by Al Badia
Horses are bred in three ways: pasture mating, hand mating, and artificial insemination. Horses may also be bred using more than one method.
Pasture Mating
This is the most common method of breeding horses, with variations of it being used throughout the world. The horse is put out to pasture with a mare in heat and allowed to have sex while they are out there together. The foal will come into the world within nine months, so this type of breeding system allows for multiple foals per year—as many as four or five per year!
Hand Mating
This method involves a trained technician placing semen from a stallion into a mare manually. This can be done either internally or externally, and is usually done when a mare is in heat but cannot find an appropriate mate on her own or has not yet been purchased by someone who wants to breed her. Hand mating is generally done at a breeding facility where expert staff are available to assist with this process.
Artificial Insemination (AI)
Artificial insemination involves the use of frozen semen from a stallion which has been stored after collection from him by another veterinarian or technician. The frozen semen is then thawed and
