If someone asks me what I do with my horses, my first words are "I am a breeder." Lately I have given thought to why I became a breeder and for that matter, why others became breeders. I am offering these thoughts and opinions as just that. How much my personal experience can be extrapolated to the general experience is open for debate.
Nobody Plans to Become a Horse Breeder.
I have been involved with horses from the time I was ten years old. Although I had an ownership gap of about 25 years while I pursued a career, I took riding lessons, attended horse events, belonged to horse clubs and went on riding vacations. In 1996, I got back into horse ownership and in 1998, Tom and I bought a farm.
At no time in my life previously did I have an undying urge to breed. Yes, my first pony had a foal, but it was purely an accident and a total surprise. I never thought about youngsters and foals in all the years that followed. The idea of breeding came about with farm ownership and our interest in Fjords. We decided to buy some mares and breed them with the vague idea that we would have a few more Fjords for our family. Our son was then age 7 and quite the chauvinist. He wanted us to have more "boy" horses and when Blitzen was born, Alex claimed him as his own horse. We did not realize that we had stepped out on a slippery slope!
2. Fjord Stallions Are Different.
We have all heard stories about stallions being difficult and hard to handle. There is definitely truth to this idea. I have seen stallions, but never owned one until Alex claimed "the boy horse." I remember Tom and I shrugging and saying, let's see what happens. What happened is that we raised a stallion. Luckily he was a Fjord and easy to handle. Did we have to be aware he is a breeding animal? Yes, but he has always been cooperative and pleasant. I would like to say his temperament is unique, but I have since known many Fjord stallions over the years and most of them are just as laid back. If you want to be a Fjord breeder, you need to have a Fjord stallion.
3. AI Does Not Work Well with Fjords.
I can hear the protests now and let me assure you that I went into breeding thinking that artificial insemination (AI) was the way to go. What I learned is that AI was not as reliable as live cover, more expensive and a hassle to manage. While AI does give you the option of using many stallions from around the world, the issue is that the conception rate is not as good with Fjords. This is not to say that I have never bred AI or that I don't know breeders who have been successful with AI. It happens that my experiences have not been very positive, whereas live cover works. Plus most outside mare owners are fine with live cover.
4. Having Access to a Good Repro Vet is Critical.
If you want to breed successfully, you need a good vet who is available to support your program. We are lucky in Virginia that we have a number of horse vets in close proximity to our farm. While I don't use my vet to collect and inseminate very often, his practice is critical in ultrasounding for pregnancies, treating my herd and helping with foals. I'll write more of foals in another blog. I know breeders in other parts of the US and Canada who do not have a horse vet in close proximity, and it is challenging. Your vet is a silent partner in your breeding business; be sure you have a good repro vet to assist you.
5. Other Fjord Breeders Are Your Friends.
Generally speaking, the Fjord community is welcoming. We don't have that many foals born worldwide, so we encourage other breeders to keep those numbers up. There is enough demand for Fjords that the competition between breeders is minimal. I'll happily recommend other breeders' stallions and sale foals. Most individual breeders share that attitude. We help each other. I am grateful for all the advice and assistance I received when we were starting out. It made a difference not to be alone. Mentoring is important and I try to assist when I am asked.
6. Have a Plan.
I admit that when I started out, I had a very vague plan about exactly what I wanted to do and how to go about getting there. Over time and with advice and suggestions form the Fjord community I realized that a breeder needs to have a 5-to-10-year plan. It doesn't matter so much that you follow that plan exactly, but that you have an idea about what you want to do and how to get there.
The issue with breeding is that it takes time. Mares have one foal a year. It takes years for foals to mature. And like everything in this world there is variance and randomization, so be prepared for it. Many times, you may not understand exactly what is happening or why. For me, I follow a guiding principle of wanting to produce Fjords with good temperaments who are versatile in a variety of sports. I am not interested in color at all. Other breeders do care about color and color genetics. There is room for all of us in the Fjord community.
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