teaser: A male horse used at breeding farms to determine whether a mare is ready to receive a stallion. Teaser. A stallion used to determine if mares are in heat.
What is a teaser Pony?
A teaser pony prevents the mare from damaging a prize stallion. The teaser is led out to the pasture. If the mare is violently unwilling, there’s no danger of injuring a horse whose bloodlines make him valuable breeding stock. If the mare presents, the teaser is led away, and the stud is brought in to mate with the stare.
Why do we tease a mare with a stallion?
The teasing of a mare with a stallion is an important job in a breeding program as it allows breeding managers to determine the stage of an individual mare’s estrous cycle.
How do you mate a teaser horse with a mare?
The teaser is led out to the pasture. If the mare is violently unwilling, there’s no danger of injuring a horse whose bloodlines make him valuable breeding stock. If the mare presents, the teaser is led away, and the stud is brought in to mate with the stare.
What is a teaser stallion?
The animal used as the teaser may well be the most valuable animal on the breeding farm. The teaser should be aggressive, vocal, and enthusiastic. However, the teaser stallion should not be so aggressive as to be out of control or unmanageable. The teaser should be tease without excessive roughness, such as kicking or biting the mare.
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About The Author
Les Sellnow is a free-lance writer based near Riverton, Wyo. He specializes in articles on equine research, and operates a ranch where he raises horses and livestock. He has authored several fiction and non-fiction books, including Understanding Equine Lameness and Understanding The Young Horse.
Why is teasing a mare important?
The teasing of a mare with a stallion is an important job in a breeding program as it allows breeding managers to determine the stage of an individual mare’s estrous cycle. Accurate determination of estrus (heat) allows breeding managers choose the best time to breed the mare and assists in efficient stallion use ...
How to tease a mare?
The mare is kept in the stall, and the stallion is brought to the barn. It is important to consider these factors about stall teasing: 1 the stallion should have a good opportunity to tease the mare, and 2 the mare manager should have a good opportunity to see the mare’s behavioral response.
What is a teasing chute?
Teasing Chute. Mares are placed in a chute and then teased by the stallion. This allows a mare manager to tease a large number of mares easily, but, as with the paddock method discussed earlier, this method is better for mares without foals.
How to design a stall teasing facility?
In designing a stall-teasing facility, it is a good idea to install a window in the stall door or in a side wall that will allow contact between the stallion and the mare. An alternative is to maintain the stallion in a stall and have mares brought to him.
What is the importance of teasing?
It is important that everyone involved with teasing understand the signs of estrus and the scoring system being used so that staff can report any estrous behavior that they see during daily activities.
Why is it important to keep accurate records of a mare?
Accurate records are important because each mare behaves differently toward the stallion, and the signs of estrus exhibited vary from mare to mare. Teasing should be done on a daily basis from the start of the breeding season to the end.
Why do people tease mares?
Teasing mares as individuals provides a better opportunity to determine the mare’s stage of estrus. However, group teasing is frequently used because it is convenient. When mares are teased in a group, the person recording behavior must watch all mares, as some may exhibit signs of estrus without ever approaching the stallion.
Teaser Stallions
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Summary
Teaser stallions are an essential part of commercial live-cover operations using planned in-hand matings. A teaser stallion is used at the breeding shed to determine if arriving mares are in estrus and receptive to a stallion.
What is horse breeding?
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed . Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses.
Why do horse breeders use selective breeding?
Though many horse owners may simply breed a family mare to a local stallion in order to produce a companion animal, most professional breeders use selective breeding to produce individuals of a given phenotype, or breed.
What is the female parent of a horse called?
The male parent of a horse, a stallion, is commonly known as the sire and the female parent, the mare, is called the dam. Both are genetically important, as each parent provides half of the genetic makeup of the ensuing offspring, called a foal. Contrary to popular misuse, "colt" refers to a young male horse only; "filly" is a young female. Though many horse owners may simply breed a family mare to a local stallion in order to produce a companion animal, most professional breeders use selective breeding to produce individuals of a given phenotype, or breed. Alternatively, a breeder could, using individuals of differing phenotypes, create a new breed with specific characteristics.
How long does it take for a foal to travel with a herd?
Foals develop rapidly, and within a few hours a wild foal can travel with the herd. In domestic breeding, the foal and dam are usually separated from the herd for a while, but within a few weeks are typically pastured with the other horses.
Why do breeders want to improve their horses?
