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DIRECTORY > Spelling and Agistment > RHEINWOOD PASTORAL CO
BREEDING & REARING PROCESSES
Rheinwood Pastoral Co is a boutique broodmare stud that believes that the hands-on approach is the best way to raise quality thoroughbred athletes. Due to this belief we have limited the number mares that live full time on the stud and place great importance on ensuring the highest quality breeding and rearing processes.
Foaling Down
At Rheinwood Pastoral Co we understand just how imperative it is for owners that their foal is born safely. After over 11-months gestation the birth is often the culmination of much planning and research. Mares that are foaled down on the farm are closely monitored during the day and then at night are moved into smaller flood lit paddocks with night watch staff in constant attendance.
Once a mare foals she is brought into our stables with her offspring for three to four nights on straw bedding and is moved out to a smaller yard during the day.
The mare and foal then move to our 9-day yards to restrict the foals movement as their joints are developing and to ensure that they are not run around by their mothers looking for their broodmare mate. We want their legs to strengthen as best they can during this important early stage.
The mare and foal then graduate to larger paddocks with a few other mares and foals close to the stables. At the age of 2-3 weeks the foal is then handled by our staff, beginning their educational process. This continues until the weaning program begins. We review their legs and if appropriate have our farrier carry out remedial work; we then constantly review their feet and trim.
Walk-Ons (Serving Mares)
Getting your mare ready to be served again is a complex process that involves much expertise. Our staff, in conjunction with specialist reproductive vets carry out tests and scans to determine when is the optimum time to walk the mare on to the stallion.
Once the time is right the mare is loaded onto the float and our driver takes the mare direct to the nominated stallions stud, they are covered and driven back home.
She is then treated with specialist medication post-service to give the pregnancy every chance of taking. In 14 days she is scanned to see if she is in foal or not. She is checked at 30 days but the 45-day scan is the marker that she is in foal and the stallion stud in notified.
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