Breeding: What Stallion and Mare Owners Need to Know
Standing stallions to outside mares is a business, and so is raising young horses for eventual sale. Regardless of the size and type of your breeding operation, your activity has legal implications. However, you can minimize your liability by incorporating your business, obtaining appropriate insurance coverage and putting appropriate breeding contracts in place.
Stallion Services:
When breeding your stallion to outside mares, you are entering into a business relationship. A well-written, detailed and current breeding contract can help set appropriate expectations, minimize disputes and limit your liability. For example, shipped semen, frozen semen and live cover each have different procedures, requirements and costs associated with them. Because horse breeding costs are not standardized, it is essential for the mare owner to understand at the time of booking the services for which they will be paying, and for that understanding to be in writing. Furthermore, the terms of live foal guarantees differ, and it’s very important the mare owner fully understand the terms of your facility’s live foal guarantee prior to booking a breeding.
Mare Services:
Even if you’re an experienced breeder, when breeding your mares to outside stallions, it is important that you read and understand the entire breeding contract prior to booking the breeding. In many cases, stallion owners use breeding contracts that are not sufficiently detailed or updated to cover all of today’s breeding concerns. For example, does the contract state whether the stallion has been tested for genetically linked disorders such as HYPP or for diseases that can be easily transmitted through breeding, such as equine viral arteritis (EVA)? Can you do an embryo transfer? What is the quality and availability of fresh cooled semen and frozen semen? If the stallion owner’s contract is insufficient to cover your concerns, don’t be afraid to request that the additional terms be put into the breeding contract. Otherwise, you have significant potential for misunderstanding, and verbal agreements are particularly difficult to enforce when a written contract also exists. Once you have paid the breeding fees, you will have very little negotiating power.
Stallion Services:
When breeding your stallion to outside mares, you are entering into a business relationship. A well-written, detailed and current breeding contract can help set appropriate expectations, minimize disputes and limit your liability. For example, shipped semen, frozen semen and live cover each have different procedures, requirements and costs associated with them. Because horse breeding costs are not standardized, it is essential for the mare owner to understand at the time of booking the services for which they will be paying, and for that understanding to be in writing. Furthermore, the terms of live foal guarantees differ, and it’s very important the mare owner fully understand the terms of your facility’s live foal guarantee prior to booking a breeding.
Mare Services:
Even if you’re an experienced breeder, when breeding your mares to outside stallions, it is important that you read and understand the entire breeding contract prior to booking the breeding. In many cases, stallion owners use breeding contracts that are not sufficiently detailed or updated to cover all of today’s breeding concerns. For example, does the contract state whether the stallion has been tested for genetically linked disorders such as HYPP or for diseases that can be easily transmitted through breeding, such as equine viral arteritis (EVA)? Can you do an embryo transfer? What is the quality and availability of fresh cooled semen and frozen semen? If the stallion owner’s contract is insufficient to cover your concerns, don’t be afraid to request that the additional terms be put into the breeding contract. Otherwise, you have significant potential for misunderstanding, and verbal agreements are particularly difficult to enforce when a written contract also exists. Once you have paid the breeding fees, you will have very little negotiating power.