Beyond the appearance and conformation of a specific type of horse, breeders aspire to improve physical performance abilities. This concept, known as matching "form to function," has led to the development of not only different breeds, but also families or bloodlines within breeds that are specialists for excelling at specific tasks.
How long have horses been domesticated?
Though the precise date is in dispute, humans could have domesticated the horse as far back as approximately 4500 BCE. However, evidence of planned breeding has a more blurry history. It is well known, for example, that the Romans did breed horses and valued them in their armies, but little is known regarding their breeding and husbandry practices: all that remains are statues and artwork. Mankind has plenty of equestrian statues of Roman emperors, horses are mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer, and hieroglyphics and paintings left behind by Egyptians tell stories of pharaohs hunting elephants from chariots. Nearly nothing is known of what became of the horses they bred for hippodromes, for warfare, or even for farming.
What does "half brother" mean in horse breeding?
In the horse breeding industry, the term "half-brother" or "half-sister" only describes horses which have the same dam, but different sires.
What happens after a mare is teased?
After the mare has been teased and found in heat, she may be hobbled or placed in a breeding stock. Hobbles have the advantage of convenience and safety to the mare but may entail some risk to the operator. Stallions also have been known to become entangled in them.
How many mares can a 2-year-old horse settle?
Two-year-olds may settle 10 mares; 3-year-olds, 30; and mature stallions, 50 mares when hand-mated. About half this number can be pasture-mated. A short breeding season will reduce the number, and sexual individuality of the stallion will greatly affect his siring ability.
How to know if a horse is in heat?
Signs of heat are frequent urination, vaginal discharge and intensified interest in the stallion.
Why do stallions need a ration?
Because of diverted interests, a ration high in palatability may be necessary for some stallions to get adequate intake. Regular exercise usually results in increased vigor (libido) and fertility. Regular grazing of good grass, even for short periods of time, is recommended.
Why is it important to have a healthy stallion?
A healthy stallion is necessary to have a successful horse breeding program. Having a working knowledge of stallion management is also essential. The following article discusses stallion management practices.
How long does sperm live in a mare?
The sperm life in the mare’s tract is from 24 to 48 hours. Only in highly irregular or exceptional cases does it exceed this time span. Sperm has been found in the Fallopian tube 15 to 18 minutes after coitus, but the normal time to travel from the site of deposit to the Fallopian tube is five to eight hours. The average egg life is also only five to eight hours.
Can a 2-year-old horse be hand mated?
It has the disadvantage of reducing the number of mares a stallion can serve and obscures breeding dates. Some risk to the stallion exists. Stallions should be hand-mated a few times as 2-year-olds, then turned in a large pasture with a few older mares when they are to be used in a pasture breeding program.
How many barns does the teaser have?
With more than a dozen barns of mares, the teasers must get to multiple barns. To get to each barn, the teasers are not hand-walked or vanned over. Instead, they run alongside Wesley’s Chevrolet Tahoe. As Wesley drives, Jeremy holds onto the stallion’s shank through the side window.
Why are maiden mares jumped?
This practice is done for the safety of the stallion that the mare will be bred to. Even though a maiden mare is in heat, she might not react well the first time she is mounted. All of Claiborne’s mares have to tolerate being jumped by a teaser before they will be sent to the breeding shed at Claiborne or elsewhere. At Claiborne’s breeding shed, all maiden mares, regardless of what farm they come from, are jumped by Julio before they are bred.
How many teasers are there in Claiborne?
Julio stays at the stud lot and teases the mares that come to breed to the farm stallions. The other four tease only the mares that live at Claiborne.
How to tell if a mare is in heat?
If a mare needs to be checked to determine if she is in heat, her door is opened, and the stallion is allowed to peek his head into the stall. Typical signs of mares in estrus (heat) are raising of the tail, leaning into him, and urinating.
What does Jeremy hold onto the stallion's shank through the side window?
As Wesley drives, Jeremy holds onto the stallion’s shank through the side window. All of the stallions are as comfortable running with the truck as racehorses are to being ridden. They willingly gallop next to us from barn to barn. This method is faster for the humans and good exercise for the equines!
Do mares show their cues?
However, not all mares show all of these cues. Knowing the quirks of each mare is important. Some mares are always aggressive toward the teaser, and their way of showing that they are in heat is to become apathetic or just less aggressive toward him. If a mare appears to be in heat, she will be checked by the farm veterinarian, Dr. Scoggin, who will be looking for large follicles and uterine folds to signal peak fertility.
