What it takes to breed horses:

Well-bred, athletic horses are the backbone of the equine industry, but the sacrifices made by the people who produce them are sometimes overlooked.

Well-bred, athletic horses are the backbone of the equine industry, but the sacrifices made by the people who produce them are sometimes overlooked.

The focus these days on the problem of unwanted horses has been a net positive, helping many horses find good homes and raising awareness about the toll of irresponsible breeding. But often lost in the discussion are the very real contributions that professional breeders make to the horse industry.

I’ve met many horsepeople who, if they think about horse breeders at all, tend to assume that we just put a mare and stallion together, and 11 months later a healthy foal is born. Of course, the reality is that very often things happen. The list of what can go wrong ---with the mares, the stallions, the pregnancies and the foals---is practically endless. And there are many costs. Most horsepeople, I find, have no idea how expensive it can be to manage breeding mares and stallions.

Not that I’m complaining. My husband and I have owned a small breeding farm---Sunset Sands Quarter Horses in Montello, Wisconsin---for more than 30 years. We specialize in all-around Quarter Horses who can show in a variety of disciplines. Currently, we own three breeding stallions and six mares, and in addition to the foaling services we offer to others, we raise four to six foals of our own each year. We work hard to find the perfect fit between our young horses and their new owners, and we often continue to receive positive feedback for years after the sale--which means we’ve done our job right. It’s very satisfying to know that our efforts have given someone such joy.

The contributions made to the horse industry by dedicated breeders---healthy, athletic, useful horses---are easy to see, but the time and resources their operations require is often much less obvious. And, truth be told, these things can be difficult to quantify. That’s why it’s worth considering the factors that can make or break breeding operations---as well as some of the costs involved. My hope is that, as you’re enjoying the companionship of your horse, occasionally you take a moment to appreciate the breeder who made your partnership possible.

Here is a brief look at some of the investments breeders make and the pitfalls they encounter when producing the next generation of horses.

Acquisition and management of breeding stock

The cost of buying high-quality mares and stallions varies widely by breed and region of the country, but an educated horseperson can probably guess at the investment a breeder has

in his stock. For stock horse breeds here in the Midwest, prices per horse are in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Some breeds are much more expensive. With this kind of investment, many breeders choose to insure their stock. Basic insurance is about 4 percent of the value of the horse, so the cost is about $400 per year on a $10,000 horse for a mortality policy that does not cover veterinary expenses.

Keeping stallions isn’t for everyone, so some breeders choose to own only mares. They select the best outside stallions to cross with their mares each year. Stud fees can range from $500 to $1,500 and up. If a mare goes to a local stallion for breeding, add the costs of a minimum of seven days of care plus travel expenses. Using shipped semen includes the costs of collection fees ($150 to $500 for each), at least two to three ultrasounds ($75 each), and a $125 insemination charge. If the mare doesn’t become pregnant on the first try, all of this must be repeated.

Breeders who own stallions often do on-farm artificial breeding. One reason for this is to maximize the safety of the stallion, the mare and the handlers. Another plus is that the stallion’s collection can be split to inseminate multiple mares so the number of times semen needs to be collected can be limited and his sperm counts do not become depleted. Also, artificial collection is the only way to offer shipped semen. Finally, a reputable breeder takes each collection and evaluates it under a microscope so he can tell you the quality and number of sperm. If a mare doesn’t conceive, this evaluation can help take the stallion out of the equation if something is wrong.

Performing semen collections and artificial inseminations requires many expensive supplies. A phantom---the device the stallion mounts after being teased by a mare---costs a minimum of $1,500. Add another $300 to $500 for the actual collection device used with the phantom, then add the costs of the microscope, incubator, centrifuge, filters, gloves, lube, syringes, pipettes, straws, slides, shipping containers, and most of all, a spotless lab to do the work in. Many breeders have thousands of dollars tied up in this equipment.

Basic care and feeding

Anyone who keeps a horse knows it isn’t cheap---multiply the cost of your hay, feed, supplies and other bills by the size of a larger breeding herd. It might seem like those who have farms large enough to grow their own hay are getting away with cheap feed, but they’ve made a huge investment in land, equipment and time. And they have to hope that it doesn’t rain at the wrong time and they haven’t spent the entire summer making hay they’ll have to sell off to cattle farmers.

