Firstly I will introduce myself. I am studmaster/owner of Elderslie Horse Care and Spelling in southern Tasmania. We have a farm in the top end of the Derwent Valley and we stand up to five stallions as well as organising insemination of any outside semen required. We do all the usual stud duties including foaling!
There are a few things I would be keen on sharing, so I will share what is at the top of my list, especially for the next breeding season which is closing in rapidly!
Our regular vet has literally a lifetime of incredible experience and expertise in the field of breeding, in particular Standardbreds, whom he loves. Extremely practical and grounded, he has always maintained that a badly behaved mare will generally not breed.
His observations come from his many years of experience in the field. He has always been way too busy to investigate any possible reasoning but I really wanted to know “how” right he is and if there is an answer to “why”.
I was “sort of” delighted when we were brought a well bred maiden mare that refused to get in foal. She was delivered with words of warning; “don’t get yourself killed!” Her owners, who have now become great friends, are lovely people and were very
concerned for my welfare. Sweet!
I observed her behaviour in a small group of mares that could cope with her, confirming she had behavioural issues. Apart from the fact she was a bully, she would pick a mare she liked and spend most of her day shepherding her to where she wanted
her as well as keeping her from making any contact with the others.
We tease all our mares with a stallion: YES, a real live stallion. Our subject had no idea about teasing and would charge wildly at this very patient fellow, ears flat and mouth open for attack. She also had very bad manners towards humans, even with a fence in between!
The only way to begin sorting this was “tough love’. She was put on her own and only had contact with me and with the stallion. She had a crash course in manners (for our safety!) and taught her to tease, which took 30 minutes a day.
This mare had never shown signs of oestrus but after 6 weeks I was beginning to lose hope, but just as I was about to give up we had a response and a week later we had extremely strong signs of heat. She subsequently became pregnant on that heat.
She returned to foal, became a great mother and has continued to cycle postnatal.
A good news story, but much more importantly it has appeared to work for several other mares, all with very similar behaviours. There appears to be a definite pattern of issues with these animals.
I have to stress here that this is purely based on my own observations with no science to back me up or which I can source.
According to those who have studied horse psychology in a practical sense, it is not the stallion who is the boss of the herd in the wild, it is the matriarch. She keeps everyone under control such as unruly colts. She will keep them on the far perimeter of the herd until they learn to behave.
She can be so intent on her job as minder that she doesn’t cycle.
What to look for:
- bad manners toward handlers
- bossy and not fitting well into a herd
- shepherding and over protectiveness of a friend
- refusing to tease
- no physical evidence of heat
If you have a mare that fits the above description, there is hope she may cycle and could even become pregnant! It does appear that their state of mind may over ride their hormone status.
Is it the behaviour that changes the hormones or do the hormones affect the behaviour, or both?
Again, the above observations are totally mine. We will continue to practise and refine our methods as well as improve the way we observe.
Happy breeding!
Driving The Future of Harness Racing