theHorse.com has a special tool to help you calculate when your mare will foal. It's a simple but very handy calculator - give it a try. It doesn't know your individual mare, of course, and every mare is different - but it gives you the range of dates that are the most likely for most mares.
Click here to try the Mare Gestation Calculator.
Photo credit: 10marek.n / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Here is the next installment of Warmblood Stallions of North America’s Foundation Friday. Every other Friday we will be featuring a foundation sire - one who has been influential in the development of warmblood breeds. We pull from the incredible archive of The Horse Magazine, published by Chris Hector of Australia. Thank you, Chris, for permission to draw on your expertise!
US Equestrian Weekly, the e-newsletter from USEF, contained a feature story about US breeder! It's called "Maplewood Warmbloods Delivers Quality U.S.-Bred Horses at 2020 Dressage Festival of Champions and Beyond." Breeders don't usually get prominent recognition from USEF, so this is good to see.
Maplewood Warmbloods, owned by Jen Vanover, has been developing her mare band and breeding program for 15 years, and has produced some top competitors. She also stands her own stallions.
Read the article, and the interview with Jen, here.
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| Kiki Beelitz photo |
Once again Christopher Hector, of The Horse Magazine in Australia, has written an analysis of the Bundeschampionate winners' bloodlines. This time he attended virtually, since spectators were not allowed. Luckily for us, photographer Kiki Beelitz was there and provided great images.
Read the bloodline analysis here: Dressage Breeding at the 2020 Bundeschampionate.
For a related article, eurodressage posted in May about the format of the 2020 Bundeschampionate. Read 2020 Bundeschampionate: No Audience, Two Weeks, No Quotum for Qualifiers.
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| Borgmann youngsters. HorseMagazine.com photo. |
The family’s 25-strong broodmare band is the secret ingredient of their success. Some of the maternal lines have been with the family for ten generations. Stephan Borgmann explains, “After such a long time you know exactly what you’ve got and what characteristics and qualities are passed on. I am not thinking like a lot of breeders today, only to the modern stallion star of this year, and next year we have the next star stallion… I know my mares for ten generations and I know what stallions I need for those mares.”
The metabolic demands of reproduction, specifically late gestation, parturition, and lactation, may trigger an upswing in oxidative stress in mares.
“Oxidative stress signifies an imbalance between the normal production of oxidative products within a body and the ability of the body to neutralize those agents and repair the damage caused by them,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutrition advisor with Kentucky Equine Research. ...
Read the full article: click here.
"Current horse breeding trends are characterized by a decline in mares bred and a new focus on well-being of established pregnancies, as well as enhanced genetic selection related to the health and future performance of foals."
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| Jens and his wife, Susanne at their stallion show – photo Kiki Beelitz |
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| Damsey, one of the discoveries of Jens Meyer, is owned by Leatherdale Farms, Minnesota. Photo: Claes Jakobsson/FEI |
E.H. Herzensdieb
Tambour x Tivano
Trakehner Licensing Champion in Germany and Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
Flemmingh x Inselfürst
Oldenburg Licensing Champion in Germany, Exciting Young Sire awarded 1c Premium
Florestan I x Donnerhall/Old.
Classic Florestan I/Donnerhall Bloodlines, Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
His Highness x Rotspon
Sought after His Highness & Rotspon Bloodlines; Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
Lexington, KY. - Sept. 2, 2020 - Leatherdale Farms is proud to partner with the American Hanoverian Society to sponsor prize money for their 8th Annual AHS Yearling and Two-Year-Old Futurity during their inspection tour! Dedicated to providing breeders world-class Hanoverian stallions with both classic and modern bloodlines, Leatherdale Farms is passionate about high-quality sport horses in the United States.
"The American Hanoverian Society is thrilled to have Leatherdale Farms sponsor the 8th Annual Nationwide AHS Futurity and we are grateful for Louise [Leatherdale]'s generous support of the Hanoverian/Rhineland horse," said Edgar Schutte, the President of the American Hanoverian Society. "Our futurity has become very popular with our members. With uncertainty about many things due to COVID-19, the AHS is fortunately able to be one of the few registries conducting inspections. It is magnificent to continue to offer this prize money to the top 5 placings nationwide. Leatherdale Farms generous sponsorship will be appreciated by many."
Founded by Schutte in 2012, the AHS Yearling and Two-Year-Old Futurity is judged using a scale from 1-10 with three categories: Conformation/Type, Movement, Foundation/Legs.
With a total of $3,000 available, participants of AHS's Futurity classes will have the opportunity to win prize money in each of the divisions offered. If interested in participating, the inspection tour schedule for the remainder of the year is located below and check here for the most up to date details. COVID-19 precautions will be implemented at each host site with masks and social distancing required at each event. Please contact the individual host site as they may implement further safety procedures.
For more information on this year's inspection tour, please click here or call call the AHS office at 859-255-4141.
For more information on the AHS or to learn more about Hanoverian horses in North America, please visit their website.
To learn more about Leatherdale Farms, click here.
