Saddling and Behaviour of horses

TYPES OF SADDLES

The style of riding determines the type of saddle.

The basic types are western saddle and English saddle

Western saddle 

Western or stock saddles tend to be large and heavy. They are nearly impossible for youngsters to handle. However, they offer a great deal of security for the beginner.

Western saddles are saddles originally designed to be used on horses on working cattle ranches in the United States. Used today in a wide variety of western riding activities, they are the "cowboy saddles" familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on tourist trail rides.

The Western saddle has no padding of its own, and must be used with a saddle blanket or pad in order to provide a comfortable fit for the horse. It also has sturdier stirrups and uses a cinch rather than a girth.

Its most distinctive feature is the horn on the front of the saddle, originally used to dally a lariat when roping cattle

English saddle 

They are usually rather light and easily handle. This type of saddle allows the rider to sit closer to the horse, to feel the horse, and to communicate more readily with seat and legs.

The major distinguishing feature of an English saddle is its flatter appearance, the lack of a horn, and the self-padding design of the panels: a pair of pads attached to the underside of the seat and filled with wool, foam, or air.

However, the length and angle of the flaps, the depth of the seat and height of the cantle all play a role in the use for which a particular saddle is intended

PRINCIPLES OF SADDLE FITTING

The withers must not be pressed or pinched upon.

The spine must have no pressure imposed upon it

The shoulder blades must have free and unimpeded movements

The weight must not be placed on loins

The weight must be evenly disturbed over the weight bearing surface which extend from the play of the should to the last rib

The weight must be imposed on the ribs through the medium of muscles covering on them.

SADDLING

The horse should be groomed thoroughly to ensure that there are not sores on its back or in the cinch area. If there are saddle sores, extra padding or a girth pad should be considered and sufficient time should be given to the score to heal.

The blanket or saddle pad should have no wrinkles and offer adequate padding fo the horse. Some horse requires more padding them others, and some may require extra padding at their withers to prevent binding the shoulder. The saddle cinch (western) or girth (English) must be clean because dirty cinches or girths can cause saddle sores.

The saddle should be raised as high as possible and set it down gently on the horse’s back. This helps to prevent back soreness and helps assure the horse that the saddle experience is nothing to fear. Throwing the saddle onto the horse’s back can cause bruising and may aggravate any existing back problem.

The saddle should be placed properly. It should not be placed too far front, which may restrict the shoulder movement and may cause discomfort or too far back, which can cause kidney damage and sore backs.

For a western saddle, let the cinch and stirrup down, making sure they do not slam down on the horse’s side. For English saddles, hook the girth on one side. Never release the cinch and stirrup by pushing them ouver the saddle from the left side. This could hurt or startle the horse.

In western riding, with the left hand under the buckle to prevent pinching, tighten the cinch slowly, 1 or 2 inches at a time. In English slowly buckle the girth but not too tight. Tightening it too quickly can cause your horse to be ‘cinchy’ or irritable, during saddling. Some horse may even begin biting or rearing when you tighten the cinch if they anticipate discomfort. Tighten

the cinch until it is snug enough to hold the saddle on the horse. It tightened more before ridding.

For unsaddling, the process should be reversed

BEHAVIOUR OF HORSE

The horse is a herd animal and needs to be able to communicate with other members of the herd.

Of course, horses do not have philosophical discussions, but they do need to convey basic emotions, such as fear, and to establish a hierarchy of dominance without resorting to violence.

Domestic horses treat us as members of their herd, so they use the same body language with us.

Signs of happiness

A contented horse is not worried about any other horses that may be around. It shows off its best features by carrying its head high and holding its tail up, and tends to make
its movements more extravagant than usual.

In the field, horses like company, they are usually pleased when they see a human being whom they recognize and trust. They will approach you without fear, rather
than running away from you.

In the stable If a horse wants to be left alone to enjoy a rest, it will turn away from other horses. A stabled horse may turn its back to the door to show you that it does not want to talk.

