What does it mean when a horse covers a mare?

Live cover
There are two general ways to “cover” or breed the mare: Live cover: the mare is brought to the stallion’s residence and is covered “live” in the breeding shed. Artificial Insemination (AI): the mare is inseminated by a veterinarian or an equine reproduction manager, using either fresh, cooled or frozen semen.

How many times should a mare be covered?

To maximise the chance of getting her in foal, the traditional natural breeding strategy is to cover a mare every 48 hours during her heat, beginning on the second day of showing oestrus signs.

When should I cover my mare?

If the mare has a healthy reproductive system and responds well to the process, live cover can be an excellent option. In some instances, a stallion’s semen does not fit well into a cooled or frozen program, while it may be strong in a live cover or fresh insemination process.

How do you tell if a mare has been covered?

The only way to be truly certain of a successful covering is to have an ultrasound scan. This can be performed by a Veterinarian as early as 16 days into the pregnancy to detect a heartbeat but is more frequently carried out at 55-70 days to determine the foal’s sex.

Why do thoroughbreds have to be live covered?

Thoroughbreds “live cover” because artificial insemination dilutes the breeds gene pool and diversification. Live cover is also a tradition and maintains the value of stud fees.

What are the meanest horses?

Meanest thoroughbred stallions ever…

• Scarlet Ibis “took off a groom’s thumb”
• Seeking the Gold “a brute”
• Silver Ghost handlers “carried baseball bats”
• Sir Tristam “tossed a man over a fence”
• Southern Halo.
• Spinning World (pictured above right)
• Watch Your Step “lived in a steel halter”
• Woodman.

When can I scan my mare after covering?

The mare will be scanned at two days after cover to check for ovulation. We do this because the stallion’s sperm usually lasts for approximately 48 hours. If the mare hasn’t ovulated she will be covered again. This is known as a cross cover.

What does teasing a horse mean?

Posted January 21, 2015 & filed under How to Build a Racehorse. Teasing is when a teasing stallion is put in close proximity with a mare so that one can look for signs of ovulation. Teasing stallions are adult males of multiple breeds including Thoroughbreds and quarter horses.

How many mares can a stallion cover a day?

In general for a normal stallion, has several billion sperm after the 10 day depletion test, he should be able to handle 50 mares in a pasture during the breeding season. Hand mating as used in most breeding farms can potentially increase this number to 100 or more.

What is a cover sire?

Among the most-watched statistics at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale is that of leading covering sires, which are those stallions represented by mares sold in-foal from their matings earlier this year.

What is a covering on a horse?

What is a horse covering? Horse covering is when a stallion (uncastrated male horse) mates or breeds with a female horse. What is the covering of a horse?

Do you tease your mares when they come in for cover?

Our mares are teased each time they come in for covering though, so if they arent showing they wont get covered. This year we struggled to get anything in season, and consequently only had two mares covered once each and neither held. We sent one to stud down south and she did come back pregnant.

How does the live cover work in horse breeding?

The live cover proceeds when the broodmare displays signs of ovulation. A veterinarian can run tests to determine which day and time will make conception the most likely. When a mare is ready she is brought in the breeding shed and teased. Teasing is using a stallion to encourage her to get ready to be bred.

How do you know when a mare is out of season?

These mares literally have to be pulled away when teasing is over. At the opposite end of the spectrum, they will be blatantly ‘out’ when they are not in season and will show this by pinning their ears back, swishing their tails, moving about at the first nicker of the teaser and letting fly with their hind legs.