I never gave much thought to it. For years we just bought ponies and puppies. Like everyone else out there, I just wanted the cheapest bang for my buck. I think the accurate phrase my ex -husband used to have was that I had champagne tastes on a beer budget, meaning I wanted a world beater for pennies. Miraculously we got lucky a few times over the years and got really good deals on really nice ponies. We also learned pretty quickly that if you buy young and put the blood, sweat and tears into making them into a show pony we could afford to keep up with the world beaters. Then we decided to try our hands at making our own show ponies. Being me, I had done research. I had talked with breeders. I knew it was more than take our mare and drop it off at any old stallion and hope for the best. But what I knew wasn’t even a drop in a bucket about what breeding is all about.
It was obvious my first attempt at breeding ponies back in 2010 -2013 that a person like me, cursed with anxiety, is going to struggle with foaling season. But once those babies were safely on the ground, up and nursing, it was so worth it. I’m sure that the mares that foaled while I was gone at work planned it so that I would leave them alone. Because the poor mares that foaled when I was around had to put up with my minor panicking about the foals not nursing, not getting up or the mare not accepting baby, retained placentas, you name it. I kept the vet clinic’s cash flow going through the spring months. I learned a lot, but I still had so much to learn.
My first dip in the breeding pool also taught me so much about vaccinations and the timing of those, ultrasounds, uterine infections, cysts, live cover, pasture breeding, foaling kits and gestation periods. (Speaking of gestation periods - why are they so long?! Argh! When it takes 11 months OR MORE for that much anticipated foal to arrive it is excruciating.) Despite all that learning, it still wasn’t enough breeding knowledge to fill a thimble.
To the best of my accounting (remember I teach reading and social studies - not math) I think we had 13 foals born on our place before divorce ended the dream of me becoming the next notable POA breeder. Fast forward 7 years and I am back at it again, this time with the support with my pony enthusiast and husband. This time I have additional partners in this crazy scheme and people to bounce ideas and bloodlines off of. I have two, almost grown, pony crazy kids that seem to be lock boxes of information on pedigrees and performance records. They don’t even have to write anything down! Me on the other hand. I’m writing stuff down. Lots and lots of stuff. I’ve been soaking up every bit of knowledge I can for the past 7 years and I still don’t feel like I have a cupful of breeding knowledge.
I have learned over the years to get as much information and learn as much as I can from some of the older, more experienced breeders. I love reading and visiting with some of the best breeders in POA like Jess Drish, Tracy Keen, Dean Dammon, Anne Dykstra and more. I have so much to learn and they are kind enough to share what they know. Besides the science of seeing a successful breeding season through to foaling, bloodlines and pedigrees to create an exceptional animal, marketing, you name it - I appreciate every bit of what I have been able to pick up from what I refer to as the professional breeders. I'm sure there is a better name, but that's the best I can do.
I can never imagine being one of those people who thinks they know it all about anything, much less breeding ponies. For one thing, once you learn something - it changes and evolves. While some things haven’t changed, there is so much more to be learned. Science continues to evolve in ways we would never have imagined. 10 years ago we weren’t testing any of our ponies for genetic diseases or for carrying color genes. It was a gamble. Now every one of my ponies is color and genetic tested before they are bred. While it takes a little of the guessing game fun out of it, there are plenty of unknowns to keep us all wondering and to keep my anxiety high enough. Don’t worry about that. 10 years ago we couldn’t have imagined such wonders as recipient mares, cloning, or even choosing the gender of the foals produced by AI. So much to learn all the time.
I’m willing to do all of that, in fact I quite enjoy it. What I’m struggling with are the heartbreaks and setbacks. I’ve been blessed to this point. Trust me, I get that. I have had successful foalings and not lost a mare or a foal yet. I understand how real this possibility is every spring as I see the devastating tales on my breeder friends’ timelines. We’ve been blessed with 100% color and in a color breed, that’s a big deal. Even before we were testing for the LP gene, I was lucky to never have a solid foal. The LP gods were smiling on me. It happens no matter the precautions that good breeders take. We have also had the blessing to have 3 very nice stallions on our place.
When we got back into breeding I knew that I wanted to expand on my knowledge of breeding. None of the stallions we had bred to in the past was still standing at stud and we did our research on outside stallions knowing that eventually we wanted a stallion of our very own. Unfortunately, for reasons all very varied and different, all 3 of our stallion prospects have not been able to continue to be the stallion for us. Our most recent heartbreak of Invy not being able to be the next young stallion making his mark on the world was just about it for me. When I got the news from our vet, I very nearly posted all the mares for sale. It’s a good thing I had a basketball game to announce that night and didn’t have time to get the ads written.
With having a little more time to think instead of react, I had some wise counsel and some good friends talk to me and encourage me to keep going. I can’t thank them enough. I appreciate the pick me up chats and the reminders that our small breed organization needs a few good breeders who know to pay attention to conformation, movement and pedigree to try to improve our breed. I may have gotten into this gig a little late to have a lasting effect on the breed. I may not even make much of a name for myself. Heck, I may not be getting it right yet, but I’m working on it. And let’s be honest - those darn babies bring me so much joy. Tim says I’m good with them, I say they are good for me.
Back to square one we go. It’s been a tough week for me but what has been tough for me would be an easy week for breeders that have been in the business of breeding ponies for years. I never really thought about how hard it had to be for them all, the ups, the downs and the craziness. Believe me - breeders aren’t in for the money, no one is making it rich breeding ponies. They are in it for the love of the animal. If you have one in your backyard that you love today - send the breeder a note and let them know how thankful you are for all the sacrifices they made to create your best friend. It will mean something, trust me.
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