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Expert
Posts: 2685
   
| In the spring, I am having 2 mares "live covered." 1 will truly be live covered and the other, will be AI-ed on sight with fresh. Either way it's my job to get them to the studs at the proper time to have them bred at the best opportune time. Question is, what do you guys do in prep to take your mares to be live covered? I work at an equine vet that is very versed in reproduction so I can have their cycles monitored by taking them to work with me anytime.
My thoughts (correct me PLEASE if I am incorrect) are to have the mare breeding checked early on the 1st cycle of the year. Then monitor their cycles each week until they have another mature folicle, about day 16, I'll take her to the stud and bring a shot of HCG with for them to give her when she settles, day 18-19ish and they can breed her day 20-22. That would work for the AI but would it do any good for the live cover mare if she ovulated due to the HCG but was not receptive to the stud? Will the shot also make her receptive? I need to ask the vets I work with that, I know but thoughts...lol
I'm probably making this much harder than it is but I'm trying to have all of my ducks in a row. The AI mare is not maiden. Live cover mare is. Both are 10yo |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 557
Location: Kansas and loving it | A lot of factors to consider, maiden mare or timid disposition. I had a mare that wouldn't show receptivity to the stallion, gave her a shot and her cycle shut down for a whole month. I simply ponied up the money for mare care and my mare stayed at the stud farm. She settled a month later and took with the first breeding. The second time she was bred was to a stallion who was only pasture breeding. She came home with no marks and in foal.
The second mare I bred by live cover rreally felt intimidated by the aggressive stallion. I am not saying he was vicious or left marks, but vocal and knew his job. We had to twitch her and hold her still.
Last mare I bred was AI, much easier.
Best thing is to make sure you are in good communication with the stallion owners, so if unexpected problems arise; you can solve them together. Also, I would ask the stallion owners if they have any tips or advice. Each place is different and I would start with them.
Edited by rockette 2014-11-29 10:05 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | I haven't bred a lot of mares but they have always been live cover, none AI'd. Your situation may depend on how close you are to the stallion or a teasing stallion of some kind. Teasing by the (a) stallion always dictated when to breed. We never used shots to cycle them. Inconvenient? Yes. But we almost always settled first time for us. Cheaper too. Thats probably considered old fashioned now LOL |
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  Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | I've only bred live cover & mostly pasture breeding. But the couple times I've had one hand bred I've simply delivered them to the stallion owner the first day I see them coming into heat.....and I've gotten a foal every time. I prefer to keep things simple & affordable. |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| Thank you everyone. I have used the stud before that is my true live cover. He is very quiet and sweet. Not a big screamer or biter. My live cover stud is 4 hours away. My AI on sight is 2hrs away. My other thought was to count every 21 days after the 1st ovulation where we are just checkin things out and take her on day 16 or so and pay the mare care until she came in so I didn't miss it. One of the studs is free mare care for the first week if I bring feed but the other is not but that's ok. |
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| AI MARE
You are two hours away and you work for re-pro vets so do it at home and go pick up the semen at a substantial discount vs having it shipped. Most CS pick ups are <$75-150 vs $300-350 shipping.
Use your home vet and make sure you inseminate 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE of proposed ovulation ... which is only a 6 hour window and easily missed!!
During the US checks for ovulation .. flush the mare with saline and a low grade anti-biotic ... this can be right before insemination. This is not a culture thingy .. just a douche to clean out any bacteria from uterus ... and to equalize the PH in there.
At time of insemination give mare the 24 hour booster shot to bring her into full bloom. Semen lives better inside the mare typically for 48 to 72/96 hours after insemination... Never mess with Mother Nature and give a mare shots to try to shorten a heat cycle a couple of days..
Then wait until day 20 to ultra sound so you get a better picture of embryo vs the maybeso routine at 14 days. If she did not take then at the 20 day mark you get an idea of how her next cycle is coming along without all of the constant digging around in there double checking weak US signals ... the less digging around the better for the mare to stay in foal!!
LIVE COVER MARE
Take mare to stallion owner at day 12 after the start of her first "false" heat cycle. Days are getting longer and mares come in quicker than you think.
This also is less stress to the mare and once teased she may come in very quickly .... most important is not to miss a heat cycle ... if hand bred stallion owner will usually breed the mare every other day until she goes out. ..
Leave this mare to be checked in foal and then go pick her up .. the 20 day time frame should apply to her also ... at 20 days if not in foal with or without vet US check ... stallion and mare will tell you if she is coming into another cycle. (IMO maiden mares are the easiest to get in foal .. they are the ones seducing the stallion .. lol)
GOOD LUCK ..
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Question for those that do/ have dealt with having a mare live covered