About Horse Breeding

Horses symbolize different things to different people.  To some, their horses are valuable pets, even regarded as family members.  To others, horses are their livelihood, through training, racing or showing.  No matter what way a horse is valuable, people seek to prolong the life of their valued horses through their offspring.

Traditional and Hand Breeding

Horses can be bred in a pasture together.  They can be left together for an extended period of time, giving the mare time to come into heat naturally.  The mare can also be given shots to bring her into heat.  When this happens, the stud can be brought in and service the mare then, and then a few more hours later also to increase the chances of success.

Artificial Insemination

Horses can be artificially inseminated.  To get sperm for insemination, the stud is kept close to a mare in heat to excite him.  He is then taken to a dummy to mount and ejaculate his sperm into a collection cup.  The sperm is put into a tube and kept in a nitrogen cooled tank until time to be inserted into the mare.  The mare is prepared either by watching and waiting for her to come into heat or inducing her to come into heat.  Then, the straw of sperm is put into in applicator and injected into the mare by a trained individual or veterinarian.  The use of artificial insemination protects the mare from being accidentally injured by the stallion during traditional breeding.  It also allows horse owners to invest in better genetics without having to buy a prize stallion which is much more expensive.

Surrogate Mothers

Horses can also be bred in a petrie dish and implanted into surrogate mothers to grow.  This is relatively common when it comes to very valuable show or race horses.  The owners do not want to compromise the health of the mare by requiring her to carry the foal full term and go through birth.  Also, if using a surrogate mother for the foal, then the show or race horse will not experience any down time from shows or races due to pregnancy.