Pre-Breeding Preperation

Once you have decided to breed your mare, chosen a stallion, a method and a date, you will want to do some things to give your mare the best chance of getting successfully pregnant.
Pre-Breeding Exam
Call your vet and schedule a pre-breeding exam. This should be one before you get very far into making plans for this pregnancy. In this exam, the vet will look at the mare's overall health as well as the health of her uterus, and determine if there are any obvious reasons why she is a poor candidate for breeding. (These reasons can include cysts in the uterus which would prevent a pregnancy from taking hold or a baby from carrying to term, and other physical issues which would make a successful outcome unlikely.)
If you're breeding Live Cover
  1. Update Vaccinations - make sure your mare is updated on all of her vaccinations. The Stallion farm will require proof of this before taking you mare.
  2. ​get mare tested for STDs - the stallion farm will also require you get a test done to insure your mare doesn't have any STDs or infections she could pass on to the stallion (these are not just caused by breeding, so even maiden mares may have an infection).
  3.  Talk to the Stallion Owner - Now its time to call the stallion owner and settle on the timing for transporting her to the stallion's facility. You will also want to tell them as much as you can about your mare's personality, reactions to new places and people, past breeding experience and special needs.
  4. ​Paperwork and Payment - Mail the stud fee to the stallion owner to reserve your spot in their schedule, and sign a breeding contract. (For more on the Breeding Contract click here)
  5. Arrange Transport - If you are not the one transporting your mare to the stallion owner, contact the transporter and make arrangements.
If you're breeding A.I.
  1. Talk to your Vet - Arrange with your vet or a local breeding farm to handle the vet work for you.
  2. Talk to Stallion Owner - Tell the stallion owner what kind of timing you are hoping for and make sure you have the appropriate phone numbers for getting through to them when needed.
  3. Paperwork and Payment - Mail the stud fee to the stallion owner to reserve your spot in their schedule, and sign a breeding contract. (For more on the Breeding Contract click here)