Feeding of Foal and weanlings

FEEDING THE FOAL

• Neonatal feeding of the foal depends upon how well the mare has been fed during the gestation.
• A well balanced diet supplies all nutrients needed for development of foal and also enables the mare to produce optimum milk after foaling.
• Also the foal should receive adequate nutrients post-natal, and pre-weaning, to have a good start in bone development and growth, espe­cially if the foal is to become a high level performance horse.

COLOSTRUM FEEDING

• The mare has to pass adequate passive protection to foal which is provided through colostrum feeding. Besides, colostrum has laxative sub­stance that promotes bowel movement and elimination.
• Mare has to, there fore, be in foaling area preferably a month before foaling so that she confers immunity to microbial strains peculiar to her environment, especially those causing scours, joint ill and septicemia etc.
• Immunoglobulins do mot pass through dam's placenta and are absorbed only through first part of intestine during first few hours of life. The immunoglobulins get concentrated by the mare in her udder within last two weeks of gestation.
• The mare's colostrum contains protein upto 19 percent immediately after parturition which falls to 3.8 percent after 12 hrs and to a fairly constant level of 2.2 percent, after 8 days.
• The foal absorbs gamaglobulin as intact undegraded molecules through­out first 12 hours of life which gets reduced to a great extent in next 24 hours.
• Amounts of these specific antibodies so acquired by foal, start to decline from 24 hours of age, by 3 weeks the values are halved and by 4 months, the titre of specific immunity provided by the mother is barely detectable.

• The foal's own system of building active immunity in the form of autogenous gamaglobulins first provides detectable products at 2 weeks of age in the blood of colostrum deprived foals and at ,4 weeks in those reared normally.
• By 3-4 months of age, the gamaglobulins attain adult plasma concentration, Upto this stage, therefore, the foal is more susceptible to infection than is an adult in the same environment, particularly when it has received inadequate quantity of colostrum.
• The foal may at times be deprived of colostrum because of premature birth of foal, small intestine malabsorption, delayed suckling, premature leakage of milk through teats or death of the mare. In case of colostrum deprivation due to leakage of colostrum through teats of mare or due to some other reason except malabsorption, it is necessary to give foal colos­trum from another mare preferably one accustomed to the same environ­ment or failing this, cow's colostrum rather than milk.
• The foal should receive about 500 ml of colostrum by nipple or stomach tube every hour for three or four feeds before 12 hrs of age.
• After 18 hrs, the colostrum has little systemic immune value, although it does have some beneficial local effects within the intestinal tract.
• If the plasma concentration of immunoglobulins falls below ,400 mg per 100 ml blood then foal may be given blood plasma from another horse at the rate of 22 ml/kg body weight over a period of 1-2 hours which is approximately 1 litre per foal.

FEEDING OF MARE'S MILK

• Milk meets the needs during 2 to -3. weeks of life of a foal, and how adequately it meets these needs depends upon how good a milk producer the mare is, and also the growth and development one expects of the foal.
• The foal needs supplementation of other feeds after 2-3 weeks of life. Vigorous foals nurse within 30-45 minutes.
• Mare's milk is not a perfect food to foal. It is deficient in energy, protein, vitamins and minerals and, therefore, it alone is insufficient for foal to sustain it. Mare's milk is also deficient in calcium, phosphorus, iron and copper.
• Milk production on an average ranges at about 3.1 percent of the mare's body weight at 11 days post-partum, 2.9 percent at 25 days and 3.4 percent at 39 days which supplies about 3.1, 2.1 and 2 percent DM of the foal's body weight.
• The Mare's milk contains on an average 2.1 MJ of gross energy per kg. The milk yield is markedly influenced by the mare's innate ability, by feed consumption during the later stages of pregnancy and more importantly, by water availability and intake of energy and nutrients during lactation. 

