Be Prepared

• Breeding your mare and raising a foal is a multi-year endeavor, and not something to be taken lightly. The horse market varies wildly, and the demand for young horses can be quite unstable. Before you breed your mare, make sure you have the resources and experience it takes to raise the foal. Also be sure that you have the skills needed to train the young horse for a useful riding career.
  
  

Nature Takes Her Time

• Horse owners should also be aware that it can take a few tries for your mare to get pregnant, even when she is clearly in heat. Many mare owners prefer to turn their horses out with the stallion, and this tactic can be more effective at getting a pregnancy in a single heat cycle. In addition, many breed registries now allow artificial insemination. If your breed registry registers foals conceived in this manner it can reduce some of the costs associated with breeding the mare and allow mare owners to breed to a stallion across the country.
  
  

Gestation Period

• The gestation period for a horse is quite long. In fact it takes an average of 11 months for the foal to be born, so it is important for mare owners to be prepared for a long adventure when breeding their animals. Pregnant mares can benefit from light exercise well into their pregnancies. In fact, light riding can be very beneficial through the first six or seven months of the horse's pregnancy.
  
  

Timing the Foal

• Since it does take so long for a foal to be born, it is important for horse owners who live in colder climates to time their breeding carefully. Foals born during the cold of winter may be more susceptible to illness than those born later in the season, so it is a good idea to time breeding so that the foals will be born in April or May instead of January or February.
  
  

Proper Veterinary Care is Essential

• No matter what type of horse you own, it is essential to have proper veterinary care right from the start. Your vet can determine whether or not your mare is pregnant, and he or she can advise you on the proper care of the mare throughout her pregnancy. Pregnant mares need to eat a diet designed for pregnant and nursing horses--these diets will be richer in fat and protein and better able to provide the nutrition needed by both the mare and her foal.