How to Breed an Older Mare

Breeding horses is exciting and challenging. Producing a foal that you have "created" by choosing the sire and dam is like looking at a piece of art. But it takes a great deal of time, education, study and research to produce a quality foal that will become a human companion and a good worker. Breeding older mares can be tricky, as they may have issues younger mares do not. Here we will give you some tips on how to breed older mares.

Things You'll Need

Good veterinarian
Virile stallion

Instructions

- 1
  Have your older mare thoroughly checked out by a good veterinarian. Have her cultured to check for uterine infection, and ask for the vet's opinion on her uterine health. Also have her teeth checked and overall health evaluated. Many of your breeding challenges can be addressed right here.
- 2
  Begin a thorough teasing program with a resident stallion. The mare should ideally be pasture-bred with the stallion. This is the best and most effective way to breed the older mare. By letting nature takes its course and leaving the mare in with the stallion for many months, you have the best possible chance of conception.
- 3
  If pasture breeding is not an option, you must tease the mare every day, or at least every other day to make sure her hormones are working to their full potential. The more she is exposed to the stallion, the more likely she will be to come into a productive heat cycle.
- 4
  Once the mare is in season, you should have her covered daily until she goes out of season. If she is being artificially inseminated, she needs to have an infusion each day. Having live, active sperm available at every moment in the older mare's uterus will increase the likelihood of fertilization and conception.
- 5
  Once the mare is determined in foal, she will need to be kept with a docile companion who will not challenge her for food or shelter. Great care should be taken with her health--mental as well as physical--to ensure a healthy pregnancy.