CREEP FEED

• At about 7-15 days of age, the foal starts to nibble on the feed given to the mother. To meet the inadequacy of nutrients in mare's milk and avoid­ance of imbalance diet to the foal, horse owners prefer to feed well balanced creep feed to the foals.
• It is usually recommended that creep feeding be started after 1-2 weeks of foaling. The creep should be located where the mare goes periodically during the day for water or shade.
• The use of creep feed helps to ensure that inherited potential of growth and development is realized.
• The creep feed also helps to avoid set backs that can occur when the foal is weaned from its mother.
• Creep feeding also accelerates anatomi­cal and physiological maturation of the gastro-intestinal tract.
• At 5-6 weeks of age, a foal should be consuming at least 0-1 kg of creep feed daily per 50 kg of body weight. By weaning time, the foal should be consuming at least 2-3 kg of creep feed per day which depends upon milking ability of the mother and development desired in the foal, kind of creep feed used and economics involved.
• Creep feeds also help in condi­tioning to the change of dependence on mother's milk to a man made diet. If the mare and foal are doing well during the first 6-12 weeks of age, creep feeding may be deferred until then when the mare's level of milk produc­tion starts to decrease and foals requirements are increasing.

Suggested Creep Feed for Nursing Foals

Feed	Percent in Diet
Oats	35
Corn/Barley or combination	35.4
Soyabean Meal	15
Dried Skim Milk	5
Black Strap Molasses	5
Dicalcium Phosphate	2
Limestone	0.8
Salt trace mineralised	1
Vitamin Supplement	0.8

NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT FOR GROWTH

• The digestible energy requirement increases with age of the foal. How­ever, high energy intake is associated with developmental orthopaedic dis­ease.
• Starch feeding causes significant changes in serum insulin, thyroxine and triidothyronine which retards cartilage maturation.
• The protein requirement for growth have been found to be 50 and 45 gm/MCal of DE/day for weanling and yearling respectively.
• Lysine is the first limiting amino acid in the diet of growing foals which is 2.1 and 1.9 gm/MCal DE per day for weanling and yearling ,respectively.
• The growing foals deposit approxi­mately 16 gm calcium per kg of gain whereas phosphorus requirement is 8 gm/kg of gain.
• The requirement of vit A to support normal growth has been estimated to be 20 IU/kg of body weight or 1760 IU/kg of feed, whereas requirements of vit D has been calculated to be 275 IU/kg of feed.
• Alterna­tively, 6.6 IU of vit. D per kg body weight is sufficient for most circum­stances.

FEEDING OF THE WEANLING HORSE

• Weaning of foals may be before or after six months but preferably at six months. Weaning before six months is practiced where the owner can supplement the feed of the foal with creep feed, starter diets which are excellent substitutes for or supplement mare's milk.
• Delayed weaning is preferred by some in order to take advantage of the nutritional value of the mare's milk especially when feed supply available for the weaned foal is limited in quality and quantity.
• Early weaning, however, requires excellent diet fortified with minerals, vitamins, amino acids, protein, besides superior managerial ability.
• Weanlings grow rapidly and develop considerable bone and muscle s and, therefore, their diet has to be well balanced in terms of energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.
• It is important to note that fastest gains are made during the first year, and horses with. heavier mature weights, gain faster than horses of lighter mature weight.
• Thoroughbred foals have been seen to attain_', 4_.6, 67 and 90 percent of their mature weight at 6, 12, and 18 months of age respectively. However, ponies attain 55, 75 and 84 percent of their mature weight at 6, 12 and 18 months of age which indicates that lighter breeds attain mature weight at an early age.
• Thoroughbred foals attain 83, 90 and 95 percent of their expected mature height at 6, 12 and 18 months of age which indicates that during the first few months after birth, the fastest growth and most elongation of bones occurs.

