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The cycle is controlled by several hormones which regulate the estrous cycle, the mare's behavior, and the reproductive system of the mare. The cycle begins when the increased day length causes the pineal gland to reduce the levels of melatonin , thereby allowing the hypothalamus to secrete GnRH.
Thus, a cycle may be short, totaling approximately 3 weeks. [21] Horses mate in spring and summer; autumn is a transition time, and anestrus occurs during winter. A feature of the fertility cycle of horses and other large herd animals is that it is usually affected by the seasons. The number of hours daily that light enters the eye of the ...
Thoroughbred is a specific breed of horse, while a "purebred" is a horse (or any other animal) with a defined pedigree recognized by a breed registry. [176] Horse breeds are groups of horses with distinctive characteristics that are transmitted consistently to their offspring, such as conformation , color, performance ability, or disposition.
Therefore, many breeding farms begin to put mares "under lights" in late winter in order to bring them out of anestrus early and allow conception to occur in February or March. One exception to this general rule is the field of endurance riding , which requires horses to be 60 true calendar months old (5 years) before competing at longer distances.
Quantitative breeding theories usually focus on statistical analysis of the sire and broodmare sires in particular. The best-known classification system for mares was developed in the late 1800s by an Australian named Bruce Lowe, who analyzed the statistics of major race winners and ranked the distaff or mare lines by their degree of success ...
Live foal guarantee is a common provision in horse breeding contracts. It is a form of a warranty offered to the mare owner by the stallion owner. Basically, it says that if the mare fails to produce a live foal from the breeding, the stallion owner will breed the same mare again without charging another stud fee. Therefore, the stud fee is ...
The breeding season is when seasonal breeders reproduce. Various variables can affect when it occurs. [3] A primary influence on the timing of reproduction is food availability. Organisms generally time especially stressing events of reproduction to occur in sync with increases in food availability.
When a mare is pregnant, she is said to be "in foal". When the mare gives birth, she is "foaling", and the impending birth is usually stated as "to foal". A newborn horse is "foaled". After a horse is one year old, it is no longer a foal, and is a "yearling". There are no special age-related terms for young horses older than yearlings.