death . We like to use a chain over the stallion ’ s nose as this keeps his front feet on the ground and much safer to handle . I don ’ t like to use whips around stallions as they are generally not too effective and have a tendency to make a horse irritable . A whip is O . K . on a rather timid horse but on a real strong-headed horse you would be just as well off with an ice-cream cone in your hand . Do not help the horse enter the mare . If he needs help , you are probably over-using him and it is the first sign or one of the first signs of poor conception taking place . Be sure and let the horse get down from the mare of his own accord after wilting . This is very important . When the horse dismounts , he will be halfasleep . Do not attempt to drag him off to the barn immediately but let him stand around for a few minutes until he starts moving and again shows interest in the mare . This will be the time to put him away .
A Few Don ’ ts
A few don ’ ts in regard to teasing mares occur to me first . Don ’ t breed on the foal heat or the ninth day . The live foal rate for foal heat services is 25 %. Did you know that stallions on the range do not breed mares on the foal heat ? Do not follow the procedure of opening up mares , this can do nothing but harm . Of course , there are exceptions to all these things but if there are , let your vet take care of them if possible . Conception rates are lowered by hauling mares while they are in heat . Do not breed a mare to an expensive stallion unless she is hobbled .
Do not go to all the trouble of cleaning up the mare and horse and then proceed to breed her in a cloud of dust . One of the best ways to raise your conception rate is to know your mares . Some mares need a psycho analyst instead of a stud man . While I am thinking of this , a thought occurred to me of something I think is of tremendous importance especially to breeding operations that handle lots of fillies . To these people , it may be important to check with their vet the process of mechanically removing hymens in fillies . I personally believe this should be done at least six months before fillies are to be bred for their first time and I think it has a lot to do with why so many young fillies have a tendency to produce weak foals .
Is She Normal ?
To go back to the mares , some of them are normal and come in heat about every 21 days , that is beginning to beginning or end to end of their cycle . They stay in about five or six days . It takes but very little deviation from the normal to spell trouble . So above all , see how close to normal she is . If she is just a little ways from being normal , you better find out why before you try to breed her . Some mares are hard to detect in heat while nursing a foal . These mares should routinely be separated from their foals for about one hour per day during which time the mare can be teased . Some mares will only show to other mares . As a general rule , these have to be examined to determine their cycle . They generally have to be forced to breed but settle very well when you find their pattern . Some mares will show to one stallion but not to another . This can get the one-stallion man in trouble . With this type of mare , cervical examination is indicated . One of the reasons that some mares won ’ t show to one stallion but will show to another is that some stallions for one reason or another are very docile . As much as we like this in our saddle horses , our mares do not like this temperament in stallions . Mares prefer horses to be very ambitious , to be very loud and to exhibit their strength , etc . So , if you have an extremely quiet stallion , don ’ t be surprised if some mares won ’ t show heat to a horse like this . Some mares are only in heat for about 24 hours . A person could miss these if he only teased every other day or so . Mares that are teased in groups are easy to miss due to the above abnormalities . If possible , the mares should be separated to be teased . The condition of your mares is very important . Mares that are too fat , too quiet , too docile , too phlegmatic are problem mares .
Medication
There is a medical product , a thyroid stimulator which melts away fat and at the same time stimulates and activates the mare . This is a great help on some of these animals . As a general rule , a mare should be shed off to conceive . If you must breed her in the winter time , you will have to simulate spring weather and feed conditions ; that is , warming weather and lots of quality feed . Blanketing a mare under these con-
January , 1969 39