• It, therefore, warrants a balanced feeding for mare to produce plenty of milk for the foal and a well balanced creep feed to supplement the mare's milk if they are being developed for high level performance at an early age.
• The creep feeding to foal before weaning is given at an approximate rate of 0.5 to 0.75 percent of the body weight which after weaning should be increased to 1 to 1.5 percent of body weight. In addition, the foal should be given forage at least at the rate of 1 kg per 100 kg body weight.
• The individuality of horse, its likes and dislikes, eating habits, quality of concen­trate feed, quality of the hay/pasture provided are some of the factors which determine the roughage to concentrate ratio of the weanling's feed.
• However, whether the weanling is being developed for sale or for performance, is also an important factor.

Suggested Concentrate Mixture for Weanlings

 Feed Percentage in Diet

Feed	Percentage
Oats	25
Corn	31
Milo	7
Soyabean meal	23
Dehydrated alfalfa meal	5
Black Strap Molasses	5
Vitamin Supplement	0.75
Dicalcium Phosphate	2
Limestone	0.25
Salt trace mineralized	1.00

• Table gives the suggested concentrate mixture which can be fed to weanling foals being developed for high level performance.
• Oats and corn are the energy sources whereas soyabean meal is plant protein source which is rich inlysine, the indispensable amino acid required for growth.
• The molasses is ^added for palatability and to help control dust. The vitamin supplement is used to reinforce the diet and make sure it is adequate in all the vitamins needed whereas salt trace mineralised makes sure that essential mineral elements required by the horse are supplied.
• The concentrate diet should be about 70 percent of total dry matter intake Whereas remainder should be a high quality hay or pasture which should contain at least 12 percent crude protein whereas concentrate ration should have 18 percent resulting into an average of 16 percent protein in the total diet.
• The feeding of weanling should be individually carried out so that aggressive ones do not dominate the timid weanlings. The concentrates should be fed at leasttwice daily whereas pasture or good quality hay should be provided on a free choice basis.
• Regulated exercise is a must for weanling to help develop sound bone and fitness. However, forced and excessive exercise may lead to development of joint inflammation, soreness, lameness, pulling up on their pasterns, bending over on the knees etc.
• These external disorders represent a variety of internal skeletal problems and are inaccurately put together under epiphisitis. There are three factors which are known to cause skeletal disor­ders in horses
• Genetic predisposition associated with large size at maturity,
• Nutrient imbalance or deficiencies in the total diet,
• Confinement coupled with forced exercise.

FEEDING OF MARE DURING LACTATION

• The mare suffers from maximum stress after parturition as it has to recover from parturition stress, produce enough milk and even rebreed dur­ing the next season.
• Inadequacy in energy, protein, vitamin and mineral content of feed will lead to decreased milk production and also her ability to breed back while suckling the foal.
• Inadequate feed intake will lead to poor rebreeding performance, delayed post-partum intervals, low conception rates and increased embryo mortality.
• During the 1st phase of lactation i.e. first 3 months of lactation, feed intake increases by 37 percent over feed intake during the last quarter of the pregnancy.
• The feed intake also rises from 1.5 to 2.0 percent of body weight. In this phase, concentrate diet should be 45 to 55 percent of total feed intake of the mare.
• However; the amount of concentrate intake can vary depending upon the quality of hay and pasture used, milk production level of the mare, her condition and other factors.
• During the first 3 months of lactation, the total diet of mare should contain at least 12.5 percent protein but it can be up to 14 percent.

• The higher protein percentage level will be safer to use with higher milk producing mares and also it will provide a safety factor to compensate for hay and pasture with lower digest­ibility because of stage of maturity at which they are consumed or har­vested.
• The hay/pasture should contain at least 10 percent protein in feed. Minerals should be self fed to mares especially if they need more than that is supplied in the concentrate mixture, especially if milk production is more, concentrate level in diet is less and quality and digestibility of hay/pasture is poor.
• Inclusion of soyabean meal has been shown to improve the protein content of early lactation mare's milk and it is considered to be accompa­nied by faster growth of the foal.