To learn about the Leatherdale stallions at stud, click each link:
Tambour x Tivano
Trakehner Licensing Champion in Germany and Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
Flemmingh x Inselfürst
Oldenburg Licensing Champion in Germany, Exciting Young Sire awarded 1c Premium
Florestan I x Donnerhall/Old.
Classic Florestan I/Donnerhall Bloodlines, Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
His Highness x Rotspon
Sought after His Highness & Rotspon Bloodlines; Proven Dressage Competitor & Sire.
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| Good reporting from the Chronicle. |
The Chronicle of the Horse September 7 & 14 issue has an article that is pretty scary for its implications for human as well as equine health. It discusses a case where the controversial practice of mining by fracking is implicated in dysphagia in foals.
A breeding farm in Pennsylvania had over half its foals born with dysphagia, where the foal is unable to nurse and swallow properly. Dysphagia is normally extremely rare, and yet, from 2014 to 2016, 17 of the farm's 28 foals were born with it.
After careful research into possible causes, it was determined that nearby fracking was causing very high levels of PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in the two wells used to provide the horses' water on the farm. They were almost certainly the cause of the dysphagia in the foals.
Is your mare "marish," even "bitchy"? Does she exhibit behavior that you associate with her cycles, and being a mare? Turns out much of this behavior has a completely unrelated cause.
In mares, unwanted and nervous behaviors often get blamed on estrus. However, that’s often not really the cause. Dr. Jenny Biehunko, on theHorse.com, explains.
Listen to this 3-minute podcast excerpt to hear the latest about what clinicians have learned about marishness.
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Another article on theHorse.com addresses this issue in more depth: Is it Estrus or Something Else? The article looks at everything behind mare behavior, including causes of marish behavior, whether estrus or something else. It gives a good idea of the range of possibilities, and the need for each mare owner to evaluate her specific mare. It's not as simple as you might think.
Click here to read Is it Estrus or Something Else?
Photo of crabby horse: Takuma Kimura from okayama, Japan / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
Breeder Kendra Hansis recently shared a post on Facebook about what it's like to be an equine professional. The post was specifically describing being a trainer, but Kendra asked:
Here is the original post (much of which also applies to breeders), by Shannon Eckel, followed by breeders' responses to Kendra's question.
Here’s the ugly truth of what people don’t tell you about going professional:
-You will work 13, 14, 15, 16+ hour days. Not for a lavish vacation, but to put fuel in a truck and a sheepish dinner on the table.
-365. Rain. Snow. Christmas. Funerals. Hot and humid you are there, you are working.
-People will tell you your six figure horses will never be nice enough and those 3-4 figure ones will never be rank enough.
-The biggest shows are the loneliest places. People support you until you become a threat, then they will try and break you down.
-You will see death and hardships. A lot of hardships.
-You will want to give up.Why don’t people tell you this? Simple. We wouldn’t have an industry.
What people don’t tell you is why you don’t give up:-When that quirky horse gets it.
-When you get that first big sale, first client horse, first investor, first time your barn fills up.
-When those few people believe in you and you start getting phone calls of people being sent to you.
-When a training client strikes it big.
-When you finish a day and look back at a farm and business you built.Why don’t people tell you this? Because there’s not a grand enough word to describe that feeling and that’s why we are here.
From breeders:
"When you hear that first gasp of air filling the lungs of a new foal and there is instantaneous love."
—Gary Marquardt, Walkabout Station, TX
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From Kendra Hansis, Runningwater Warmbloods, NJ: "Moments like this:"
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| EM Raleska (Rascalino/ Warkant) and her 2020 Glamourdale colt, Paddington Skyfall H2O, bred by Kendra Hansis at Runningwater Warmbloods in Frenchtown, NJ, and owned by Scott Durkin. Photo copyright Kendra Hansis. |
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"Those few moments when the result of all your hard work, blood, sweat, tears and money takes their first step, or first win in the show ring or trots down the centre line under the spotlights having been crowned a champion, so you do it all again."
—Sacha Shaw, Volatis Stud, UK
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"It’s a thing of the heart..."
—Valerie Carter, Oakwood Equestrian, FL
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"Moments like this...
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| Zoraja TSH (Chicardo/ Cathalido/ Riverman) and her colt Barenjer TSH by Bandelero JSF. Bred by Heather McInerney. Photo: Heather McInerney. |
...and seeing them grow up to do this:"
"All of it, from the excitement from every 'She's pregnant,' sitting with my mares as they look to me for comfort as they're close to foaling, the adrenaline that comes when the water breaks and then the excitement and humor as they take those first wobbly steps. It's the pride you feel as you watch them grow and mature into those spider legs. It's the feeling of accomplishment when they do well at inspections and breed shows. It's the bittersweet moment you load them on a trailer to head to their new home but the excitement of a promise of a bright future and the smile on the new owner's face as they take that lead rope and thank me for bringing their new partner into their lives. It continues on as I watch them grow up and start their training and go to shows, but also the super excitement as your program continues on when that mare or stallion you bred becomes a dam or sire too! It's a passion for every part of it."
—Gabriella Cottone, Cottone Sport Horses, Union Bridge, MD
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All responses used with permission.
If you are a breeder, why do you stay in it? Please contribute your thoughts in the comments below.