Do Maiden mares have to be jumped by Julio?
At Claiborne’s breeding shed, all maiden mares, regardless of what farm they come from, are jumped by Julio before they are bred.
Why do stallions bite their mares?
In addition to nudging the mare, the stallion may smell and bite at the mare's body to test her readiness for breeding.
What is the behavioral display of a stallion when it checks a mare?
The classic behavioral display of a stallion when it "checks' a mare is to lift its nose into the air and curl its upper lip. This is known as the "flehmen response" with "flehmen" translating roughly to "testing."
How do you know if a mare is ready to breed?
Signs that the mare Is ready for breeding - teasing. Mare signaling receptivity to a stallion. A mare allows the stallion to approach when ready to breed. Non-receptive mares generally kick-out at stallions and do not allow them to approach.
How long does a mare stay in heat?
The estrous cycle is divided into two periods, estrus and diestrus with estrus being the time when the mare is in heat, usually for 3 to 7 days. During diestrus, typically 14 to 18 days, the mare is unreceptive to a stallion. Ovulation occurs one to two days before the end of estrus.
How long does it take for a mare to foal?
Many horse breeders want their mares to foal soon after the first of the year and use artificial lighting for 16 hours a day prior to the breeding season as a tool to facilitate the timing of foal delivery. Typically during the breeding season a mare will have a 21 day estrous cycle which is the interval from one ovulation to the next.
How long does it take for a mare to come into estrus?
After progesterone treatment is stopped the mare will come into estrus within a few days. Older mares sometimes have difficulty maintaining pregnancy and the use of synthetic progesterone has enabled older mares to successfully carry a foal to term. Many horse breeders want their mares to foal soon after the first of the year ...
What does a stallion test for?
A stallion tests the air for pheromones that indicate that the mare is ovulating. Libido is the term used to denote the degree of sexual urge or drive in animals. A stallion with a high libido will exhibit eagerness to mount and attempt to breed a mare.
Overview
Covering the mare
There are two general ways to "cover" or breed the mare:
• Live cover: the mare is brought to the stallion's residence and is covered "live" in the breeding shed. She may also be turned out in a pasture with the stallion for several days to breed naturally ('pasture bred'). The former situation is often preferred, as it provides a more controlled environment, allowing the breeder to ensure that the mare was covered, and places the handler…
Terminology
The male parent of a horse, a stallion, is commonly known as the sire and the female parent, the mare, is called the dam. Both are genetically important, as each parent gens can be existant with a 50% probability in the foal. Contrary to popular misuse, "colt" refers to a young male horse only; "filly" is a young female. Though many horse owners may simply breed a family mare to a local stallion in order to produce a companion animal, most professional breeders use selective breed…
Estrous cycle of the mare
The estrous cycle (also spelled oestrous) controls when a mare is sexually receptive toward a stallion, and helps to physically prepare the mare for conception. It generally occurs during the spring and summer months, although some mares may be sexually receptive into the late fall, and is controlled by the photoperiod (length of the day), the cycle first triggered when the days begin t…
Breeding and gestation
While horses in the wild mate and foal in mid to late spring, in the case of horses domestically bred for competitive purposes, especially horse racing, it is desirable that they be born as close to January 1 in the northern hemisphere or August 1 in the southern hemisphere as possible, so as to be at an advantage in size and maturity when competing against other horses in the same age group. When an early foal is desired, barn managers will put the mare "under lights" by keeping t…
Foaling
Mares due to foal are usually separated from other horses, both for the benefit of the mare and the safety of the soon-to-be-delivered foal. In addition, separation allows the mare to be monitored more closely by humans for any problems that may occur while giving birth. In the northern hemisphere, a special foaling stall that is large and clutter free is frequently used, particularly …
How breeds develop
Beyond the appearance and conformation of a specific type of horse, breeders aspire to improve physical performance abilities. This concept, known as matching "form to function," has led to the development of not only different breeds, but also families or bloodlines within breeds that are specialists for excelling at specific tasks.
For example, the Arabian horse of the desert naturally developed speed and endurance to travel l…
History of horse breeding
The history of horse breeding goes back millennia. Though the precise date is in dispute, humans could have domesticated the horse as far back as approximately 4500 BCE. However, evidence of planned breeding has a more blurry history. It is well known, for example, that the Romans did breed horses and valued them in their armies, but little is known regarding their breeding and husbandry practices: all that remains are statues and artwork. Mankind has plenty of equestrian …