FEEDING RACEHORSES

• The racehorses must not be allowed to become fat. They need to be kept in trim and thrifty condition for which it is important that they receive
• protein, energy, vitamins and minerals in adequate amount to develop their body and perform to the maximum of their inherited potential.
• The concentrate diet should be upto percent of the total diet, how­ever, it will vary depending upon condition of the horse, how it responds to the diet and amount and quality of the hay and/or pasture used. The concen­
• trate feeding can increase or decrease depending upon whether the horse is under light training or heavy performance. The condition of the horse can serve as a guide as to whether too much or too little concentrates are being fed in relation to forage intake.

Management during Breeding

BREEDING GUIDELINES

1	Sex ratio	1 : 30-40
2	Age at puberty	12-15 months
3	Optimum age and weight at first mating	Male : 3-4 years Female : 2 ½ - 3 years Weight 300-350 kg
4	Productive life period	14-16 years of age or 10 foals
5	Length of estrus cycle	21-23 days
6	Duration of estrus	4-6 days
7	Diestrus	17-19 days
8	Ovulation	3-4th day of cycle
9	Optimum time for breeding	2-3 days after appearance of heat
10	Estrus per mare per year	1.71
11	Services per mare yearly	2.75
12	Foaling heat	9-11 days
13	Gestation period	335-345 days
14	Weaning	4-6 months

SELECTION OF STALLION

• A breeding soundness evaluation should be completed on stallion before they are bought or before the breeding season starts.
• Thee stallion’s past breeding records should be examined to determine his ability to impregnate mares.(These records should indicate the number of mares bred, number that conceived, average number of breeding per cycle, average number of estrous cycles mares were bred per conception, and average number of breeding per conception).
• Fertile stallions breed each mare 1.5 to 2 times per estrous cycle, and they are bred 1 to 2 estrous cycle per conception. The conception percentage for a properly managed and fertile stallion should be greater than 90 per cent.
• The stallion should be in excellent physical health, as shown by a physical examination and by his personal appearance. Injury to hind leg or back may impair or prevent the stallion from mounting mares.
• Overweight stallions tend to lose libido during the later part of the breeding season. The stallion should be checked for history of colic.
• Stallion should be free from cryptorchids, inguinal hernias.
• The temperament of the stallion is important. He should be easy to handle during teasing and breeding procedures and he should not have any stable vices.
• The stallion’s libido should be evaluated by determining his reaction time. Normal reaction times (from the time of seeing a mare until and attempted mount) should be about 1 to 5 minutes during breeding season. During winter it may be long as 15 minutes.
• The average number of mounts per ejaculate should be about 1.5. The time of copulation normally lasts from about 30 second to 2 or 3 minutes. The stallion usually makes 5 to 10 intravaginal thrusts period to ejaculation, and each thrust last about 11 seconds. The ejaculatory reflex lasts about 15 seconds. About 5 to 12 (8 to 10 is average) ejaculation pulses can be felt side of the base of the penis. Ejaculation can usually determined by “tail flagging” – the stallion raises and lowers his tail several times.
• Olfaction is one of the fundamental stimuli of reproductive responses of the stallion. When the stallion smells the external genitallia of the mare or smells voided urine, he displays the olfactory or “flehmen reflexes” in which he extend his neck upward and curls his lip. During the reflex, he inhales and exhales air in the upper respiratory passages.

