[jsdressage]

Hi -

I have a mare that I might allow someone else to breed under an "every other foal" contract. Can someone explain the industry standards for this kind of contract? I understand the basics, that the other party taking my mare will be responsible for her upkeep and medical expenses during both pregnancies in exchange for the right to use my mare, and that the other party will keep one foal and I'd keep the other, but beyond that, I don't know how these sorts of contracts work, and I want to come to a fair agreement with the other party and to know what to expect.

When it's my turn to take a foal, do I then pay the other party for the upkeep of my foal once it's weaned? Does the other party generally pay for the insurance on my mare? I'm clueless about industry standards, and this is a valuable mare with rare bloodlines, so any guidance would be great!

[RyTimMick]

Hi JS,

These are difficult and I had one turn out poorly for me, I ended up loosing everything, foal, studfee, breeding expenses, and I didn't own the mare. It seemed like a solid contract until the mare didn't cooperate. Ours was a little different then every other year, it was breed 2 years in a row keep one give one back. option for a 3rd year lease. The resulting 1st rejected foal and other medical problems of the mare prevented us from wanting to breed her back. The mare owner wouldn't budge, took the mare back, along with the foal after we raised it from birth, lost a nurse mare in the process we didn't own, nursed their mare back to health, and they had their mare in the show ring in 2 weeks of her arrival. We wanted to sell the foal and split it half way. The moral of the story is, a contract might make you right, but when things go a muck, it gets down to who wants to waste more money. We dicided to cut our losses and move on. I am taking the Karma over half a foal. I hope this story helps.

Tim

Oh. PS. Insurance is ALWAYS the responsibility of the person in possession of the mare, owner as the benefactor. Do not budge on this.

[jsdressage]

Thanks, Tim. This does help. I hadn't thought about a scenario where only the mare only has one foal (if she doesn't take a 2nd time, for example).

If your situation HAD worked out, would you have taken care of both foals after weaning for a set period of time (say, 6mo, 1 year), or would the mare's owner had to pick up the baby immediately after weaning?

Thanks.

[RyTimMick]

To add to your point about the mare only having one foal, what if it takes 3 attempts to get her pregnant. You need to state how many tries one HAS to make to get the mare pregnant.

To that point, we were going to be responsible for the foal until weaning - inspection. Board was predetermined for up to one Year of age if required.

Don't foget about breeding responsibility of the mare after she has her first foal, as she will reside at the other persons farm. The 30 day heat cycle will occur with foal at side and in the other persons care. Mare insurance should pick up after weaning of the foal, as the foal owner needs the mare to nurse her/him. Once the mare is bred you should not be able to take her back, she has to be in the right of the leasor, as their money is in her.

Tim

[clint]

I had an every-other-foal lease with a SO in my area, and it worked well. The SO always had the first foal. She would breed the mare, and I kept her until a couple of months before foaling. She would take the mare, foal her out, breed her to whatever stallion I wanted, and keep her until the foal was weaned, about six months. We did this for quite a few years, with no problems. I was lucky, I guess, because there were never any fertility problems with the mares, plus she was standing several stallions so I had options when it was my year to breed. She was very experienced with repro., however, and used an outstanding vet. Each of us ended up keeping the mare for about six months, so the mare care was even. I paid for breeding expenses when it was my turn, and she paid for hers when it was her foal.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I tried this once and it did not go well at all--p.m. if you want more info.