Thoroughbred Mating Plan

Introduction

With £200,000 I would purchase 2 mares and pay for the covering of one of these mares from a reputable stallion. The progeny of which I intend to sell at Tattersall sales FINISH THIS SECTION

Task 1 (750)

The carefully selected mares for the mating programme are ‘Falcon in Flight’ (Falcon) and ‘Palomita’, both mares sold at the December Tattersalls mare sales.

Falcon was lot 43 and sold for £3,000, she was consigned by Darley and property of Rabbah Bloodstock Limited and before sales she was covered by Arabian Gleam and believed in foal. She has won 1 race of her total 4, it is however her breeding lines that are desirable and the reasoning for her selection. Progeny of Shamardal and Marine City means she is genetically more desirable than other mares, with Carnegie as her Dam Sire who won 7 of his 13 races and placed in 2 others. Shamardal is a very successful stallion currently 8th in the table of leading flat race sires (in accordance to wins) on the Racing Post website, he also possesses a 2.23 average earnings index (AEI) score. Falcon is inbred 4x5 by Northern Dancer, 4x5 by Riverman and 5x5 by Petingo, inbreeding increases the chance of a desired trait being expressed therefore the racing performance success of these stallions will be inherited by Falcon. If she does not race as hoped she still possessed the desired genetics to be crossed with another equally genetically strong stallion.
On the purchase of Falcon it must be noted that she is already in foal by Arabian Gleam, winner of 4 Group 2 races beating 12 Group winners and said to be a ‘solid performer’ by his trainer (Hedgeholm Stud, 2014). He is also a Pivotal and Danehill cross which has previously been a very successful nick producing three stakes winners from 25 starters and all three of the horses are Group 1 winners. Both Falcon and Arabian Gleam have Northern Dancer as a 4x5 cross so the chance of genetic inheritance of racing ability will be increased, however being so far back in the genes traits may not be carried through strongly.

Palomita is a 6 year old mare out of training, she was lot 1741 and sold for £84,000 consigned by Fittocks Stud. She has won 4 races and placed 4 races from her 14 starts and being a mare by High Chararral and Perima she was highly sought after. Her success, however more her pedigree set her above another mare at the sales due to the sires in her breeding lines. High Chaparral won 10 of his 14 starts and placed once with a Dosage Index (DI) of 0.82 showing his speed above stamina. High Chaparral’s sire being Sadlers Wells a stallion with an AEI of 3.31 and DI of 2.82 meaning he is a very strong sprinter. There is no inbreeding in her genes, however the successful horses on her sire’s side counteract this greatly, conformation of the horse should also be looked at to check she is capable of reproducing and also becoming a successful racehorse. Poor conformation could lead to injury and therefore a horse out of training and a loss of potential winnings along with veterinary bills. Conformation is should consequently be greatly examined on the purchase of a horse, along with previous veterinary history, age of the horse and genetics (Anderson et al., 2004). When looking at the conformation of a horse even if it is to be used purely to breed conformational faults could be inherited by the progeny and detract significantly from the value of the horse (Love et al., 2006). However it is down to personal opinion and preference when looking at how the horse is made up and what a breeder or owner prefers in their horses (Anderson and McIlwraith, 2004).
Palomita is to be covered by Oasis Dream, justified in Task 2.

Task 2 (1000)
Variations in stud farm occur between Northern and Southern Hemispheres and within different countries as well. All horses mentioned above are to stand in the south of the UK, in Oxfordshire around the Witney (see Appendix A) where the lime-rich soils lie over chalk or limestone. The lime-rich soils allow relatively high fertility levels in the soil and easy drainage, meaning fields are not water logged and therefore not available for grazing (Cranfield University, 2014). The grassland must be high in nutritional value for the mares in foal and also the foals to allow correct and sufficient nutrient intake, which will also be balanced with feed for the mares and yearlings and mares milk for the foals. Equine milk is so highly digestible and nutrient rich that it is often used in not only horses but also bovines and humans (Uniacke-Lowe et al., 2010). A mare produces 2 to 3.5kg (per 100kg) per day to maintain correct growth and more importantly development of the foal allowing natural and normal bone growth this ultimately resulting in better conformation and therefore greater success at the sales or in a racing career (Oftedal et al., 1983). The foal usually consume in the region of 10-25% of its own body weight in milk each day (Gibbs et al., 1982), therefore many measures must be in place to ensure the correct management of the mare and her nutrition to give the foal the best possible starting advantage.

