Mum’s the word

HERE COME the girls

ADVANCES IN BREEDING TECHNOLOGY OPENS UP A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITIES, MEANING COMPETITION MARES CAN CONTINUE THEIR CAREERS WHILE PRODUCING PROGENY. SO, WHAT MAKES A MARE SUITABLE FOR BREEDING AND HOW CAN EMBRYO TRANSFER ENABLE YOUR MARE TO CONTINUE COMPETING WHILE HAVING A FOAL? STEPHANIE BATEMAN INVESTIGATES.

With many top studs now focussing on the female lines, it’s important that mares are able to continue their competitive careers while also producing off spring. Thanks to advances in reproductive science, this is now possible.

But before booking your mare into a reproductive facility, it’s important to consider whether she is really suitable to breed from.

“Is the mare a good enough type?” asks Lorna Wilson from Elite Stallions. “The aim of breeding is to produce an improved specimen, so it is always good to start with a high-quality mare. Conformational defects can aff ect their sporting careers, and although we can try and improve certain aspects by pairing her with the correct stallion, there is only so much he can do.”

Lineage is also important.

“Our focus is very much on sport, so we want lines that consistently have the physical and mental capacities for the job,” says Emma Blundell of Mount St John Stud. “I focus on mares that have either already produced top Grand Prix off spring, or have close Grand Prix relatives like brothers or sisters who are doing well.

“Our mares compete in the sport themselves, and when you’ve ridden and competed them to a high level yourself, you know their strengths and weaknesses and can choose stallions to complement that.” Beauty is as beauty does, and a horse that looks the part but doesn’t have the brain for the job will struggle to be successful. “Temperament is important on two levels,” explains Lorna. “Firstly, you need to consider the mare’s infl uence on the temperament of the off spring - if you have a very highly strung, unrideable mare, is she likely to create a similar off spring. Secondly, you need to consider her suitability as a mother - is she a largely calm, nice and sensible type of mare that will nurture the foal?” Emma agrees that temperament is vital: “I’d rather have a slightly less spectacular moving horse that has the mental capacity for the job all the way through to the grand prix, than a fl ashy looking horse who can’t cope with the work mentally.”

Mares with proven competition records are also highly desirable as mothers.

ABOVE: LORNA WILSON’S NEWTON DOMINO (DE NIRO X RUBINSTEIN), SUCCESSFUL AT GRAND PRIX AND WITH FIVE FOALS DUE VIA EMBRYO TRANSFER IN 2022. INSET: EMMA BLUNDELL – PICTURED WITH THE MARE MOUNT ST JOHN VIP (VIVALDI X DONNERHALL) - LOOKS FOR BLOODLINES THAT HAVE THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CAPACITIES FOR THE JOB. ABOVE: NEWTON TIGER, WINNER OF THE SHEARWATER FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHAMPIONSHIP (BLUE HORS FIRST CHOICE X SANDRO HIT), AND DAM OF A 2021 EMBRYO TRANSFER FOAL BY ROTSPON.

“Mares that have competed themselves and demonstrated trainability and performance capabilities are the gold standard,” says Lorna. “Often, our beloved sports mares have an injury and the type of injury needs to be considered when deciding whether or not to breed from her.”

Conformation is also a vital ingredient, although not the be all and end all, says Emma.

“Coming from a showing background, conformation was everything, but at top level dressage, there are horses with very questionable conformation that stay sound and perform successfully. Of course, we are trying to breed correctness and not knowingly breed problems, but I would certainly overlook a minor defect in exchange for a good family line and trainable brain.”

SUCCESSFUL CONCEPTION

There are a variety of factors that can infl uence a mare’s ability to get in foal.

“First and foremost, we like our mares to be in good condition and happy and relaxed in their environment,” says Emma. “We feed a good stud balancer to ensure they have everything they need to conceive and give to the foal without being overweight, and we have a lot of hills so they stay fi t while they are out. In the winter, they are barned with outdoor areas in social groups which is more natural for them. The competition horses are turned out individually but always have contact with other horses and are never on their own.”

