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Selecting a right stallion to your mare can be a tricky task! First you will need to think what you will expect from the foal. Are you planning to keep it or is it in your hope to sell the foal for a profit? What discipline are you going to train the foal for?

Most breeds have their own registers and to be able to register the foal you will need to use a stallion from the same register. In some countries and some breeds the stallion also needs to be approved for breeding to be able to register the foal. If you are not sure and need some advice contact your local breed association for advice, they will be happy too help you and in some instances can even recommend a stallion to use.

You need to look at your mares pedigree and compare it to the stallion. Most breeders avoid inbreeding meaning that there is an ancestor several times too close in the foal's pedigree. Inbreeding can cause hidden diseases or conformation problems to surface in the foal. Line breeding on the other hand is quite popular and often gives the foals the desired qualities of the horse the foal is lined to.

But you should not breed your mare by blindly looking at the pedigree! You need to address the possible weak spots in your own mare and make sure that the stallion does not have the same problems. If the stallion has already produced it is a good idea to see both him AND some of his off-springs! Some stallions will leave more uniform foals than others, don't be afraid to ask questions from other breeders.

Another think to look for in an older stallion is how well he gets the mares in foal. If the foaling percentage in previous years is under 70 you should ask why? After all you do want your mare to produce a foal!

In different registers and breeds rules of using collected and even frozen sperm are different, if your registry allows that, you will have basically world wide stallion material to choose from!

In my main breed Standardbred this is allowed and some of the most popular stallions are used in US, New Zealand and in many European countries at the same time. One stallion can have as many as 400 foals in one year if his sperm count is good.

One more thing you should look for is the reputation of the breeding farm if you are planning to send your mare to get bred. Bad news travel fast and if the farm did not meet other breeders expectations be sure to ask why!

Learn more about this author, K Bert.
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