The stabling and other facilities must also be correct to allow ease of covering, general care and foaling. The stud would typically be made up of a stallion barn, mare barn, foaling facilities, teasing area, vet examination area and as mentioned above, fields. Most important of these facilities being the stallion and mare barns, these should allow shelter from inclement weather, warm enough in all seasons and a suitable separation between mares and stallions (Knottenbelt, Le Blanc, Lopate and Pascoe, 2003). In countries such as the UK it is common practice to have mares in a covered stable blocks where stables line either side of a central aisle, here all mares and foals can be seen by each other. A stallion barn is often similar but must be located away from the mares barn to ensure a calm and manageable stud, the same practice should be undertaken with pasture placement. Studies have been done on the inhalation of organic particles and their relation to inducing airway inflammation, conventional stabling has been seen to increase the risk (Ivester et al., 2012). Therefore these types of barns do however need sufficient ventilation and cleanliness to avoid disease, regular full mucking out and clean hay is suggested to avoid airway problems.

Stud records are kept within a farm to allow safety and efficiency, they include vet records to insurance documents without which a yard would not be allowed to operate. Computerised records are generally favoured with specific software programmes used to input and hold data such as Sage, Equisoft, Equimax and Stablemate.

Veterinary records for every horse on the yard need to be correct and current along with horses who are only boarding, this can help in showing the efficiency of the yard and highlight faults that a yard manager may not be able to otherwise see. The records enable access to the full history of a horse and aid in the successful and rapid treatment of an illness, injury or a covering along with aiding in foaling predictions from previous pregnancies. Records indicate current health and what vaccinations have been administered, when they were administered and their expiry. All stallions in stud should have up to date influenza, tetanus, equine herpes 1 and equine viral arteritis, stallions can act as carriers for the diseases which can cause mares to abort their foals. Abortion leads to loss of money and a foal and stress to the mare and therefore all precautions should be undertaken to avoid such occurrences. Immunisation of tetanus and influenza in mares should be administered 4 weeks before parturition to raise antibody levels and ensure full transfer to colostrum and finally to the foal post-partum (Varner, 1983). Vaccinations of Equine Herpesvirus should be administered at 5,7 and 9 months of pregnancy and equine viral arteritis anytime but the last 2 months of pregnancy (Davies Morel, 2008). Records of all the above aid in the easy running of a covering, pregnancy and parturition knowing the mare is fully immunized and the foal is in as little danger as possible. If documents and plans can be given out to owners, they will gain trust in the stud knowing their horse is in safe and organised hands.

The stallion being used to cover Palomita would be Oasis Dream, a stallion with an AEI of 1.8 and DI of 1.83 and who is currently the top flat racing sire by ‘total prize’. Along with this in 2013 he was the ‘leading sire in Europe by winners and by percentage winners to runners’ (RacingPost.com, 2013) and the ‘Leading British-based sire by yearling average at Tattersalls October Yearline Sale, Book 1, in 2012 and 2013’ (Juddemonte, 2014). All these statistics proving his worth in stud making the covering fee for Oasis Dream expensive but understandable. Although it’s expense at £85,000, his progeny have high success rates and when examined show he has managed to produce many Group 1 winners and some progeny winning values of over two million. The success of his progeny therefore have raised his stud fee as well his performance, he currently has had 4 wins and 2 placing’s from his 9 starts and has earned £433,737.