Lorna advises fi nding a good vet.

“Do your research and make sure you use an experienced reproductive vet. I also advise starting early - whether you are doing an embryo transfer (ET) or going directly in foal, start the process early enough in the season so that there is time to overcome any problems you may encounter. Your mare will also be more fertile earlier in the season - towards the end of the season a mare’s cycle can become irregular, which can make things more di cult.”

THE RECIPIENT MARE

Finding an appropriate mare to carry the fertilised embryo is an important aspect of ET.

“Ideal recipient mares are between four and 10 years old, of a similar size to the donor mare, good tempered and easy to handle,” says Lorna. “At Newton Stud, we have a lot of mares that have come out of sport for a variety of reasons and now live a very nice life as recipient mares. For us, temperament is key as they are easy to handle and this helps to keep the foals calmer and easier to handle.”

Selecting a surrogate that is as similar as possible to the donor mare is vital, says Emma.

“We prefer warmbloods of around 16.1-17.2hh. Thoroughbreds might be similar in size in terms of height, but they often have a smaller carrying capacity than warmbloods. The milk production can be very diff erent between types and breeds too, so staying as close as possible to the breed and size is best.”

RIGHT: ANNA ROSS WITH HABOUCHE, PROGRESSING UP THE LADDER TOWARDS GRAND PRIX WHILE PRODUCING FIVE ET FOALS.

EMBRYO TRANSFER

“Embryo Transfer (ET) involves breeding from a donor mare, but instead of the mare carrying her own pregnancy, she undergoes a fl ush at day seven or eight post-ovulation to collect the embryo which is then transferred to a synchronized surrogate mare that will carry the foal to term,” explains Teresa Leao, DVM, MRCVS of Twemlows Stud Farm.

“The main advantages of ET are breeding from a genetically superior mare without disturbing her competitive career, as the time required for the donor mare to be taken out of training and competition is minimal,” explains Teresa. “Another advantage is the ability to produce multiple offspring from one mare during one year. Preservation of the bloodline of a valuable mare and shortening the generation interval by breeding from two and three-year-old fi llies are also important features of ET.

“When ET is combined with Artifi cial Insemination (AI), it allows you to produce embryos of superior genetics from high-quality sport stallions based anywhere in the world or even already deceased.

“Prior to ET, the donor mare undergoes a breeding soundness examination where the perineal contortion and presence of normal repro tract and cyclicity are checked.

“The ET process is simple, non-surgical, painless, and well tolerated by mares and can be carried out in numerous ways providing fl exibility around the donor mare’s schedule. The mare can travel to the ET centre where she is bred and fl ushed. Alternatively, the mare may simply stay at home and just walk-in into the ET centre for her scans, breeding and fl ushes.”

PLANNING A MARE’S SEASON

Planning to breed from a mare around her competition season is one of the biggest challenges, but with a little pre-planning and organisation, it can be achieved.

“We start inseminating from March and go through to the end of June, so it can depend on the individual horse and where they are in their cycle,” says Emma. “It can be a juggling act, especially with early competitions such as the winter championships in April, and getting the young mares qualifi ed for the young horse classes.

“When undergoing ET, it’s a bit like booking them in for the farrier – they are needed for an hour or two, but then they can carry on. It’s a bit diff erent for an insemination because it relies on when the mare decides to ovulate, but generally, we know a week in advance when the fl ush will be so I can organise my training and shows around that.”

PRODUCT WATCH

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TANTONI WARMBLOODS

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TWEMLOWS STUD FARM in Shropshire offers tailored packages for mare owners of every level. The stud is renowned as being one of the UK's leading centres for all equine reproductive services including AI, embryo transfer, OPU/ICSI and genetic salvage. Twemlows Stud also transfer, OPU/ICSI and genetic salvage. Twemlows Stud also offers comprehensive foaling packages with practical and theory-based training courses available for those wanting a stronger insight into the practical side of breeding.

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