundness, temperament, etc.
2 Likes
In the past my mom and I have gone in on several weanlings (all boys) and raised them at her farm until they became our riding horses or get sold. Our newest baby is coming two, and is our first girl. If she ends up being everything weāre hoping for as far as amateur friendly, sound and an A quality hunter then we may toy with the idea of breeding her someday.
I worked on a breeding farm for several years. I saw the heartache of an orphan foal, a still born foal, a weanling that was fatally injured, mares that were notoriously difficult to impregnate but who threw the nicest babies. But I also got to see adorable babies, saw them grow into 3, 4, 5 year olds and develop, saw how happy their new owners were when they came to pick them up. 15 years later Iāve still managed to keep track of several of them.
For us it would be for the experience. Financially if it was unsound or a dud, etc it wouldnāt break us. Just another avenue of horses outside of riding and competing.
I bred my mare and almost lost her. For all the money and heartache I refuse to ever breed another horse.
We are likely breeding our mare this year or next but she will have an embryo transfer and a recipient mare will carry and raise the foal if all goes well. In some ways it feels less risky since I donāt have to worry about losing my mare from the foaling but with the tremendously increased costs you want to make extra sure you choose wisely and it turns out well.
2 Likes
Thank you all for your comments. I do love the journey of bringing along the young ones but everyone has given me a lot to think about. My biggest fear would be losing my mare. Money lost on trying to get and keep a foal I could live with.
It really depends on your goals. If you love your mare and are breeding to replace her, then it may be worth it. If you are trying to correct her flaws and/or make money selling foals, IMO thatās unrealistic, because despite all your research into stallions, bloodlines, etc. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUāLL GET. I had a well-bred, quality mare that I loved dearly and wanted to breed her replacement. (With my vetās blessing, I have to add - she thought the world of her too.) I bred her three times to the a very high-quality stallion, with the plan of keeping the first foal and selling the others. To make a long story short, I sold all of the offspring. They were all beautiful, athletic, trainable etc, but none of them turned out to be like her. They got great homes and I actually made money. (This was really dumb luck and market timingā¦) But I wanted her replacement and it didnāt happen. Lesson learned. My heart horse could not be replaced. I had fun training them and donāt regret it at all but will not do again.
2 Likes
Oh it definitely wouldnāt be to make money! My goal is for the experience with the result of a nice horse. No intention of āreplacingā my mare or trying to get Marsey 2.0.
The boarding barn scenario is a nightmare. Foal was suppose to come home, but life changes. PM me if you want specifics.
I am with DLee, I could have done so so much more for my riding if I spent all of the money from the breeding on a broke horse to show, and a lot of the time I feel regret for that missed opportunity. Now, that I have so many youngsters, itās hard to justify buying a horse from outside my program. I also started with a loved mare who had an injury and just wanted more of her. I bred her 5 times with 4 pregnancies and 3 resulting horses. I have kept one of those as my main riding horse for now, but he is not much like her under saddle.
Also, because I am a rider and too sentimental, I fail miserably at selling any as babies, and you end up with a lot of horses that way. Itās a huge time commitment to make them all into useful citizens when you need a full time job away from horses to help pay for it all. I want to see how they are under saddle so I am perpetually riding three year olds and never have anything to move up my own goals with. While it is super rewarding to get them around their first course and to be complimented at the shows on how nice they look, it does get mentally and physically tough always being on a green horse at 2ā6".
I did make one that was much much fancier than anything I would ever be able to buy, but because she was so nice I had to sell her to recoup costs and in reality developing a horse like that was outside my means.
Iāve gone all in though on the breeding, itās hard to get out once youāre in. I really enjoy pedigree research the most. I love going to the watch the top hunters and grand prix horses then researching their breeding and seeing how I can try to replicate some crosses that I like. The flip side is I often think of liquidating all of the breeding stock to get a good 1.20m horse.
3 Likes
