Mares, foals and the small hours
Stud work
Pre-breeding checks, ultrasound scans, artificial insemination with fresh or chilled semen, and foal checks at twelve hours. And the night phone, for when she decides to do it at two.
Mares and foals keep their own hours. If you are breeding, the most important number you have is the one you can ring at 2am.
We start with the mare: a scan and a swab if she has not bred before or has missed, then scans through her season to time the covering or insemination. A pregnancy check at 14 to 16 days is when we can spot and sort out twins, which matter a great deal, followed by another at about 30 days and at 60.
Book the foal check before the foal arrives. At about twelve hours old, we check the heart, lungs, eyes, umbilicus and limbs, and we take a blood sample to make sure it had enough colostrum. A failure of that is easy to treat at twelve hours, and much more dangerous at three days.
If you are close to foaling, tell us. We will put your mare’s dates on the board by the night phone, so that whoever answers knows already.
What it includes
- Pre-breeding scans and swabs
- AI with fresh or chilled semen
- Pregnancy scans at the times that matter
- Foaling dates on the board by the night phone
- Foal check and IgG test at about 12 hours
- Foaling emergencies, day or night
What it costs
A stud scan is £55 plus the visit. A foal check is £70. The price list has the rest. We tell you what a job is likely to cost before we start.
Questions about stud work
When should the foal stand and feed?
Usually standing within about an hour, and suckling within about two. If it has not, ring us. See the foaling page.
Do you do frozen semen?
We refer that to a stud practice with the right kit and experience. It has a narrow window, and that is what they do.
Worried? Ring. Nobody here minds an unnecessary call.
A vet answers, day or night, and advice on the phone is free. For everything else, there is a round day.