There is something seriously cute about a new born foal – and something quite tempting about the idea of breeding one… or two…

But where to start? If you’ve never bred ponies before this can be a bit of a daunting prospect and there are a few things worth considering before you start.

First of all, you are going to need a broodmare. This can either be a dedicated broodmare, or a riding pony that you are happy to have out of work for a while. Bear in mind that if it is the latter, your mare will only be suitable for light riding for a considerable part of her pregnancy and will be better off not being ridden for the last part of it. She will then not be able to be ridden while she has a young foal at foot. So it is reasonable to assume that your mare will be out of action for riding for a summer season.

Having decided on the dam, you’ll now need a sire for your foal. The obvious options here are paying for a stallion service at a stud, or purchasing your own stallion. While a stud fee can be costly, this frees you from the hassle of owning a stallion. If you choose to use a stud, make sure you enquire as to what the service fee covers – is there a live foal guarantee? Or free return if your mare is found not to be in foal? If your mare is going to stay at all, is grazing included or extra?

If it is going to be difficult for you to access a stud, or you want to take up breeding ponies rather than just doing this as a one off, you may decide you would rather own your own stallion. If you choose to do this, there are definitely a number of things to consider! First of all, how much experience have you had handling horses? Stallions can be stunning animals but there is a whole lot more to handling them than a mare or gelding. On the whole they are far more aggressive and less predictable in their behaviour and you need to be confident in your ability to handle a stallion. While it can be possible to run your stallion with your mares year round, depending on their temperament you may need to be able to paddock them separately. If you run your stallion in with your mares (he will prefer this) then be aware that he may not appreciate you taking any of his mares from his paddock should you want to do something with them. It can also make life interesting if you are going to want to ride mares near where your stallion is paddocked! Having your own stallion can certainly be challenging, but know that it can also be very rewarding.

Once you have your broodmare in foal, you’ll have around 11 months (343 days) to dream of what your colt or filly will look like. If you are confident of the date when your mare was serviced then you’ll have a good idea of when your foal will arrive. Bear in mind that some mares can be early or late and your foal is likely to arrive anywhere between 330 and 355 days after conception. As you care for your pregnant mare, be aware that her feet will end up carrying a lot of extra weight and it will help her to keep her hooves nicely trimmed. Make sure you don’t over feed your broodmare, so that she doesn’t pile a lot of extra weight on – she may be eating for two, but one of those two is very small!

As you watch for signs that your mare is close to labour, know that you may see clear evidence of this (her udder ‘bagging up’, teats waxing etc) or there may be no discernable difference right up until she goes into labour. Most foals are born in the night and in most births no intervention is needed at all. Having said that it is a good idea to quietly keep an eye on your mare just in case. It also pays to consider the paddock you have her in towards the end of her pregnancy to make sure this is a safe paddock for both the mare and foal to be in when the foal is born.

Even though it seems to take forever, your foal will finally arrive! And that day makes all the waiting worthwhile… a newborn foal is an absolute delight and the start of a whole other adventure…