Three bred, zero pregnant
None of the three mares bred this year are in foal. Ginger came back in heat first and Bev bred her back to her stallion.
Then Wadha turned not to be in foal to the Bahraini stallion of Jenny Lees, and that was a big disappointment after (or perhaps because of) all the work at the vet hospital, and she should have been back in heat but she is not. Not sure what’s going on there.
And now Pippa has come back in heat, not in foal to Tamaam. Lyman Doyle is going to be try a breeding to Kashgar again (photo below, from Lyman). I wish that could work, because I like him a lot.
If that does not work, I asked Lyman if he could try Buckner (photo below, also from Lyman), who has had a foal before. Buckner is an out-cross of sorts within the Doyle herd, as he brings in two close crosses to Greggan, two rare crosses to Subani, that cross to Serg, and that rare tail male to Ibn Gulribbon.
I really need to learn why mares are such infertile animals. Or it’s just mine.
Food is very important.
Instead of messing with supplements all the time, I have eliminated a lot of mineral issues by adding some 20% horse muesli in spring & summer and up to 40% in winter in my barley.
My horses look twice vital since I started feeding muesli.
If the Mares are older you may want to have them checked to see if the need caslicks.
best
Bruce Peek
It’s really frustrating, especially when the mares can’t be under your own eye, but I have to say they just don’t necessarily settle on the first try. It’s grand when they do, but I can testify it doesn’t always happen.
As a stallion manager I’ve found one of the most frustrating things is to have a visiting mare taken away after one cycle (not that I’m suggesting that’s what you’re doing).
Bruce, two of these are young maiden mares. With Ginger that might be something to look into.
I don’t know what the species-wide statistics are for mares settling, in the best of circumstances, but it is sure not close to 100%. Hang in there!
Maybe the vet is wrong on Wadhah, and she is not in heat for a reason. Of course, a good percentage of mares stop overtly cycling in the heat. Sometimes you just really really need to know your mares.
A one and done cover almost never works, IMO.
Mares by nature are made to breed every year in nature. We do that no more-all kinds of things can happen thickening of the reproductive tract ad finum. Try hair anyalasis may be the forage is defiecient in your area of production-common sense solutions also feeding and building mare from inside out. Stallion in residence are usually more successful as mares “fall in love’ over period of time-mares are like the pyramids-mysterious.
Edouard — I know the feeling well, and can only offer you my favorite observation: ‘Mare” is a four-letter word for a reason!