To Breed or Not to Breed: Horses

Owners of horses often look at their animal and think… “I wonder what kind of foal she would produce…”. Professional breeders, stud farms, and producers, know the answer, but for the person who may only have a few horses, this link is dedicated to helping decide if a horse is worth breeding or not.

One of the reasons why it is important to put thought into deciding if a horse is worth breeding or not, is to reduce the number of unwanted horses that often end up at the slaughter house, spend their lives passing through auction mart after auction mart, or are abandoned.

Your Motivation

Before you breed, ask yourself why. Why are you wanting to breed your horse, or horses? Is it because you want to have a cute foal to play with? (wrong reason) Is it because you want to see what kind of, or what color, foal your mare will produce (wrong reason) Is it because you want to improve the breed as a whole and produce a top quality horse? (right reason)

Breed

With cats, dogs, rabbits, etc., an animal who is not registered as a purebred is not generally considered worthy as a breeding animal. However, there are exceptions within the horse industry. If bred to a purebred, a grade horse (mixed breed) can produce a registrable foal. If bred to a donkey a mare can produce a mule, which are often in demand for pack animals and even as riding mounts for trail riders and other disciplines. Registered horses, even crosses, are far more in demand than grade ones. A grade horse should not be bred to a grade horse just to see what kind of foal they produce, unless the owner is intending to keep the foal.

Correct Conformation

An owner can, to a limited degree, judge the conformation of their horse. Conformation is how a horse is put together. Special attention should be given to the legs, and they should be judged before anything else. Poor legs predispose a horse to unsoundness, a horse with poor legs should not be bred. Their mouth should also be looked at, a horse who has a bad bite should not be bred, their foals may inherit this flaw, making them more expensive to feed. There are many other conformation flaws which should eliminate a horse from being considered a breeding animal, a person should research the correct standards for their breed. The best way of determining if a horse has good conformation or not, is by showing it.