The profession of horse breeder
You love horses very much. You even want to get started in this world as a professional in the horse riding industry. Several professions will be recommended to you. However, you will need to know which one is the most suitable for you. In this article, discover what a horse breeder is called upon to do daily in his activity.
The breeder's primary objective: reproduction
The job of a breeder can take many forms. However, all breeders have one goal in common: to ensure the reproduction and improvement of the breed they have chosen. A breeder usually has several mares intended for the production of foals, called broodmares. The breeder may have his own stallion. In this case, three scenarios may be encountered. First, the breeder opts for natural mating: the mares are released into the wild with the stallion. The second method, probably the most dangerous, is hand-riding: a person leads the stallion by hand to the mare so that he can cover her.
Finally, the breeder can opt for artificial insemination. In this case, if he has his own stallion, he must collect the sperm using a dummy symbolizing the mare. The stallion covers the dummy and the semen is collected in a sleeve. The sperm can either be kept fresh or packaged in straws and preserved in liquid nitrogen. On the other hand, the breeder can also decide not to have his own stallion. Handling stallions is delicate and requires good know-how. In this case, he has two options: take his mare to a stud farmer or have her artificially inseminated.
The stallion keeper is himself a breeder and owns one or more stallions whose services he sells or owns only stallions. His situation is even riskier than that of the breeder who owns his own stallion because, unlike the latter, he does not know the character and the quirks of the mares brought to him for mating, such as, for example, the fact that they kick. Generally, it is the mares who are taken to the stallion but some stallion keepers travel with their breeding stock.
The last days of the mare's pregnancy often require high surveillance from the breeder. He must be well known to his broodmares if he wants to be able to approach them safely at the time of foaling. Indeed, during the last days of gestation, some mares tend to become nervous. At the time of foaling, their first instinct is to protect their foal at any cost.
Other daily tasks that the breeder must perform
In addition to the breeding aspects, the breeder has in his tasks, the daily activities of caring for the horses such as feeding them, grooming them, taking them to the meadow… He must also maintain the boxes. To this end, he will have to do cleaning, mulching… Likewise, he must take care of the equipment. Greasing the leathers, repairing the fences… He sometimes buys new accessories. Many breeders also buy from La Sellerie Française . In parallel with this, it is common that to promote his products, the breeder presents his mares with foals in model and gait competitions. This involves loading them into a van or truck and presenting them in unusual places for a horse with the presence of crowds and noise…. The mares are presented in hand, the breeder running alongside them.
When it comes to managing and selling foals, there are again several possible situations. The breeder can decide to sell his foals at weaning or later. In this case, he can decide to break them in himself. Breaking in is a delicate step and falls are not uncommon.