Breed the best to the best, and hope for the best, right? Well, there's a lot more to it than that. While many breeders pay lots of attention to the merits of the stallion, the broodmare can become secondary. However, breeders would do well to remember that the resulting foal will have characteristics of both the mare and the stallion. To that end, it's very important to choose the right broodmare.
If you have a breeding program, your broodmare is the foundation of your success. Never forget it! Your broodmare can make or break your breeding program.
But what's right for one program might not be right for another. When choosing your broodmare, the first step, and one of the most important, is to define your goals. If you are looking for a good cutting horse, for example, the world champion park saddle horse, as fine as she is, may not be the right choice.
To that end, start with a broodmare who typifies your goals. If you want to breed a leggy, athletic jumper, then choose a mare with these attributes. Remember to evaluate your mare in terms of not only conformation, but in terms of disposition and intelligence.
It's interesting, but do you know what happens to many performance horses who end up unsound for one reason or another? They are bred. In many cases, this results in yet more horses who end up unsound. The best broodmares are those who have proven themselves in performance. Many people also choose to breed their horses based on conformation alone, and relegate some horses to the broodmare ranks without even riding them first. But no matter how well conformed a particular mare is, you have no idea if she has the temperament or disposition for a certain discipline unless she is actually ridden!
A good broodmare is free of hereditary faults and unsoundnesses. Things like splints, ringbone, sidebone, bog spavin, bone spavin, thoroughpin, and navicular disease are often hereditary and are passed on from generation to generation.
Once you have determined that your mare is a good candidate for your goals based on conformation, soundness, and temperament, you'll need to ensure that she has good breeding soundness and conformation as well. What does this mean? Well, in a breeding mare, the anus should be directly above the vulva so the manure and its juices fall away from the vulva. If the mare is conformed so that manure drips into the vulva she is often at risk of chronic infection, which often keeps the mare from conceiving. While there are certain veterinary procedures that can be done for mares like this to help them conceive, keep in mind that most mares like this do not conceive in nature, and their gene pool would eventually be eliminated from the herd. Mares who need procedures in order to conceive usually incur more costs during the breeding process as well.
At any rate, your vet can do a rectal exam to determine whether your mare's reproductive tract is in good order. In addition to the above-mentioned breeding conformation, a good broodmare has ovaries that are normal and functioning, a cervix that is not scarred, and a uterus that has good tone and no abnormalities.
If you are buying a potential broodmare, it is always an excellent idea to get a reproductive history on the mare from the previous owner. The reproductive history should show you the mare's rate of conception, whether any problems were encountered during the mare's breeding career, and if so how those problems were dealt with.
Remember, never lose sight of your breeding goals when choosing your broodmare. Choose your broodmare based on conformation, performance, soundness, ability, and genetic background, and you are well on your way to getting the perfect foal!
