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Before you can select a suitable stud for your mare, you will need to ask yourself several important questions.

1) What equestrian discipline do you prefer? Does your mare go English or Western? Is she an athletic jumper, a speedy barrel racer, or a quiet trail horse? Is she a high-stepping saddlebred, a perfect piaffe dressage partner, or a rigorous reiner?

2) What are your plans for her offspring? Will you keep or sell them? Will they be pleasure horses, or will you compete in shows?

3) What are you willing to pay, in terms of stud fees? These can vary dramatically, from a few hundred dollars to many thousands. (Remember Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner in 2006? While he was alive, breeders booked dates with him for $10,000.)

CHOOSING A STALLION

The gestation period for a horse is eleven months. Keeping a mare throughout her pregnancy (covering her board, care, and medical expenses) can be a major investment. Picking the best sire for her offspring is vital.

Seven major considerations come into play, in your choice of a stallion.

1) Breed

Generally, high quality breed-registered mares are bred to stallions who are registered with the same breed association. If you have a branded Holsteiner mare, then you may wish to retain breed integrity and select a Holsteiner stud. Freesian owners, in particular, are quite strict about this.

Increasingly, however, equine breeders are purposefully cross-breeding to improve the quality of the offspring that are produced. In particular, the American Sporthorse is growing in popularity. Half-Arabian and half-Warmblood (such as Westfalen or Hanoverian), the extremely athletic and trainable horses offer the best of both breeds. These foals may be double-registered as warmblood crosses (American Warmblood) and Half-Arabians.

2) Conformation (not necessarily color)

The conformation (body type and structure) of a prospective stud is critical. A wise breeder will attempt to trade up, as it were. What are the mare's best assets, and what areas might be improved? Look for a stallion that may accentuate her best features and compensate for her shortcomings.

A word of caution here: The color of a horse is one of the least important considerations. Sure, a stud can throw color to his get (offspring), but it falls way behind skeletal and muscular structure in priority. (Paint horse breeders will certainly investigate the genetics of color, however, as they seek to produce flashy foals.)

Do not rely merely on glossy, airbrushed professional stud

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