ORIGINES DE LA RACE
1st Quarter 2022
BREEDING SEASON EDITION
The A, B, C’s of Breeding Your Mare
by Rebecca Courtney
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
-
Mare History: How old is your mare? Mares can be bred into their early 20's with no problem, but it’s important to understand that older mares who have not foaled recently can be a challenge to breed at times. On the flip side, if you have a young mare, you need to ensure that she’s sufficiently developed to carry a foal. The preferred age at first breeding depends on who you ask, but generally it is recommended to wait until the filly is at least 3 years old, to foal as a 4 year old. If your mare has foaled in the past, consider whether she had any issues conceiving, delivering or raising her foal. These may might be red flags for a future pregnancy.
-
Consider Your Resources: Breeding and foaling a mare is a big commitment, especially if you decide to breed using Artificial Insemination. You will need a vet that is comfortable with ultrasounding the mare and understanding the breeding cycle. Talk with your local vet about their experience. If they, or you, do not feel confident in managing the breeding, you may want to inquire about offsite breeding facilities for your mare, or hauling her to a reproductive specialist.
-
AI vs Live Cover: Determining whether to use Artificial Insemination or Live Cover to breed your mare often comes down to the resources you have available. Live Cover is often cheaper and requires less involvement from the vet, but if you don’t have a stallion nearby, you will have to make arrangements to get the mare hauled to him. Artificial Insemination opens the door to a wider stallion lineup. However, it requires excellent care from a vet, or reproductive specialist, to time the breeding correctly. It can become expensive when you consider mare prep, collection/shipping and vet fees in addition to the stud fee.
-
Stallion Selection: Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your mare helps to select a stallion that will complement her. In addition to conformation, consider items such as the ancestry of sire and mare, to minimize inbreeding, any health testing that has been done, and whether the stallion has a Leg Health Report on file with the European Brabant Registry of America.
Test A Mating
The European Brabant Registry of America's comprehensive herd management software, Grassroots, allows Members to test their mares' pairings with stallions for any common ancestors. This helps avoid undesirable breedings and narrows the field of stallions.
Below you'll see a European Brabant Stock studbook mare, Leah, paired with a European Brabant studbook stallion, Victor. Grassroots' calculation indicates no immediate common ancestors on the pedigree chart, so Victor would be a good "genetic" match for Leah.
To demonstrate an example of a bad pairing, below you will see what the calculated outcome would be if Leah were bred to her sire, Scout. NOTE ALL THAT RED!
Mare Prep
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
Ovulation and Breeding
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
Artificial Insemination
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
After She's Bred
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
Reading a Stallion Contract
by Rebecca Courtney
Le Brabant européen, comme son nom l'indique, est originaire d'Europe dans la petite province du Brabant en Belgique. L'histoire montre que les Brabants sont les descendants en ligne directe les plus directs du « Grand Cheval » de l'époque médiévale qui était probablement élevé pour porter les chevaliers au combat.
Les Brabants européens sont considérés comme la race mère de presque toutes les autres races à sang froid lourd dans le monde. Leurs mouvements fluides, puissants et spacieux au pas, au trot et au galop, combinés à leur caractère légendaire calme et doux, les rendent excellents pour une utilisation à l'attelage et sous la selle. Ils sont utilisés dans les opérations agricoles et forestières, les programmes d'école d'équitation et de thérapie équestre, les disciplines de dressage et d'équitation et plus encore. Le cheval de trait Brabant européen est la plus forte de toutes les races de chevaux au monde. Il existe des races de chevaux plus rapides, mais aucune autre race n'a la même combinaison harmonique de force, de puissance, de noblesse et d'élégance. Ce sont des gardiens faciles et facilement entraînables aussi. Plus important encore, ils aiment les membres de familles du monde entier.
-
Stallion Availability: The contract should spell out when the stallion is available for breeding and also what options are available for live cover or artificial insemination
-
Stud Fee: This is the fee due to the stallion owner as payment for breeding the mare
-
Additional Fees: These fees vary widely depending on the stallion and breeding facility. Read through this section carefully to get the full picture of the cost of breeding, and pay attention to which fees are refundable or non-refundable in the case of a failed breeding attempt.
-
Fees could include:
-
Booking Fee: A payment due at the time of contract signing to reserve your place in the stallion’s breeding book. This may be credited towards the final stud fee or may be an additional cost.
-
In a live cover scenario, you can expect to see mare care charges to cover feed and management of the mare during her stay at the farm. There may also be a chute fee that covers the cost of getting help to handle mare and stallion during breeding.
-
Artificial Insemination contracts come with additional charges for collecting the stallion and shipping the semen. You may also be required to put down a security deposit for the shipping container that is returned when the container is sent back clean and in a timely manner.
-
-
-
Mare requirements: Most stallion owners require that mares have a reproductive examination and a clean uterine culture prior to breeding, to maximize the chance of a successful breeding. If the mare becomes pregnant, the contract may spell out requirements for followup ultrasounds or vaccinations throughout pregnancy
-
Ordering Semen: Stallion collection often runs on a tight schedule and stallions may not be collected every day. It’s important to understand what days the stallion is available for collection and what the protocol is for ordering a shipment- do you have to call the day before, the morning of, or give a certain amount of notice?