TRAINING YOUNG STALLION

• Training the young, shy stallion takes patience and time.
• Training is usually started by teasing a mare or mares for a few minutes. As soon as the stallion loses interest, or after 5 or 10 minutes teasing should be stopped.
• As soon as stallion teases a mare vigorously, he should be allowed to mount a gentle mare that is in heat.
• He should be guided into the proper position prior to mounting. A stallion frequently mounts on the mare’s side or shoulder until he learns proper position.
• When the stallion mounts correctly from behind, direct his penis into the vagina. The handler must be careful because the stallion frequently falls backward or off the side the first few times he ejaculates.
• After having bred two to six times, the stallion usually understands the process. Then training him to mount the mare by approaching her at the hip.
• The stallion must be trained to accept washing procedures before breeding. For the first few times, stand the stallion next to a wall after he drops his penis while being teased. He is washed in this position so that his movement can be controlled

SELECTION OF BROOD MARE

• The brood mares must be wide and roomy, well ribbed up, broad and muscular over the loins and quarters in or order to provide enough room for the foal to develop.
• Horse breeding mares should have good conformation.
• Mule breeding mares are generally heavy draught type and coarsely bred, should have a big bone and big round belly and hips.
• The brood mares must be genitally sound and free from hereditary defects and should preferably have dropped foal.

BREEDING OF STALLION

• The stallions are usually put to Stud work at the age of four years, after they have retired from turf.
• However, animals which prematurely break down at 3 years are retired to the Stud and such stallions have to be initiated into service. These young stallions will be let down which means that his body conformation changes, the hard and tight abdominal muscles relax and normal belly coulour is developed.
• The well developed hard muscles of galloping and propulsion become softer and more elastic. As such, the time taken for the process of letting a horse down is not less than 3 months.
• Many stallions are awkward in their first attempt at service and all possible help, guidance and encouragement must be provided at this time.
• For its first 'service, the stallion should be kept well under control and a mare in proper heat should be selected for service. Maiden mares and mares for DHAMAN (Foal heat) covering should not be put to such stallions.
• Some stallions have bad breeding habits and such habits usually de­velop during their first use in the Stud.

·         Some are slow in mounting and often have to mount several times before actual ejaculation. The others bite badly during service.

·         Normally 30-40 mares are allotted to a stallion and the stallion has to cover 2 to 2 ½ times per mare in order to get them in foal. The total covering quota of the stallion should be fixed and number of mares allotted according to the age of the `stallion.

• The new stallions in their first year of service in the Stud should not cover more than 15 mares and their covering quota should not exceed the whole year.
• The second year, the number of mares as well as covering quota should be gradually increased which should be limited to 50 coverings during the whole year.
• It is during the 3^rd year of the Stud service that a stallion is. fully utilized and the covering quota should not increase 80-100 in a year. Similarly, when the stallion gets older than 15 years, the `covering quota' should be accordingly reduced.
• Normally one covering should be allowed in 48 hours as replacement of semen takes place in this period.
• During busy covering season, there is no harm in using a stallion daily but this should not be continued for a long time as excessive use has adverse effect on concentration of the semen and motility of the sperms. If daily covering has to be given for few days, it should be ensured that 48 hours rest is given after 2-3 days. Total covering in a month for a stallion should not exceed 20.

SIGNS OF HEAT

• During diestrus, the mare shows complete resentment of the stallion. She will kick, bite and chase him.
• One or two days before estrus, she becomes more passive to the stallion. She may or may not object to his presence.
• During estrus, mare is receptive to the stallion.
• She flexes her pelvic(immage), raises her tail.
• Frequently urinates, spreads her hind legs apart, contracts and relaxes the lips of the vulva with winking of the clitoris, and allows the stallion to bite and chew on her neck and flanks.

BREEDING SEASON IN MARES

• The mares are polyoestrous and heat varies according to the climate and the season.
• The breeding season is mainly confined twice a year. The spring breeding season commences from Feb till the end of June and Autumn breeding season is confined to Sep-Oct and Nov.
• The breeding in spring season is considered to be best time because the heat in the brood mare is regular and invariably accompanied by functional ovulation, the stallions are most prolific and conception rate of the coverings is high.
• The maxi­mum coverings should be aimed during this period as the foals are born after service in this season, at a time of the year when plenty of good fodder is available and the climate is favourable for their quick growth.
• Nearly 70-80 percent of the mares should be covered in this season. Autumn breeding season may be used for breeding of problem mares after their treatment.

