Mating horses
Breeding horses and ponies requires more than taking care of the animals every day. A number of questions concern such a direction as the mating of horses. Mating horses is a complex process that requires responsibility from the farmer. There are several ways to specifically prepare a horse for mating, which will affect the success of such an endeavor.
Mating horses
Horse mating can be done in a variety of ways, with both advantages and disadvantages. Mating should be carried out when hunting is observed in mares, since natural fertilization is considered the best. So at home animals mate more willingly. In the wild, artiodactyls always use the natural method of mating.
The farmer definitely needs to know all aspects of breeding, it will not be superfluous to watch the mating video. Among other things, it is recommended to ask for advice from people who are versed in the field of animal mating and read reviews.
Horse mating methods
Purebred method
Thoroughbred horse mating is considered a successful and almost cost-free method. When it is carried out, horses of the same breed are mated. This method ensures that all the basic characteristics of the breed are preserved. The method is often used for the withdrawal of thoroughbred horses, so that the positive properties are not only preserved, but also multiplied. The method is divided into 2 types: inbreeding (breeding of relatives) and outbreeding (respectively, breeding between different individuals).
The first method allows the interbreeding of even close blood relatives, so parents, children, sisters and brothers take part in the mating. In this case, it is necessary to follow all the rules, make a choice only in favor of those individuals in which the maximum compliance with the specified parameters is visible.
In the second case, the mating of lines is used. A line is a group of horses starting from one manufacturer. In such a situation, it is very important that all individuals have a similar heredity, which means that the exterior must be the same. Ultimately, linear crossing will result in a horse with the appearance that is dominant in the line taken.
The selection is also different. Homogeneous selection occurs when horses are of the same type. This means that they belong to the same lineage and have the same inheritance. Heterogeneous selection occurs when animals of different lines, having differences in appearance and character, participate in mating. If you choose the right individuals, the younger generation will absorb all the best.
Crossing technique
This method incorporates important differences from the purebred and includes mating horses of various breeds, they can even be mestizo.
There are some special points that cause the division of the crossing method into some subtypes:
- The case of the same breeds. This method of mating horses involves crossing different breeds, resulting in a mestizo horse. This situation shows that the breeds are mixed.
- Introductory mating of horses. This method refers to the mating of various breeds. But such a phenomenon occurs once to increase the quality of the breed. At the next stage, you need to return to the reverse mating, which will not interfere with horses from different breeds.
- Industrial mixing of rocks. It arises in situations when it is necessary to increase the quality of the work of the horses. Mating of different breeds takes place. The emerging young offspring are not further crossed with each other, they are sold as hard workers.
- Reproduction for the purpose of reproduction. Mixing breeds occurs when it is necessary to create a new or special type of horse.
- Mating by the type of absorption. It is necessary to improve the parameters of the breed, if there were mestizos in the genus. In such a situation, the breeding of animals in the herd of the first line with a pure breed works, then from the resulting young generation they select more successful young animals and again knit with a pure horse without mixtures. This type of mating must be continued in order to cleanse the genus.
If you were not mistaken in the selection procedure, you did everything well in accordance with the criteria and created the necessary conditions for the existence of horses, already on the second or third mating you can expect the birth of cubs, they will surpass their genus by the criteria.
Preparing animals for mating
First, you need to notice that males or females are on the hunt. It must be borne in mind that the mating of thoroughbred individuals should not be carried out without control, otherwise the mares can be aggressive and it is not known how this will affect the farm.
The animal should not be intensively fed before mating. It is necessary that the male was a little hungry, then the strength will appear to fertilize the female. First, the mare must be in excellent health and equine health. This is important in order for the mare to give birth to a healthy cub.
In addition, the mare cannot be very plump or very thin; in the latter situation, she must be fed until she becomes moderately well-fed. If the mare is not hunting and is exposed to heavy loads, it is necessary to reduce them so that overloading does not occur. It is important whether the mare has pronounced deviations from the breed norms. It is necessary to psychologically prepare the expectant mother to make contact.
It is the duty of people to trace the mare's sexual function, which means that one should not overlook the case when the mare is in the hunt. It is advisable to start following the cycle from the end of winter, so as not to miss an excellent opportunity for mating.
You should not wait for a long time, it is allowed to start fertilization in the first cycle, especially if the mare has recently contributed to the creation of offspring (gave birth). Before mating, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the process and watch a video about mating horses.
How can you know that a mare is prepared for mating?
There are generally accepted signs by which it is possible to understand whether a mare is prepared for hunting and whether it is possible to start crossing horses.
- The mare has been restless for some time, especially when there is a stallion nearby.
- If the mare sees people, she takes the position that she takes when urinating. There are also situations when the horse, unknowingly, urinates. If such signs occur, it is a sure sign that the mare is on the hunt.
- The mare more often than usual wants to be near other horses and singles out stallions among them for mating.
- The external genitals become larger and edema occurs. In such a situation, you can see how the muscles of the vulva contract.
- At different periods of estrus, mucus appears from the mare's vagina.
If the horse exists in pasture conditions or is walking in the yard, then it is advisable to mate in the spring or summer. In this situation, if the horse is in a stall, start fertilization at the end of winter.
The role of the stallion in mating
When hunting in horses, the horse must undergo appropriate testing before being admitted to the mare for crossing. Of course, more attention is paid to strong and resilient stallions. The male must be of breeding age. In addition, it is necessary that the conformation of the stallion corresponds to that declared by the breed. If these criteria are met, it is likely that a baby will be born with pure blood and excellent heredity. With such stallions, mating in mares is easier and faster.
Horse requirements:
- The horse must be healthy in all respects.
- It is desirable that he already has healthy cubs.
Selection of stallions
If an inseminator is found on the farm, then the owners usually cover the mares with horses with purer blood, the male for mating to obtain offspring must be of the highest class. And at stud farms in a herd of stallions, this activity occurs with the help of selection. This means that horses are selected after a thorough and detailed analysis. It should be noted that if an animal is not suitable for producing offspring with other species for more than 2 years, it is castrated. Also, an obligatory selection criterion, regardless of how and in what area it takes place, is an examination of the appearance.
It is necessary to examine the genitals (feel the testicles), this is the only way there will be good mating in males and females. Perhaps it is better for the farmer to study the photographs before examining how the healthy genitals of the horse should look and what stallions are in the hunt. You can take semen to conduct an analysis and fully mate animals of different species, so it becomes possible to understand whether the horse is really able to cover the mare. In addition, it is possible to conduct the most detailed research in the laboratory, including a blood and urine test, as a result, it will be possible to determine diseases that are latent.
Useful Tips
In order for horses of reproductive age to mate successfully, the owner must have knowledge of all the criteria that affect the outcome:
- The state of health of the mare, its constitution (large or not), is raised in the herd or not.
- Living conditions, feeding.
- Is there a daily normalized physical activity (whether it is necessary to involve too large draft horses in the process of mating).
- In order for the mating to take place, it is necessary to take into account the seasonality, the influence of the weather and the time of day. It is very important to plan the mating at a time when the weather conditions are excellent. It is advised to mate stallions and mares in the early morning, because mares often ovulate at night.
Hunting on all horses can be discerned by behavior and mood swings. A free walk in nature has a very good effect on mating in mares and stallions and helps them with natural reproduction. In the herd, conflicts can occur between other animals during the hunt. It is better during this period to keep animals in nature or in free rooms.