If you're thinking of adding breeding to your barn business, it’s important to evaluate your current barn and make any changes before you start your breeding program. Here are a few things to think about if you look forward to the patter of little hooves:
Separate, Safe and Secure Stallion Housing
Position stallion stalls well away from where the mares will be housed and use only top-quality products. Make sure that your fencing is tall, visible, and strong - that means paying attention to the quality of the stall components that you’re using. What works for your easy-going geldings might not be right to contain stallions. For example, you may want to use full, solid dividers between horses instead of grills or mesh.
Large Foaling Stalls
When designing your foaling stalls, make sure to leave both the mare and foal plenty of space to move around in comfort and safety. Instead of full stall fronts, you may want to install metal mesh bottoms on the foaling stall fronts for easy visibility without disturbing the mare or foal.
If your stalls include grillwork, the grillwork needs to be spaced so the foal’s hooves cannot become caught between the grills. Classic Equine Equipment’s stalls feature top grills in which the 1” bars are set on 3” centers. Lower grills feature 1” bars set on 2 ½” centers. Overlooking this small but important detail can lead to catastrophic injuries to soft, tiny hooves.
Quality, Safe Flooring
You can’t overlook the importance of quality, safe footing in your breeding barn. Consider using rubber aisle pavers for a safe footing in multiple areas, including your barn aisle, wash stall, and entrance ways. Rubber aisle pavers feature excellent self drainage, and are highly durable. They provide excellent shock absorption and traction, helping to keep all horses in your breeding barn safe.
Additional Safety
Since you and your vet will be checking on your mare and foal a variety of times day and night, it’s important to have excellent lighting in your stalls. You may also want to consider installing cameras to keep an eye on things when you aren’t there.
Also, consider implementing a bio-hazard program in your new barn to keep germs away from both moms and babies. Many install a shallow pan of disinfectant where you can kill germs on your shoes before entering the barn, as well as a hand washing station.
Create A Breeding Supply Room
Somewhat like a tack room, this clean, sterilized room is where you keep all the equipment you use for the entire breeding and foaling process. This can include an ultrasound machine, containers for artificial insemination, coolers, colostrum replacement and first aid supplies.
When you build your breeding program, the safety of your stallion, mare and foal is essential in a successful breeding barn. One way to do this is by choosing quality products such as those offered by Classic Equine Equipment.
