It is that time of year again when those who have mares will be making decisions about what stallion you would like to breed to this season. You may be a new or established stud with your own stallion or you may be a breeder who has decided to breed your first foal, either way there are things to remember when breeding. Ask yourself why you are breeding? No matter what the answer is you should be breeding your mare to a stallion that will compliment and improve any flaws that your mare may have. Does your mare lack in the hind, could she do with a little more length of reign, is she a little heavy boned, can she be a little bit too temperamental? As important as balance is in life it is equally important when breeding your foal. You will need to choose a stallion that will counteract any flaws your mare may have.

I have found that is easier to find the perfect stallion than the perfect mare. There seems to be a trend for many breeders to send there horses interstate to a stallion or to use AI both of which are valuable options if you are unable to find a stallion in SA. I’d like to let people know that there are some lovely stallions here in SA no matter what you are breeding for. If you can find the stallion in the state your breeding costs will be greatly reduced as we all know breeding is a costly exercise. When breeding a foal of any kind you need to be breeding for quality, temperament and trainability.

Take a close look at your potential sire, does he have a mean streak that can be passed on to his next generation? You can find a beautiful charismatic stallion who is lovely to look at but can’t be approached or handled easily in which case I would say avoid breeding to this stallion. There is a common misconception amongst many that all stallions can be this way, I disagree with this however many will definitely put on a show for you and can be a bit playful, that is Ok, lets face it presence is also very important especially when showing horses for halter and saddle classes.

In general if a horse who’s conformation is well balanced should be a good mover but that too isn’t always a given. If your mares movement again is average then using the balance method to find a sire who’s movement is outstanding and well balanced. Breeding can be a very enjoyable experience but of course you are not always guaranteed to get the foal you wanted but life is a lesson and so is breeding, with time you will become more intuitive with your breeding and you will achieve what it was you started out to by breeding that perfect foal.

Shane Farrell – Farredajn Park Stud Email: farredajnparkstud@hotmail.com