He is a stallion by Green Desert and Hope, his Dams Sire Dancing Brave won 8 races of his 10 starts and obtained an AEI of 2.21 and DI of 2.36. His blood lines are strong with a 3x4 cross of Northern Dancer, 4x4 Never Bend and 4x5 Sir Gaylord (See appendix B for statistics). With any stallion their conformation should be assessed, Oasis Dream has no problems however their ancestors from a few generations before should be looked at to ensure no faults or injuries.

Due to Falcon already being in foal the only mare to cover is Palomita, this would be done in February to gain as much advantage over the other foals by having an earlier birth date. Covering should be done after a period of teasing to ensure the mare is in oestrus to minimize the risk of injury to mare, stallion or handlers and increase the chance of conception (Davies Morel, 2008). Further checking of oestrus can be done by veterinary examination in the form of an ultrasound, this would show a follicle changing to a tear-drop shape ready to detach (Knottenbelt, LeBlanc, Lopate and Pascoe, 2003). Once this has occurred a mare can be covered with the correct personnel around in controlled and calm conditions, the stallion handler should be in control of the stallion at all times.

Task 3 (750)

It is said that the most ‘visable and business-orientated segment of the equine sector’ is the Thoroughbred industry, with the main aim of producing high quality, high earning horses to race (Karungu, et al., 1993). Sales provides and insight into the competition as well as prospective purchases and therefore a crucial time for owners. Usually the horses with the best look and fashionable blood lines will go for a large price, which is often impossible for smaller studs to contend with, here they must go for lower books and build up their repertoire until they can compete with larger and more notable studs. Commer’s 2000 informal study of factors affecting Thoroughbred yearling sale prices put forward the most salient factors as the quality of the sire and also dam, foaling date (earlier the better), whether the foal was nominated for the Breeders cup, where the foal was born and finally where the yearling was sold.
The progeny from Palomita and Falcon would both go to the Tattersalls yearling sales, providing that with sufficient yearling prep they are suitable and ready to be sold. Yearling prep sees an introduction of individual living and exercise usually in hand to educate them and begin to induce some muscle tone for the sales (Rogers et al., 2012). The progeny produced from these mares would be suitable sprinters when looking at their ancestors, dam and sire, most of the horses have a high DI meaning their speed is greater than their stamina ensuring a fast horse. Worldwide demand for horses will always remain high, if there are people to bet there are horses to be bought, however when the economy dips alike the last few years it can often be difficult to sell horses that are not of very high quality. When the economy is at a low, the people buying the lower priced horses may not be able to afford them and therefore no sale, however if you breed a horse of good bloodline or whom is otherwise desirable and who will go for a high price there will always be prospective buyers. Many equine consultants recommend to a prospective racehorse investor that to be on the safe side if the investor cannot risk the entire initial investment and subsequent variable cost of training, veterinary bills, transport and insurance, then potential racehorse ownership should be reconsidered (Neibergs and Vinzant, 1999).
Conclusion
When buying broodmares or mares in foal it is important to look at not only their conformation, success and temperament but also those of their ancestors and if the mare is already in foal, those attributes of the stallion that covered her. Stallion selection is very much the same, with the addition of examination of his resultant progeny with your dams sire and other sires. The correct facilities and management of all horses allows healthy and happy horses which will in turn produce healthy and well foals which can be sold at the yearling sales with correct preparation. However the economy may restrict the sale of yearlings depending on the mind sets of the buyers, current bloodline fashions and the current economy.

Appendices

A

B Name | AEI | DI | Distance | Race Stats | Green Desert | 1.60 | 3.73 | 7.8f | 14starts, 5wins, 4 placed | Dancing Brave | 2.21 | 2.36 | 10.5f | 10starts, 8 wins, 1 placed | Danzig | 2.74 | 4.71 | 7.9f | 3starts, 3 wins |

References

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