Hi, I have a few questions of which I have after reading some of the posts here (sorry for being so thick!)
1. Does a stallion have to be licenced before covering your own mares and/or mares not under your ownership?
2. When a visiting mare has been covered, roughly how long is her stay at stud?
3. .....and do all/most studs test her for pregnance prior to leaving the stud or does this vary between different yards? Also what sort of costs are involved in scanning etc? Is blood testing the best way?
4. Obviously having a maiden mare and a young colt with no experience is by far not the best "partnership", but do maiden mares have any problems (obviously I realise there is always a risk) with foaling as with humans (ie generally longer in giving birth etc)?
5. Does a colts behaviour change drastically (become dangerous) once he has started covering mares even if he may be receiving knowlegable care and education, not just for breeding but as a "normal" youngster's education would progress?
6. Gelding :- if you have a change of heart and you geld late (ie 3yo for example), what effects may this have on him longterm (I realise the physical changes, eg crestier)?
Thank you! Andree
Jos Posted From: 142.177.7.217
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 11:02 pm:
1. Does a stallion have to be licenced before covering your own mares and/or mares not under your ownership?
This will depend upon the Registry the stallion is registered with. Generally if there is a licensing requirement, it applies to all breedings.
2. When a visiting mare has been covered, roughly how long is her stay at stud?
There is no standard answer to this, as different Studs have different requirements.
3. .....and do all/most studs test her for pregnance prior to leaving the stud or does this vary between different yards?
There is no standard answer to this, as different Studs have different requirements.
3 (parts 2 and 3! ). Also what sort of costs are involved in scanning etc? Is blood testing the best way?
Costs will vary - practitioner dependent. Ultrasound scanning is the best way for pregnancy detection - it can be done early enough to detect and deal with twin pregnancies (+/-15 days), which cannot be identified with a blood test anyway.
4. do maiden mares have any problems (obviously I realise there is always a risk) with foaling as with humans (ie generally longer in giving birth etc)?
No, not usually.
5. Does a colts behaviour change drastically (become dangerous) once he has started covering mares even if he may be receiving knowlegable care and education, not just for breeding but as a "normal" youngster's education would progress?
A colt should never become dangerous. If he does, there is another term that should be used for him - a gelding!
6. Gelding :- if you have a change of heart and you geld late (ie 3yo for example), what effects may this have on him longterm (I realise the physical changes, eg crestier)?
Three is not that old to castrate. Stallion-like physical characteristics regress as the testosterone levels regress post-castration. Some things will not change - the earlier a colt is castrated for example, the higher he will generally grow. If he is castrated later, he will not suddenly undergo a growth spurt to catch up! Learned breeding behaviour in older stallions that were castrated late will be less likely to change - i.e. there is a greater chance of the gelding still teasing and breeding mares.
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). Also what sort of costs are involved in scanning etc? Is blood testing the best way? 
