Breeding your First Foal

22/09/2026

Ever thought about breeding a foal from your mare?

I expect that's why you joined this page (unless it was just to be nosy as to what I was doing!!!) This page is now up and running again and hopefully we can support each other through breeding a foal .

Perhaps you've always dreamed of having a foal from your much-loved mare, but you're not quite sure where to start.

Is she suitable for breeding? What should you consider before making the decision? And what does breeding your first foal actually involve?

At West End Farm Stud, we know that breeding your first foal is exciting, but it can also feel a little daunting.

That's why we've put together a FREE GUIDE - Should I Breed From My Mare?

It's designed to help you think through some of the important questions before taking that first step.

Whether you're seriously considering breeding next year or it's simply something you've been dreaming about, our guide is a great place to start.

👇Get your free copy by signing up below:

www.westendfarmstud.uk

Helping you take the first steps towards breeding your very first foal

19/09/2026

Sign up and get our Breeding Your First Foal download

Breeding quality Connemara crosses for the amateur competition rider. Family-run stud in East Yorkshire with over 30 years of breeding experience. About Us Who We Are For over 30 years, West End Farm Stud has specialised in breeding horses for the amateur competition market, now focusing on Connemar...

29/11/2023

Keeping the mares under light for 16h and allowing 8-9h of darkness for at least 60 days, is one of the most effective and used technique for advancing the first ovulation of the year.

𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹:

▪️1st December the mare will be stabled in the evening and artificial light will be maintained to complete a total 16h of light and 8 of darkness. This will help the mare to start cycling by the beginning of February.

▪️ End January start with routine ultrasound examination to ensure your mare is responding and ovarian activity is starting.

▪️The artificial light sequence will ideally be on until the mare is bred.

Stabling the mares under continuous 24h of light exposure has been shown not to be beneficial than the 16h light/8h darkness. Also, starting the light therapy earlier than the 1st December didn’t show advantages but starting anywhere in December will aid the onset of cyclicity.

Don’t miss out if you want to start breeding your mare early in 2024! For further questions or direct advise from the vet, please contact the office on 01653668190

26/03/2023

17/02/2023

Meet the team

Charlotte is the other key member of the team having been brought up on a stud she is very experienced at stallion handling, breeding horses and handling youngsters. Whilst at Uni, where she qualified as an Equine Vet Nurse she also worked at a prominent TB stud mainly in the foaling barn and yearlings yard. Charlotte is a qualified AI technician understanding breeding by natural covering and AI

14/02/2023

Today is the official start of the TB Breeding season for the northern hemisphere.

This is so that TB foals destined for racing are born as near to the 1st January as possible to give them the advantage of age.

All racehorse's ages are taken from 1st January.

It takes a lot of management to get mare's cycling properly at this time of year.

13/02/2023

If you've decided to breed have you thought of using AI (artificial insemination) or natural covering.

There are pros and cons of both.

Natural covering is that it is the most cost effective and has good pregnancy rates but does limited you on stallion's available and distance you want to travel to a stallion.

AI gives you a wider choice of stallion, with less risk of either mare or stallion being injured or introducing infection but it does require closer monitoring by the vet to determine the right time and this does bring higher costs.

If you choose AI for your mare vets and studs will use stocks such as these from Monarch to prepare your mare.

08/02/2023

It can all seem very confusing when you are looking at Stallion's stud fee. So hopefully this will help with some of the common terms

NFFR - No Foal Free Return is if there is no live foal at the time stated in the contract, you get another go for free. Most contracts apply to the same mare. But if you’re a large stud, you might be able to use a different mare for this free return. Similarly, sometimes the stallion owner will let you get a free try on another one of their stallions. However, it all depends on your contract. is if there is no live foal at the time stated in the contract, you get another go for free. Most contracts apply to the same mare. But if you’re a large stud, you might be able to use a different mare for this free return. Similarly, sometimes the stallion owner will let you get a free try on another one of their stallions. However, it all depends on your contract.

NFNF - No Foal, No Fee generally means that if your mare isn't in foal by a certain date - usually 1st October you get your stud fee back. Some studs may choose another date or even if your mare doesn't give birth to a live foal.

LFR - Live Foal Guarantee - This generally means that you can keep going back for free until you get a live foal. This usually means a live foal at birth, 24 hours or 48 hours. However, some stallion owners may offer longer.

1st October - This is more often used in TB breeding but the odd stud do say that the stud fee is payable on 1st October if your mare is scanned in foal

Generally with natural covering and fresh AI there will be no limit to number of cycles your mare takes to get in foal With Frozen semen it may be that you purchase enough straws for 1 mare cycle. Make sure you are aware of what you are getting prior to agreeing a stud's terms.

There will be some other terms associated with Frozen and Chilled Semen.

Have you seen any terms that you are unsure about?

03/02/2023

It's Friday - Feel free to ask any question you may have regarding breeding a foal.

01/02/2023

Meet the Team

I'm Jo and bred my first foal in 1994 having studies stud management at college where it was both practical and theory sessions. Since then I have had experience of breeding horses, foaling mares and raising youngsters. I am an AI technician and currently have 2 stallions which cover naturally and by AI.