-
Live Foal Guarantee: This is a common, but not universal, feature of a breeding contract and serves as a degree of insurance that a mare owner will get a foal for their troubles. Be sure to read about what is defined as a ‘live foal’ and the requirements for documenting the loss and notifying the stallion owner in the case of a dead foal. Also, note whether the guarantee gives re-breeding privileges (which may come with a time limit) or is fulfilled through a cash refund (and this generally will NOT include shipping and collection fees, as they are collected on behalf of third parties rather than the stallion owner)
Growing Pains
by Dr. Hernando Plata
When our first European Brabant foal was born from our 27-year-old mare, Salsa, I quickly realized foaling with these gentle giants was going to be a little bit different from the standard-size horses I treat as a board certified Reproductive Equine Veterinarian. Fortunately, I had good friend’s whom I could rely on to learn from their experiences. Cathy Williams told me that these large babies are slow to nurse. She was right; it took more than half a day for our filly, Havanera, to nurse.
When the foal would not nurse in the first 3 hours post-foaling, I was ready to act straight away. I have to confess that I could not resist the temptation, and I treated her as I would if she were one of my client’s horses. Eventually she nursed. I don’t know if she would have done it on her own, or if she did because of my treatments. However, it was music to my ears. Experiences like this one have made me more understanding of what my clients go through.
Once I was at ease by the sound of her suckling, I placed my attention on Havanera's legs. She had severe angular limb deformities, where her front legs looked like a question mark. Fortunately, it did not involve Varus (toeing-in) of the fetlocks. I knew I needed to be patient and give her time. I was not aggressive at all; I did some corrective hoof rasping and trimming. Honestly, I was skeptical any of it would be effective. Patience proved to be hard. After seeing her legs every day for three months, seemingly unchanged, I decided to enlist a second opinion from a veterinary surgeon. Dr Johnson told me what I would usually tell my own clients, "Leave her alone and continue with corrective trimming. She will get straight by herself."
So I did. Her front legs are straight!
Member Profile
by Stacy Pearsall
Every horse person knows the moment they became a "horse person". For Missouri native Olga Pushkareva, it was when her grade school biology teacher organized an extracurricular equine club. Olga and her sister participated frequently and learned to care for and ride horses.
"When I was 17, my family and I immigrated to St. Louis from Russia," recalls Olga. "Money was tight, and we couldn't afford a horse."
Despite not owning a horse, Olga's passion and love for the creatures continued to grow over time. Still, the dream of having one of her own would have to wait. Olga balanced work, education and family, earning Aerospace Engineering degree and an MBA, managing projects for a defense contractor, and guiding her daughter, Jasmine, through adolescence.
After many years of hard work and committed motherhood, the time had finally come. Olga's daughter graduated high school and enlisted in the Navy in 2016, opening a window for Olga's dream of horse ownership. She looked around, studied, contemplated and decided she wanted a draft horse; something calm, loving and gentle. That's when she found Sealy, a bay roan tobiano draft-cross. He was just two when she brought him home. Olga's plan was to ride him, but Sealy had other plans. He preferred to drive.
"A friend of mine was part of the Gateway Harness Club," explains Olga, "And she persuaded me to hitch him when he turned three. He loved it and we have been active with the club ever since. Despite a year of dressage lessons, he still has an unwavering preference for harness work and driving."
Like all other horse people, Olga wasn't content having just one horse. She purchased land with a house and room to grow, and grow they did. Olga's herd expanded when she opened her pasture to a team of underfed American Belgians, Jake and Jason, looking for a soft place to land. They fell into the right hands. Olga immediately got them treated and packing on weight. Sadly, Jason died from colic in 2020, but the upside was Jake would not be friendless for long.
Olga had her sights set on getting a European Brabant and promptly added her name to the waitlist at All the King's Horses in 2018. Two years went by before Olga found her dream horse, Turtle.
Coincidentally, Olga had found a baby snapping turtle near the creek on her farm the month Turtle was born and kept it in a terrarium for a few days. When All the King's Horses' foal profiles were sent, she stopped short on a cute bay roan colt named Turtle.
"I knew it was meant to be," she exclaimed. "I made the trip to Pennsylvania to meet him when he was just one month old. While there, I got to meet his mom, Rosie, and his sire, Ash. It was great to see his sire so relaxed and well behaved. It reinforced my intention of keeping Turtle a stallion and breeding in the future."
Olga, the reluctant teamster, spent time starting Turtle in harness. Since joining her herd, Turtle has mastered Parelli Natural Hosemanship games and learned a great deal from his draft horse pal, Jake. He even made waves at a driving clinic.
"The instructor had a lot of questions," she joked. “We have encountered quite a few people who have never seen a Brabant before. It was a great opportunity to educate others about the breed. Turtle’s calm demeanor and surprising skills for such a young age amazed everyone.”
Turtle has a promising future as a breeding stallion, best friend, riding partner, and pleasure driving horse. The European Brabant Registry of America looks forward to watching him mature into the gentle giant Olga always dreamed of.
Welcome the newest import arrivals!
JOIN OUR CHAT
The
The next Members Meeting is January 10th at 8PM (EST) and we're inviting non-members to join us, so please Zoom in and chat with us!
There will be presentations on horse registration requirements, leg health reports, followed by open chat!
European Brabant Registry of America Quarterly Members Meeting
Join Zoom Meeting Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89710351731?pwd=dWJ5ZStneXNwSlhyVkNIamFDRW1nZz09
Meeting ID: 897 1035 1731
Passcode: 487952
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,89710351731#,,,,*487952# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,89710351731#,,,,*487952# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 897 1035 1731
Passcode: 487952
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keCkocG1qY