A Lesson in Breeding - "IN HAND"

Now that Sigmund has become accustomed to the reactions of a mare, it is time to begin to teach him to breed "In Hand". This means that one person has the mare haltered and is holding her while another has the stallion haltered and is holding him. This process is widely used by horse breeders. It can be a very unsafe method for the handlers, due to the actions of the horses and the people can easily get in the way. However, when properly done a well train stallion is very effective with this method of breeding. My boyfriend (William) and I introduced this method of breeding to Sigmund and Shar. Due to the lack of a third person, I unfortunately do not have pictures to post; it is sort of difficult to hold horses and take pictures at the same time! Anyway, the first step was to decide whether, or not, we wanted to hobble Shar to keep her feet from leaving the ground in frustration! After we decided to try breeding without them, we haltered the horses and I explained the process to William. (He is not a "horse person" - I would recommend using an experienced person, however, William is very eager to learn and both Shar and Sigmund have such mellow dispositions that I felt safe with using William.)

A common practice with "In Hand" breeding is to use a twitch on the mare. This puts her in a position of inferiority. With most horses, a twitch is very effective and for breeding purposes, it helps to keep the mare under control while the stallion is mounting her. There are several types of twitches, a chain twitch, ear twitch, skin twitch, and etc. Since I do not own a twitch, I decided to have William do a manual ear twitch on Shar. This is when you hold the ear in your hand and gently, but with some force, twist the ear slightly and pull the ear just a slight bit down toward the ground, simultaniously. Shar was very receptive to this type of twitch so a more severe type was not needed.

While William is holding Shar and using the manual ear twitch, I be sure to maintain a constant conversation with him to let him know what is happening and what to expect next. This is for his safety so that he does not get hurt by an unexpected action from either horse. Now, my goal is to concentrate on Sigmund. I always start by keeping distance between he and Shar. This will allow Sigmund to talk to Shar and to help get her to listen to him without having to worry about him being to close to her. While Sigmund is nickering and talking to her, I am watching to see that she is showing bold and obvious signs of being in heat. Then slowly I begin to bring Sigmund closer to Shar (at an angle towards her hind quarters). This will allow Sigmund to flirt by rubbing his nose on her flanks and back legs (I don't let him bite her because I personally don't like it and I feel that it can be dangerous, though many people do not mind this and I know of stallions who do this). As he is flirting, I am watching to be sure that he is becoming aroused and that Shar is being responsive to his actions. A problem with young, untrained stallions is the urge to try to rush the process and mount while not having an erection. By allowing this, it can cause extra frustration for the mare and stallion, and also have a higher chance for injury to the horses and handlers.

When I see that Sigmund and Shar both are ready, I then try to encourage him to mount. This is when it is the most dangerous. William has to be ready to watch for Sigmund's feet as he mounts and also has to try to keep Shar from walking. My job is to try to help the best I can to keep Shar from moving and to help with Sigmund making a connection. Generally, aim is a problem for an inexperienced stallion and the more assistance they can get, they less frustrated they will become. For most stallions, time is a big issue. The more times they have to try to mount the more frustrated they become. This can cause the stallion to get very aggressive! By helping the stallion as much as possible, you can help cut down the number of times they have to mount. The mare can also become very frustrated and then becomes agitated the longer the process takes.

The total number of mounts I allow is only about 4 - 5 times. I have found that any more than this causes aggression in both of the horses. Once the stallions has become more experienced, he may only need 1 - 2 mounts. Between each attempt at a mount, I walk Sigmund away from Shar to give each of them a chance to relax and prepare for the next try. This helps maintain order and also ensures that both of them relax and don't rush the process by mounting when not ready. With a successful mount, you have to try to watch and see that the stallion has made a good connection with the mare and that when he ejaculates, he "flags" his tail (this is when he forcefully swishes his tail up and down a couple of times). This generally means that he has reached the point of ejaculation. Another sign that may aid in helping you tell if the stallion has finished the job is that when he pulls out, the head of the penis has become very enlarged like a mushroom. This is commonly referred to as becoming "mushroomed". The better sign to go by would be the one of flagging. This is due to the possibility that the stallion may mushroom before he ejaculates and flagging most always occurs while he is in the process of ejaculating. While breeding, and you have had a successful mounts, you want to try to breed every other day until the mare comes out of heat. This is a common rule of thumb and with successful mounts on each day, you obviously have a higher chance of getting the mare pregnant!


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