Pasture Breeding
By Jamie Lair
Currently at Penn
State University
there is a small herd of 15 mix-breed ponies, which includes 1 stallion, 7
brood mares and 4 yearlings, and 3 foals.
These ponies are used primarily for teaching and research
purposes. Throughout the time the
ponies have lived at Penn
State, they have been
free- running and have served as a resource for observing normal pasture
breeding and harem maintenance behavior.
HEAD SIRE: IAN CHARLES
 Ian Charles is the current stallion of the pony
herd. He is an 18-year-old dun stallion and has been a research pony for most
of his life. He has been with this particular
harem for nearly 3 years now, and is the sire of all the offspring. (Refer to
Figure 1)
 BREEDING PROCESS
When the mare is in estrus, over about 5-7 days, she will approach the
stallion, Ian Charles, as mares seems to have a significant control over the
timing of breeding. She will show him
several signs, such as tail raising and “winking” (vulva lips will open and
close quickly). She will also push
her hindquarters towards him to show that she is willing to be bred. (Refer
to Figure 2) The stallion might
attempt to mount the mare several times in order to confirm that the mare
will stand. Then when he is  ready he
will breed the mare. He may pinch the
mare’s neck with his teeth in order to steady himself while mounted. After the breeding is over the mare will
walk slowly out from under the stallion and walk away.
Mares are normally cycling during the natural breeding season of
April, May, June, and July in North America.
 WHERE THE PASTURE BREEDING PROGRAM TAKES PLACE
There are two main areas used for pasture breeding at Penn
State, the Almquist
pasture and the eleven grass plots.
The Almquist pasture is very useful when it comes time to foal because
it is easier for the researchers to observe the ponies as they give
birth. They are able to watch the
ponies from outside the pasture so they are less likely to interfere or
disturb the mare. The grass plots
are another location for keeping the ponies and allows rotation of the harem
from pasture to pasture to support the farming purposes at Penn
State.
GENERAL ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES FOR CHOOSING PASTURE
BREEDING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL
Advantages
·
Less hands-on labor
needed
·
 Increased Conception Rate
o Often higher than in controlled breeding program
(may vary with nutritional status, may not be as high in Wild Horse populations
out west for example)
o More opportunities to breed
o Both sexes can interact at will (Refer to Figure4)
o
Figure 4: A few mares of the pony herd with Ian
Charles (right).
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Seems to sustain
fertility in the stallion
·
May see less
aggression shown by stallions
during handling, also constant pasture access
should reduce occurrence of stereotypies
Disadvantages
·
Human contact is
limited and complications might be more difficult to detect or intervene
·
Need for some type of
monitoring to detect breeding dates, particularly if horses are to be
registered
·
Safety Issues to
Mares, Stallions and Foals
o Rotating mares in and out of a band can cause
issues in the normal hierarchy
o Keeping a band together year round should reduce
the concern for safety
·
Smaller stud book for
the pasture breeding stallion if not managed properly
CONCLUSION
Overall, pasture breeding has turned out to be a very effective
program for the pony group at Penn
State. Minor and major injuries have been
infrequent and none appeared related to the breeding process.
References:
McDonnell SM (2000)
Reproductive behavior of stallions and mares: comparison of free-running and
domestic in-hand breeding. Animal Reproduction Science 60-61: 211-219.
Sellnow, Les.
The Horse Interactive, Nature at Work: Pasture Breeding. ©
Jan.2004.
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