TRYING OF MARE AND DETECTION OF HEAT

• Trying or teasing of mare is introduction of mare to teasing stallion during the breeding season. The main advantage of this preliminary trying is firstly to overcome the natural nervousness of the mares in the presence of teasers and secondly to get a clue as to the likely date of mare will be in season from February onwards.
• One should start trying all maiden and empty mares from 1 sty Feb. The main advantage of this preliminary trying is firstly to over-come the natural nervousness of the mares in the presence of teasers and secondly to get a clue as to the likely date the mare will be in season from 15 Feb onwards. It is done by allowing the mare and stallion to have a contact which is separated by a wooden (trying bar/teasing bar) bar or wall.
• It is better to miss covering of the mare in the first heat of the breeding season as percentage of ovulation is much less.
• In the presence of the teaser the brood mares in season exhibit the heat by raising the tail, by standing quietly, by  i.e. twitching of the clitoris, by squirting urine frequently, bending her hind quarters followed by contraction and relaxation of vulval lips and passing of vaginal discharge, which subsequently becomes thick, scanty and hangs out like a thin string.
• The vulva gets swollen and becomes slack. These external signs of heat are the indication of what is happening inside the genital tract of the mare.
• The mucous membrane of normal vagina is of pink colour, free from inflammation or offensive discharge and os uterus is seen projecting out in the vaginal passage, erect and rigid, like a piece of cartilage.
• In normal condition during dioestrus and pregnancy, the os is tightly closed. In heat, there is dilation and relaxation of vulva and the os and moistening of vagina to facilitate the passage of sperms.
• Taking an average period of heat as seven days, during first two days, there is no change in the condition of the os, next three days there is full dilatation followed by last two days rigidly increasing contraction.
• To detect rigid or relaxed os, it requires long practical experience. A tight hard rose bud represents rigid os, the full bloom rose just past its prime, is the relaxed os.
• When examined by speculum, the cervix in mares not in heat is seen protruding into the vagina standing erect above the lower spoon of the speculum.
• A mare may be covered for 4 days in succession during heat, yet the conception is the fruit of one day of these services. The other three are drain on the stallion’s vitality. Every service should be aimed at conception and mare should be covered when she is unmistakably willing to accept the mounting of the stallion.

PREPARATION OF MARE FOR COVERING

• The mare being found in a complacent mood and the generative organs in ideal condition. At this stage, the follicle should ripe, reaching about 3-4 cm in diameter. Occasionally two follicles may be present in one ovary.
• The service of the mare must be as close to the nature as possible. Service hobbles may be used as a protection of the stallion against the injuries from the kicks.
• Use of twitch is not recommended unless mare is maiden or nervous at the time of covering. If twitch is necessary it should be used temporarily. After the stallion has mounted, the twitch can be quit safely and should be immediately released.
• The mare should be prepared for covering by tying a bandage at the root of the tail to prevent loose hair being forced into vulva and causing subsequent laceration of the stallion’s penis during service.

COVERING A MARE

• The stallion is led out of the stable by two attendants and is kept well under control. Stallion should be walked round at a safe distance from the mare so that she may see him and get time to settle down herself.
• Later the stallion is made to stand 1 to 1.5 m away from the mare, not in direct line behind her, but to the left side of her so that mare and stallion form two sides of a square.
• The mare then can see all stallion’s movement and under­stand his intention. The stallion will begin by curling up his lips and smell the air. He will accordingly get ready for his work, sometime at once and sometime not quite so quickly. However, he must not be led up to the mare until he is quite ready and the penis is fully drawn and erect.
• The mare’s head is held little high when she will not be able to kick quite so easily or so hard.
• The stallion is then led up to the left side of the mare to within a distance of a meter or so, when he will be left to jump her without any further interference and trouble.
• Further movement of the mare should be prevented by the attendants in front of the mare, one holding her head and the other pressing his shoulder against shoulder of the mare.

