Horses are beautiful and proud animals. In order to get the perfect individual, you need to properly approach the breeding. Experienced breeders easily pair up and prepare horses for mating. It will be difficult for a novice without knowledge to get a foal that meets all his needs. How do horses breed? There are several ways to mate animals.
At what age can animals be mated?
How do horses breed? Photos and videos of the process are not customary to demonstrate in public. First of all, it’s important not how the mating goes, but at what age horses can be admitted to it. Mares and stallions enter puberty by the age of 2 years, but mating should not be allowed at this age. A young horse may even keep her horse away. But it is not worth hoping for this, therefore heterosexual individuals should be kept separately.
Horses are late-forming animals. Usually stallions and mares are allowed to mating at 3 years old, since by this age they are fully formed. But some individuals are best covered after 4 years. This applies to breeds of later development and to mares, which for some reason were not sufficiently formed at 3 years old.
Horse breeding methods
How do horses breed? There are several methods: thoroughbred breeding and metization. The first is more preferable, but not always possible. This method is popular at stud farms and among farmers who breed purebred cattle.
In villages, as a rule, there is a metization. It is generally accepted that interbreeds are more hardy and have better immunity. But experienced breeders can engage in metalization. This is done in order to get the perfect horse, for example, for horse racing or for physical work. In order to succeed in interbreeding, you need to reliably know the ancestors of horses and have special skills. If you just cover the horse with a stallion just because he lives on a nearby street, then the result may be unpredictable.
Clean breed conservation
This method is used at stud farms and in private farms. With him, crossing occurs only within the framework of one breed. The most worthy individuals are selected that do not have common shortcomings, and they are mated. If horses with a high percentage of kinship mate, this is called inbreeding. This is done to consolidate the positive qualities of an outstanding ancestor. If horses that do not have common relatives are allowed to mate, this is called outbreeding.
Most often in horse breeding, a linear breeding method is used. The purpose of this method is to keep the breed clean and obtain the desired qualities from posterity. The line in it is considered to be a group of animals that have in their family tree one prominent ancestor. Each of the individuals should have a similar exterior and performance.
Breeding
This method in the hands of an experienced breeder is able to give an excellent result, beginners most often receive unproductive offspring. The basis of metalization is the crossing of animals of different breeds. This can be done to consolidate new qualities in descendants, to improve performance.
There are several types of metalization:
- interbreed;
- absorbing;
- introductory.
In interbreed cases, the descendants obtained from animals are called crossbreeds. This method is used to obtain the desired qualities in the born foals. It is noted that the first-generation mestizos can significantly surpass their ancestors in many respects.
Absorption crossing is used if you want to return to a clean breed. For example, a village family can’t afford to buy an elite stallion. In this case, they can carry their mare for cover to a thoroughbred horse. In each next generation, the percentage of blood will increase. Thus, in a few years you can get a thoroughbred horse.
Introductory crossbreeding is conceived to improve any qualities of the local breed. In this case, only one mating is performed. If it was successful, then the breeders return to the usual purebred crosses.
Matching couples
How do horses breed? At home, it all starts with the proper requisition of the pair. In nature, the stallions themselves stop at the mare they like. They instinctively feel what they should do. At home, a person assumes the function of selecting manufacturers. The breeder must understand that the future of the farm or farm depends on his work.
When selecting a pair, the working and exterior qualities of both the stallion and the mare are important. However, the horse must be superior to the female, so the offspring will be born more promising. Before the mating procedure, the animals should be examined by a veterinarian. If they are healthy and in good condition, then they are admitted to mating.
How to prepare horses for mating?
In some villages, people still believe that a horse and a mare should be well fed before mating. It is absolutely impossible to do this. A stubborn stallion may not be able to cover. But even if a mishap occurred, then a thick mare will be more difficult to maintain and endure pregnancy. The fatness of the selected individuals should be average, it should not be confused with obesity.
In preparation for mating, the mare will be checked for gynecological diseases. The stallions carefully examine the genitals. Shortly before mating, animals are transferred to an easy mode of operation. They must include vitamin supplements in their food.
Horse readiness for mating
Mares can only be mated during the hunting season. How do horses breed? The process can occur in winter-spring time, then you need to artificially increase daylight hours. Usually mares are seeded in the first or second hunt after childbirth. This is due to the fact that horses carry offspring for a very long time.
Determine the mare's readiness for mating by its behavior and external signs. She begins to show interest in stallions, constantly neighs, seeks to get out of the stall. The sexual loop becomes edematous, characteristic discharge appears. The hunt lasts from 3 to 5 days. But small deviations are possible, both upward and downward.
Types of Occasions
How do horses breed? Mating methods are diverse. There are 4 options:
- manual;
- mowing;
- cooking;
- artificial.
With all these methods, man helps horses. For manual mating, after determining the hunt, the mare is taken to a separate room. There they bring her to the horse. If she is not yet ready for cover, then she will bite the stallion or kick him. If this does not happen, then the mare will be bandaged with a tail. They also put on a special harness that protects the stallion. They are launched into the arena and control the progress of the process.
The kosyachny method of mating is used in large herds. There, for each stallion, 25 mares are distributed. Mating occurs in much the same way as in the wild. When using the mowing method, the percentage of fertilization is very high.
The cooking method is similar to mowing. With him, several mares who are with him during the entire random period are put to the stallion. With artificial insemination, the horse is covered individually. This is done by a veterinarian. This method is very popular at stud farms, as it allows you to choose the seed of the most outstanding stallions.
Mating horses in the wild
On the farms, animals decide everything for animals: he feeds them, loads them with work, picks up a couple. In the wild, horses live guided only by their instincts. Usually in a herd for one stallion there are 8-12 mares. How do horses breed in a natural process? During the hunt, up to 10-15 times a day.
In the wild, the stallion itself finds the mare. He spends some time courting. He does a cage at the time of the most intense hunt. The probability of obtaining offspring in such cases is very high, since the stallion instinctively determines the best time for mating.
Mating horses at home
In households, mating is most often carried out manually. How do horses breed? The mating process begins with the definition of mare hunting. To do this, either use a probe horse, or rectal examination. If the mare is in the hunt, then she is taken to the stallion.
The horse is tied, and the horse is taken out on a long occasion. People control the process and, if necessary, intervene in it. How do horses breed? Mating begins with the introduction of animals. After the stallion does the cage, he has an ejaculation. If everything went well, then the mare is likely to become pregnant.
Artificial insemination
In some farms it is not possible to keep stallions, but there is a way out of the situation in such cases. Mares can be seeded artificially, as is done at most stud farms. This method has many advantages. For example, a breeder may choose the seed of any outstanding stallion. Also, the mare in this case is protected from diseases that are sexually transmitted.
How do horses breed? Insemination in this case takes place without the participation of a stallion. A veterinarian injects a mare seed into the cervix during a hunt. Previously, the horse's genitals are washed, the tail is bandaged, and the hind legs are fixed.
Mare Pregnancy
The horse bears foals for 11 months. This is a very long time, throughout the entire period the mare needs to be looked after. Exercise should be feasible, with an increase in the duration of pregnancy, they become less intense. Additional vitamin-mineral complexes are introduced into the animal's diet.
You can not drink the mare ice water, this can lead to a miscarriage. Also, it is not expelled to the pasture by frost or dew. 10-15 days before the birth, the mare is transferred to a specially equipped stall, where after it will remain with the foal.