Ekidemy

The mare is a seasonal breeder: her ovaries wake up as the days lengthen, in spring and summer, and rest through the short days. During the breeding season she comes into season, or oestrus, about every 21 days; each season lasts 5 to 7 days on average, and she ovulates towards the end of it. In both sexes, puberty arrives at around 15 to 18 months: colts and fillies are separated from their first winter.

1. 1Spot the seasonEvery other day the mare is brought to a stallion, with a barrier between them: this is teasing, over the trying board. In season, she lifts her tail, straddles, passes urine in small squirts and her vulva “winks”. If not, she puts her ears back, swishes her tail, squeals and kicks.
2. 2CoveringThe mare is got in foal during her season, by natural service — in hand, with stallion and mare both held, or loose in the field — or by artificial insemination, with fresh, chilled or frozen semen. For his offspring to be registered with a breed, the stallion must be approved by that breed’s stud book.
3. 3Pregnancy diagnosisThe vet confirms the pregnancy with an ultrasound scan, from about day 15. It is also the way to spot twins, a pregnancy breeders avoid because it often ends in abortion.
4. 4GestationIt lasts about 11 months — around 340 days, give or take several weeks. The foal puts on most of its weight in the last three months: that is when the mare’s requirements rise. She stays in light work suited to her condition.
5. 5FoalingIt usually happens at night. The udder fills, beads of dried milk appear on the teats (the mare is “waxing up”), then she grows restless, sweats, lies down and gets up again. Once the waters break, the foal is usually born within half an hour, forelegs first with the head resting on them. At the slightest doubt, call the vet.
6. 6The first hoursA simple guide is the 1-2-3 rule: the foal stands within an hour, suckles within two hours, and the mare passes the placenta — the afterbirth — within three hours. The first milk, the colostrum, gives the foal the antibodies that protect it: it must drink it very early.
7. 7WeaningThe foal runs at its mother’s side, with other mares and foals, until weaning, between 4 and 6 months, most often at around 6 months. It is separated from its mother gradually or all at once, and turned out with foals of its own age and a calm older horse.

The mare comes back into season 5 to 12 days after foaling — the foal heat — and can be covered again: a breeder aims for one foal per mare per year. Before weaning, the foal gets used to people through short, repeated handling: headcollar, leading in hand, picking up its feet. It must also be identified before weaning, as you will see on the next page.