In addition to buying hay and other feeds, pregnant mares and breeding stallions need vitamin and mineral supplements, all of which adds up to about $1,700 to maintain one horse per year. And that’s before we add in the deworming, hoof care, vaccinations and the annual dental exams for each horse. We also need to consider genetic testing for each horse, to eliminate the possibility of congenital diseases, and often additional tests for factors such as coat color or pattern so that the potential client is fully informed on what genes the sire or dam might carry.

Breeding complications

Countless factors go into picking the right stallion for the right mare. A responsible breeder takes the time to research pedigrees, show or race records, produce records, conformation faults, color patterns, dispositions and genetic diseases. Once a mare has been bred, a breeder incurs veterinary bills to confirm she is in foal with a single, viable embryo. Often, mares abort early in pregnancy so

A responsible breeder researches pedigrees, show or race records, produce records, conformation faults, color patterns, dispositions and genetic diseases.

a follow-up re-check or two is needed to ensure she is indeed still in foal. If she comes up open, the investment is lost.

Sometimes a mare will do just fine on her first checks, then at her next exam 45 days later, the pregnancy is gone. But now she also has fluids and infection that need to be cleaned up, which can cost a couple hundred dollars. If this cleanup is successful, you may be able to breed her again. If not, costs could skyrocket to $1,000 or more just to find out what’s wrong and get her ready for another breeding.

If we’re lucky, we’ll only miss one or two cycles to get her back to a healthy breeding state. Often, however, too much time will go by, and breeding season is over, so we’ve lost the entire year.

So finally a mare is safely in foal, and as the months go by, she gets bigger and the excitement builds as foaling time approaches. Then, after only eight months, she starts to show signs that she’s ready to give birth. She’s developing the dreaded placentitis, an infection that develops when bacteria enter the reproductive tract. If we’ve caught it early enough, we might be able to get her safely to an acceptable foaling date by administering daily doses of antibiotics and Regu-Mate, a synthetic hormone. Unfortunately, placentitis often goes undetected until mares abort at seven to nine months. There goes your entire year’s worth of work, along with your hopes and dreams.

Follow-up care for foals

Finally, after a 340-day pregnancy, the foal is born. But the potential for pitfalls is far from over. In the decades that I have been breeding horses, I have seen a number of devastating ailments in our newborns: failure of passive transfer, septicemia, dummy foal syndrome, ruptured bladders, pneumonia…. If we’re lucky, we may be able to provide intensive care at home. Otherwise, we have to send the mare and foal off to the hospital.

Newborn foals naturally have crooked, wobbly legs---but only for a few hours. Sometimes babies are born with flexural leg deformities or contracted tendons. In more severe cases, the youngster may need surgery, to the tune of $400 to $1,200, depending on what specific procedure is used.

Some foals are born with lax tendons, which are too loose to fully support their weight. They will quickly develop sores from walking on their heels, so they require bandages and splints. We will spend countless hours washing sores, dressing, wrapping, unwrapping, rewrapping, again and again, several times a day for weeks or even months. This is not a one-person job. Your partner does the wrapping while you hold the little one down on the stall floor, dreaming of the day when this will all

I have seen a number of devastating ailments in our newborns. If we’re lucky, we may be able to provide intensive care at home.

be worth it and your baby will be able to grow into a happy, healthy horse.

Problems like these are much more than financial setbacks---they take an emotional toll, too. Sometimes we reach a point where, no matter what we’ve done, it’s time to ask the question: Is this horse going to lead a healthy life? If the answer is “no,” we need to make the gut-wrenching decision to let him go now vs. allowing him to suffer longer. We try to maintain our composure as the veterinarian lays the foal to rest near his mother, then we take the baby away from her. We’ll try our best to console her as she continues to call for her baby for days. Then, as we’re cleaning the stall each day, we’ll stare at the floor and remember the baby lying there with his head on our lap.

When everything goes right, at the end of the year we have a healthy, growing young horse who will incur his own fair share of expenses. We’ll have to pay his registration fees to our breed association, plus any needed genetic disease testing. And the baby is now eating his own hay and feed, and he requires hoof trims, deworming, vaccinations, etc. We can only hope he remains safe and healthy as he grows up.

Assuming everything went by the book with no complications, it cost a minimum of $2,000 to $3,000 to bring that baby into the world. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and it’s the breeder who takes on the challenges, the costs, the headaches and the heartaches all to produce the horses we do so love. Once the foal is born, it all starts over again for the breeder. It’s time to get the mare ready for the next breeding season, with all its toils, triumphs and tears.

So next time you are lucky enough to bring a new horse into your life, please take a moment to appreciate what someone has gone through for you to realize this dream. And if you ever have the opportunity, thank a breeder.