to those of you who have stallions.......

[shirleyjones]

I hope you don't mind me asking do any of you who have stallions offer them for stud?

If so how do you go about it- do the mares come to you and get served as a one off or do they run with the stallion or do you do it any other way??

Also i would be interested to know how much it costs, but I understand if you want to omit this part of the question or you could PM me if you want to keep it private.

[shirleyjones]

I think you just put me off using a stud!! No only joking but it is a mine field isn't it. Thanks for this information it is helpful, my oldest dales filly is only 2 so I have time to look around yet, I was expecting stud fee's to be about £250.

[maggie]

Hi Shirley

It is with great regret that I have to endorse much of what Heather has said, there are some shocking attitudes amongst Dales breeders and I believe that this is partly to blame for the Dales still being such a rare breed. Things are changing, but progress is slow.

In defence of studs, some mare owners are very inconsiderate and fail to tell the stud that their mares kick/don't tie up/are bad with the vet/are virtually unhandled etc, etc. Having said that, most are lovely people and their mares are a pleasure to deal with.

We stand 2 stallions, Raygill William and Colliery Bill II, both are approved by the Council for AI. William is available for natural covering and fresh semen only, Bill is natural, fresh, chilled and frozen. Our natural covering is inhand only. The current stud fee is £175, that includes 4 weeks keep, but not vet fees. Chilled AI is the same cost, frozen is mainly kept for export so haven't priced for uk use yet.

Mares must be clear of contagious equine metritis and other equine venereal diseases and we require sight of the lab certificate following a swab test to prove this. We worm all mares on arrival and they are kept either out at grass or are brought in overnight. All our paddocks are safely double-fenced.

We do have stud cards and, if you PM me your address, I'll send them out.

[harveydales]

Crickey, Maggie, that seems extremely reasonable! It can't possibley cover the costs. I haven't looked into this but I'm sure I paid more 25 years ago when I sent my TB mare to a TB stallion. I've still got the bills - I'll go and check.

[maggie]

would you believe that I've been told that I'm too expensive on more than one occasion and that 'so-and-so only charges such-and-such and doesn't ask for any expensive swabs either'

My response is, off you go to them then! I want to offer a service to people who care about their mare and want a healthy foal at the end.

You really can't blame stallion owners for not wanting the hassle of visiting mares if they are only getting £50-£70 a service, which was the norm until very recently.

[greydales]

I think your stud fee is extremely reasonable Maggie, plus the requirement for swabs should be mandatory, if people are to be responsible.

I'm hoping to put Cherry to a local stallion who asks that mares have an in-season swab and I have no problem whatsoever with this. I do think mare owners need to be honest about their ponies and disclose any potential problem areas, I would not want a stallion to be put at risk from any mare of mine! Olivia for example can be quite defensive and I would always mention this to a stallion owner and would totally understand if they didn't want to take the risk.

Unfortunately there does seem to be an 'old school' attitude to stallions/youngstock which I have picked up on, but luckily many owners have moved on from this and hopefully the tide will slowly turn. There are many decent and approachable stallion owners some of whom have been mentioned.

[DalesLady]

I think Maidendale fees are more than reasonable considering how much time and effort goes into giving visiting mares the very best of experiences. They are handled daily and looked after with five star service. In fact, Maggie and Roger are definitely doing this for the love of the breed, never ever could they even recoup the cost of standing superb stallions they have in Bill and Tommy. I always worry when my mares go there that they are out of pocket and am also grateful that they care so much as to insist on the swab testing. It is not just for the sake of their pony, but mine too, and at least if anything were ever to go amiss, I would know it not to be my mares fault.

We have also used Waterside William II, owned by Norma and Ian Thompson too and the experience there is superb too. I know my ponies are safe and kindly handled at both these studs and it takes much of the worry out of putting a mare to a stallion for me.

[dollylanedales]

I have spoken to a few stallion owners with regard to getting Molly covered, and have never had any refusals to use their stallion on Molly.

I think it is up to the stallion owner whether he wishes to accept your mare for covering - I think we should respect their decision on the matter if I am honest.

My only experience of actually taking Molly to a stallion was when she went to Walesmoor Emperor. The covering fee was very reasonable, as was the grass keep. The mares ran out with him, and Molly was so happy there, she did not want to come home! It was the same the following year.

My problem is there are not that many stallions which I would consider using, within a reasonable distance from us, so we are pretty limited in choice - whether the owners would have us, or not!

[Debbie]

I've just looked through the DPS website, which is the first stopping point for anyone wanting anything to do with the breed. I can't find any listings for stallions standing at stud.

Can a mare owner contact the DPS and obtain a stallion list? Or is it a case of everyone's on their own??

[taffydales]

I think thats very reasonable Maggie and I,m shocked that you have had people complain, I may have to go down the frozen semen route with Perrywinkle, I,m still very unsure about things, I think I may need to have a chat with you Mag.

[lucydales]

I spoke to Jo Ashby and she put me in touch with Tony and Sammy. Tony travelled Sammy to me (well Amy!) 3 times over the week to do the deed in hand (he had planned to come and stay but circumstances precluded that). His fees were very reasonable and he was a smashing chap to deal with.
I guess I've been lucky from what everyone's saying!

[baroquefarm]

Sammy is an awesome choice. He is well mannered, gorgeous, and his owner is a fabulous man. Another great choice is Empyrean Eclipse. He is a fab stallion, and his owners are great people. If anyone is interested in seeing photos, contact me privately and I will send along a few.


We could also add a thread about stallions standing. I think if we all get involved, we could make a good list of stallions available.

[cadeby]

May 13, 2008 10:21:41 GMT -1 baroquefarm said:

We could also add a thread about stallions standing. I think if we all get involved, we could make a good list of stallions available.

That's a good idea Anna - and we should restrict the list only to those stallions who are available to outside mares

At the very least it would give people a starting point rather than having to ring round all the stallion-owners listed in the DPS Newsletter, many of whom are not available to the general public.

[Debbie]

I agree, I'd love to see a list started of the stallions that are available through AI or to outside mares. It would be an even bigger bonus if we could get the heights as well (though that may be stretching it). I've got a girlie who will be small, so when it comes time to put her in foal, I'll have to do some hunting for a smaller stallion.