Breeding in a Nutshell

All horses turn a year older on August 1 – no matter their actual birth date.
The breeding season begins September 1 and goes through to around Christmas time. Mares cannot be served prior to September 1. It is desirable to get your mare in foal as early in the season as possible – this way she foals early in the following season.
Foaling begins around August 1 and goes through to December. Waikato Stud foals around 250 mares each season. The expecting mares are kept under 24 hour surveillance and at least 3 people attend each foaling.
It is interesting to note that about 85% of mares foal during the night. This is the mare reverting back to her natural instincts – it is safer to foal at night as there are fewer predators about and within an hour the foal is on its feet and on the run. This is not exactly an issue in the floodlit foaling paddocks at Waikato Stud!
The gestation time for a mare is 11 months and 11 days.
The mares cycle is approximately 20 days, usually beginning cycling 7 to 10 days post foaling.
A mare’s first pregnancy scan is 16 days after service At this stage twins can be detected and if present, one can be eliminated as twins are not desirable. Next scan is at approximately 28 days, a fetal heartbeat can be detected at this time. The final scan is at 45 days to ensure all is well.
In the thoroughbred breeding industry, breeding must occur naturally, AI is not allowed.
Stallions can serve up to four times a day. In the 2006 breeding season Waikato Stud stallions will serve a capped book of 130 mares. Outside mares will be accepted on a first in, first served basis.
Foals are raised by their mother and weaning normally begins in March. At Waikato Stud foals are weaned in groups of 6, allowing them to buddy up. They run in this group until yearling preparation begins at the end of October.
During yearling preparation the young horses are under an individual diet, exercise and grooming regime. They wear rugs to keep their coats in perfect order and to stop sun fading. They are boxed during the day and paddocked at night. Prior to going to the sales yearlings are x-rayed for the detection of any conformation issues. These x-rays are available to the buyers for inspection at the sales. Yearling preparation is a fairly intensive time for a young horse, with the aim of having them at their best at sale time.
For those horses bred to sell, most are sold as yearlings, prior to being broken in. Australasian yearling sales run from mid January through to Easter when the William Inglis Premier sale is held in Sydney. Karaka, NZ’s premier sale is always at the end of January.
Once sold, horses are normally turned out for a time before being broken in. Breaking in is usually a 6 to 8 week educational process where a horse is taught to accept the gear and rider. Horses can start competing on the racetrack when they turn two.
Races throughout the world are set at specific levels. The Group One races are the premier events – they attract the greatest prize money and best fields. Winning a Group one could be compared to scoring for the All Blacks! There are 24 Group one events in New Zealand and 66 in Australia. Below these premier events are Group 2 races, Group 3 races and Listed races – from there they become just normal events. If a horse is good enough to win a group or listed race their name on their pedigree page appears in bold capital print. If placed in these events they are in bold lower case print. Consequently the more bold capitals on a pedigree page the more impressive and successful the pedigree.