Sending your mare to stud frequently asked questions End House Stud Farm and AI Center

How long will my mare be with you?
This really depends on what you would like to do! She can stay until she is covered and then go home for 2 weeks before her 14 day pregnancy scan and then travel back for the 2 remaining scans, she can stay all the way through-until she has finished all her scans, or you can travel her in for each scan and take her home again, meaning she never has to stay away from home!

Can I come and visit her whilst she is at stud?
You are always welcome to come and visit your mare, but please contact us first to arrange a time, please remember we are busy stud and not a livery yard so we like to make somebody is available to welcome you and show you where your mare is!

Do I need to go on the Vets Package?
We recommend that mares go on the vets package as works out much cheaper than paying on a per scan basis. This enables us to scan the mare as often as needed so that she is served at the optimum time and we are able to spot possible problems i.e. uterine infection and twins as early as possible. This enables you to budget for all the costs involved. AI mares must go on a vets package as a lot more scanning is involved.

When is the best time to send my mare to stud?
The stud starts taking mares from the middle of January and service starts from 15th February, so as not to have foals born the wrong side of the new year! The majority of mares covered in February are racehorses who wish their foals to be born as early in January as possible. If you wish to show your foal then it will be better born early in spring so the foal is bigger and stronger for the showing season. Mares at this time will have to live in, we generally turn out at the end of April depending on weather and grass conditions this can sometimes be earlier. It is better to start earlier rather than later as mares do not always get in foal on the first attempt. May is usually a good time as the weather is good, the day length is increasing and mares should be approaching their peak fertility period.

She gets foot sore without shoes, can she keep them on?
Mares can remain shod in front but hind shoes must be removed. Mares that need to keep their hind shoes on must be stabled to avoid injury to other mares and can be exercised on the horse walker or turned out individually in a small paddock for a few hours. Mares cannot be served naturally with hind shoes on. Our blacksmith can re shoe/trim when necessary and is at the stud every other day.

What is best Natural or AI?
Mares with a history of fertility problems would benefit from AI as it decreases the risk of infection. Nervous mares or small or large mares in comparison to the stallion would also be candidates for AI as there is less stress involved and reduces the risk of injury when using a larger stallion on a small mare, likewise on large mares some stallions just cannot reach.

My mare does not travel or I am too far away, can I have her inseminated at home?
We can send semen out to you or your vet for insemination at home, we can collect every day but couriers can only be arranged for Tuesday-Saturday delivery although you can pick semen up from the stud. You can have as many doses as you require and if she is not in foal we offer a No Foal Free Return for the following season. Including a mare or stallion substitution. We like to be kept informed of your mares progress through her cycle and please order semen before 12 noon the day before you need it.

I would like my mare to be inseminated by another stallion, is this possible?
It is possible for mares to be taken for insemination by stallions based in the UK and abroad, with chilled, fresh or frozen semen.

What equipment does she need whilst at stud?
We recommend she comes with only the essential equipment, to include a well fitting head collar that does not rub, a rug clearly labelled with her name (if required), any feed or supplements she needs and her passport.

Can she stay in at night?
Mares can stay in at night if required and be turned out during the day or vice versa to avoid the fly's and heat. Mares that are normally at grass can be brought in if the owners require due to adverse weather conditions. We will bring any mares in that we feel need stabling and supplementary feeding, especially those with foals at foot, should the weather turn bad or if she starts to loose weight.

She needs daily supplements/medication
No problem we can feed her daily for £1 per day with your feed or £1.50 per day our feed single mare. £3 per day mare and foal with our feed.

My mare is on a worming plan and needs to be wormed whilst at stud
If you notify us when she is due to be wormed, we can administer wormers supplied by the vets or yourself.

How will I be updated on my mares progress?
You will be kept updated on her progress via email or text or you can ring the stud office between 1pm and 5pm.

Is it more beneficial to have my mare swabbed before she arrives?
Mares that arrive already swabbed can immediately start being worked on to bring her into season so therefore covering quicker whereas mares swabbed at stud have to wait for the results to come back and this is usually 7 days.

My horse/pony is laminitic
We do have a minimal grass field for these mares or they can be stabled and turned out in a small paddock for a few hours.

My mare is bad to catch
Mares that are bad to catch can be turned out if a small paddock is available or stabled leading up to covering as valuable scans may be missed if she wont be caught. We don't mind turning her out between ovulation and 14 day pregnancy scan.

Can she come back to foal?
Mares can come back to foal, but please book early! We have CCTV in the foaling boxes so we can watch her 24 hours a day. All mares leading up to foaling are fitted with an alarm system.

Are the fields secure?
All our fields are post and railed, the majority are double fenced. They are all here on site and are monitored regularly throughout the day and last thing at night. There are 3 security gates onsite. Mares and foals are separate to the single mares and we have nursery paddocks for the newly born.

How often is the vet at the stud?
The vet is here everyday at 10am including weekends for routine scanning and again later in the day/evenings for out of hours scanning for AI mares.

Does my mare need to be EVA blood tested before coming onsite?
Mares that have been imported in the last 12 months must be tested for EVA before coming to stud. All other mares must fill in a questionnaire to determine if she is a risk to the other mares. Any mares deemed to be a risk will be put into isolation until the blood results are back. We take every precaution to prevent an outbreak of EVA and other diseases and ask all mare owners to supply the relevant information if their mare has been exposed i.e. kept on a yard where strangles, EIA, herpes and ringworm has been confirmed in the last 12 months. We only have your mares best interests at heart.

Would my mare be less likely to get in foal to an older stallion?
Prior to the start of every season the fertility of our stallions semen is analyzed under the microscope to ensure the quality of the semen. The semen quality is not affected by the age of the stallion.

My Mare has been running milk for a while, how can I be sure the foal has received sufficient colostrum levels to build up its natural immunity?
Mares that run milk or are elderly do not have the colostrum reserves necessary to pass immunity onto the foal. Foals that do not suck within the first few hours are also at risk. Either bottle feeding with manufactured colostrum or vet stomach tubing within the first 6 hours is advisable. Foals should also have an IGG bloodtest after 18 hours of age to determine their immunity. This is a simple, low cost bloodtest taken by the vet to ensure the colostrum has been absorbed correctly by the body, if the test results are low the vet will advise a plasma transfusion as although the foal may look healthy to begin with it can rapidly become sick and this is gives it the best chance of survival. We recommend all foals born at End House Stud receive the bloodtest as though a mare may appear to have a lot of milk the foal may not be absorbing it properly or it may be of poor quality.

Can I ring for a next day semen delivery anytime?
If you have a mare for AI offsite you must order semen before 12 noon in order to ensure a next day delivery. Any requests made after this time may result in the unavailability of semen. Please ensure your vet is aware of this when arranging scanning times for your mare. We like to be kept informed of your mares progress when she is in season as we then have an idea when you need the semen. If you live locally we can (with prior arrangement) collect the semen later in the day if you would like to collect it from the stud before 5pm. There is nothing worse than ringing for semen at 3.30pm to request semen when the stallion has just served naturally and the post has already gone!

END HOUSE STUD

Proven Competition Stallions at Stud, EST. 1988

Sending your mare to stud frequently asked questions