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Horse breeding is a challenging and risky career, with a long gestation period and potential reproductive problems. However, the reward of seeing a baby animal you helped bring into the world can be fulfilling. Horse breeders can choose to stand on a stallion or use artificial insemination, and mare owners need to provide suitable facilities for their pregnant mares and foals. Effective marketing is crucial for stallion owners, and breeders need to be prepared for the expenses of veterinary care and food. Foals need to be kept for at least four months before selling, and it’s better to wait until they are trained to ride at age three.
A career as a horse breeder may seem lucrative, but the fact is, it’s hard work with a lot of risk involved. Horses have a gestation period of approximately 11 months. That means you’ll be in business for at least a year before you see any of the fruits of your labor. Horses are also famous for their reproductive problems. You could spend thousands of dollars on vet bills just to end up without a pregnancy.
All of this may sound daunting, but there must be an upside, or no one would want to be a horse breeder. For many people, the sight of a baby animal they helped bring into the world is extremely rewarding. Other people are passionate about horses and becoming a horse breeder allows them the opportunity to live their dream. A career as a horse breeder is possible if you are willing to work hard and operate with both your head and your heart.
There are two basic options when entering the world of horse breeding. You can choose to stand on a stallion in a stallion or mare. If you mount a stallion on the stallion, the mare owners will pay to breed their mare on their stallion. While you might think you need fancy facilities to do this, nothing could be further from the truth.
Many horse breeders prefer to use artificial insemination (AI) to impregnate their mares. The risk of physical injury to the mare and stallion is negligible, and the chances of a successful pregnancy can be greater than in traditional breeding known as live mating. While the semen collection process for AI is straightforward, the stallion’s success rate will be linked to how the semen is prepared for transport to the mare. Many stallion owners send their offspring to a veterinarian for the collection process. For a fee, the veterinarian will collect semen from the stallion and prepare it for transport.
If you are a mare owner, your facilities are more important. The mare needs to get plenty of low-stress exercise during her pregnancy, and once she’s foaled, she and her baby will need a place to play. A barn with fields where she can play and graze is important.
If you are a stallion owner, becoming a horse breeder is all about effective marketing. You must name your stallion so that the mare’s owner will want to reproduce it. With the widespread use of AI, many mare owners choose a stallion they have never seen; therefore, excellent photos and videos are an important part of the marketing package.
If you’re a mare owner, it’s important to realize that even if everything in your breeding business goes well, you’re years away from making a profit. Before selling your first foal, you will also have a number of expenses to pay. You cannot skimp on veterinary care or food for your pregnant mare, and later your foal.
You will need to keep the foal for at least four months before selling it. Many people don’t have the facilities to manage a foal. Breeders generally find that they get better prices and have an easier time selling if they keep their babies until they are trained to ride at age three. This means you can have anywhere from three to five horses on the property at any one time. Medical bills and veterinarian fees will add up quickly, even for healthy horses.
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