A career as a horse breeder may appear lucrative, but it is in fact difficult work with a high level of risk. The gestation period for horses is approximately 11 months. This means you’ll be in business for at least a year before seeing any of your hard work pay off. Horses are also known for having reproductive issues. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars on veterinary bills only to be unable to conceive.
All of this may sound discouraging, but there must be a bright side to being a horse breeder, or no one would want to do it. The sight of a baby animal that they helped to bring into the world is extremely rewarding for many people. Other people are enamored with horses, and becoming a horse breeder allows them to pursue their passion. If you are willing to work hard and use your head as well as your heart, you can make a career as a horse breeder.
When it comes to horse breeding, there are two basic options. You have the option of breeding mares or standing a stallion at stud. Mare owners will pay you to breed their mare to your stallion if you stand a stallion at stud. While you might believe that you’ll need a lot of fancy equipment to do this, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Many horse breeders prefer to impregnate mares using artificial insemination (AI). The risk of physical injury to both the mare and the stallion is minimal, and the chances of a successful pregnancy may actually be higher than with traditional live cover breeding. While collecting sperm for AI is simple, the stallion’s success rate will be determined by how the sperm is prepared for shipment to the mare. For the collection process, many stallion owners send their horses to a veterinarian. The veterinarian will collect and prepare the stallion’s sperm for shipment for a fee.
Your facilities are more important if you own a mare. During her pregnancy, the mare needs plenty of low-stress exercise, and once she foals, she and her foal will need a place to play. It’s crucial to have a barn with fields where she can run around and graze.
Being a horse breeder is a matter of effective marketing if you own a stallion. You must publicize your stallion’s name in order for mare owners to want to breed to him. Because of the widespread use of AI, many mare owners select a stallion they have never seen, so high-quality photos and videos are an essential part of the marketing package.
If you own a mare, you should be aware that even if everything goes well in your breeding business, you will be years away from making a profit. You’ll have a lot of expenses to pay before you sell your first foal. For your pregnant mare and, later, her foal, you can’t afford to skimp on veterinary care or food.
Before selling the foal, you must keep it for at least four months. Many people lack the necessary resources to care for a foal. When breeders keep their babies until they are three years old and trained to ride, they often get better prices and have an easier time selling them. This means that at any given time, you could have anywhere from three to five horses on the property. Even for healthy horses, medical bills and veterinarian fees can quickly add up.