CARE AND MANAGEMENT DURING COVERING

• While mounting, the attendants holding the stallion should assist. The attendant on the right side pulls the mare’s tail towards him with his left hand and places his right hand on the mare’s hips, to keep her steady. The attendant on the left side places his left hand on mare’s hip and guides the stallion’s penis with his right hand into the vagina. Some stallions resent the holding of the penis by hand, the idea is only to help in penetration and the hand should be kept close to the penis to prevent it going to the side or entering into the rectum.
• Mares that have foal at foot, their foals must be separated from them temporarily when they have come to be tried and covered. It is further better that the mare should not hear the cries of her foal, which generally upsets her and distracts her attention from the stallion.
• It will be ensured that the stallion has ejaculated which is indicated by flagging of the tail, contraction of the anus and rhythmic pulsation in the urethra.
• Some stallions go through these false motions even without ejaculation, therefore the proper method of testing the discharge of the semen, is by placing a finger very tightly on the under side of horse’s penis towards the close of the service.
• If the horse is ejaculating, the impulse throb will plainly be felt and all doubt be set at rest. The stallion normally ejaculates close to the cervix or directly into the os. The stallions which bite badly should be muzzled during service.
• Normally one service should be enough but if the stallion is having slack time and the judgment for selection for covering has not been correct, second service may be given. At the fag end of the breeding season, in case of mares having been continuously breaking, a third service may be given in the hope of winding up the season satisfacto­rily.

DHAMAN (FOAL HEAT) COVERING

• Foal heat or post parturient oestrus is a unique phenomenon in mares. The foal heat is invariably complete with follicle ovulating.
• This is possible as the ovaries of the mare in the later stage of pregnancy do not contain functional corpus luteum so that new follicles begin to develop, as soon as level of the estrogens and progesterone, by the placenta, drops low enough as to exert inhibiting effect on the pituitary ovarian activity and new fol­licles start developing before parturition.
• Furthermore, post parturient uterus of the mare is capable of involution in a short time, because of primitive loose non deciduate type of placenta of the mares, which permits separation of foetal placenta without major damage to the uterine endometrium.
• If the restoration of the uterine epithelium after parturition is not complete, it may result in abortion. Foal heat is of about the same duration as cyclic oestrual periods.

TIME OF FOAL HEAT COVERING

• Majority of foaling mares are ready for the stallions on the 9th day after foaling and in calculating 9^th day, the day of foaling and day of covering are also counted.
• Normally it is arrived at by adding 8 to the date of foaling. Best general practice with foaling mares is to try every day from 7th day after foaling till satisfactory result is obtained up to 15^th day.
• If the mare has not shown heat after foaling and is not covered during 1st or 2nd post parturient heat, the dioestrus is unduly prolonged in heavy milkers, till after the foals are weaned.
• Presumably this is due to the pitu­itary principally putting out lactogenic hormones at the expense of gonadotrophins. The char­acteristics of individual mare have to be studied and recorded. The dates are very useful guides to probabilities and should not be rigidly followed.

UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR FOAL HEAT COVERING

The result of Dhaman (Foal heat) covering has been found very satis­factory and certain precautions are necessary before enforcing this into an organized Stud. However, Dhaman (Foal heat) covering should be avoided when the following conditions are encountered:­

• When there is a difficulty in foaling and foal is taken out manually even if it is alive.
• When the foal is born dead or dies within 7 days after foaling.
• When placenta is retained for more than 3 hours in the uterus.
• When placenta weighs more than 6.5 kg.
• When the placenta is thick, oedematous and having ulcers on its surface.
• When foal is born as weakling.
• When the mare is continuing vaginal discharge more than 4 days after foaling.
• When the mare has sustained injury to the genital tract during foaling.
• When the uterus has not involuted to its normal size as detected by rectal examination.
• If the mare is weak in condition.