Questions to Ask Studs
Twenty questions for a mare owner talking to a stallion owner or stud manager before booking a breeding. They cover the fee and what gets charged on top of it, live foal terms, conception rates by collection method, genetic testing, and the foals already on the ground.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many mares did he cover last season, and how many produced live foals?
Why ask it
Two numbers rather than a claim about fertility. A short book is not a problem in itself, but the ratio between mares bred and foals born is the only figure that reflects what actually happened. If nobody has kept count, you are dealing with a stud that does not track its own results.
What is the fee, and what else will I be charged?
Why ask it
The advertised fee is rarely the total. Booking fees, collection or chute fees, semen shipping, container deposits, mare care and veterinary work are often separate lines. Ask for a worked example for a mare like yours, since the extras commonly add up to a significant fraction of the headline number.
Is he standing to live foal, and what exactly does that cover?
Why ask it
Live foal terms vary far more than people expect: some cover a return next season, some a refund, some neither if the mare is not certified in foal by a set date. Ask what happens if the foal is born and does not stand and nurse, and get the answer in the contract rather than in conversation.
Fresh, chilled or frozen, and what were the per-cycle conception rates for each?
Why ask it
The method changes your logistics, your veterinary bill and your odds. Frozen semen demands tighter timing and closer monitoring than chilled, so a stud that only offers frozen should be able to tell you how their clients have fared. Vague reassurance here usually means the data has never been assembled.
Who does the collecting, and which days do you ship?
Why ask it
Practical and frequently decisive. Studs that collect on fixed days can miss a cycle by twenty-four hours, and courier cut-offs matter more than anything on the advertisement. Ask what happens if your mare ovulates on a Sunday, because that is the situation you will eventually be in.
Which genetic tests has he had, and can I see the certificates?
Why ask it
Relevant tests differ by breed, and the answer you want is the paperwork rather than a summary. Look for whether results are stated as clear or as carrier, since a carrier is not disqualifying but changes which mares he should be bred to. A stud that hesitates to send certificates is telling you something.
What are his conformation faults?
Why ask it
Every horse has some, and a stallion owner who can name them without prompting is worth more to you than one who cannot. The follow-up is whether those faults show up in his foals, which is a different question and the one that affects your mare's produce.
What does he tend to stamp on his foals, good and bad?
Why ask it
Experienced breeders talk about this precisely: a hind leg, a shoulder, a temperament, a maturing pattern that comes late. Answers that consist only of positives suggest either very few foals on the ground or a sales pitch. What he consistently passes on is the whole point of choosing him.
Which mares suit him, and which do not?
Why ask it
A stallion owner who says he suits every mare is either inexperienced or selling. The useful answer names types: mares needing more bone, mares who should not be doubled up on a particular trait, bloodlines that have not worked. Bring your mare's pedigree and photographs and ask specifically about her.
Can I speak to owners of his foals out of mares like mine?
Why ask it
Direct references are the closest thing to independent evidence you will get. Ask for a mare with comparable type and breeding rather than the best foal he has produced. Willingness to hand over contacts, including for a foal that did not turn out as hoped, is the strongest signal available.
How many of his foals are old enough to have been assessed or competed?
Why ask it
A young stallion's page can look impressive while nothing has yet been demonstrated, because performance results take years. Establish how many crops are on the ground and what age the oldest are. Until a crop has been through work, everything about him is inference from his own record.
What is his own performance record, and who was riding or handling him?
Why ask it
Results achieved with a professional rider tell you less about the horse's trainability than results from an amateur would. Ask who produced him and how long he competed. A short career deserves a follow-up about why it ended, which is sometimes an injury worth knowing about.
What is he like to be around, in hand and at collection?
Why ask it
Temperament is partly heritable and entirely relevant to the foal you will be handling. Ask for behaviour rather than adjectives: whether he can be led past mares, whether he lives out, who handles him. A horse described as needing an experienced person is being described honestly.
Has he had a fertility problem or a season off?
Why ask it
Stallions have poor seasons for reasons ranging from illness to overuse to a change of handler, and past figures do not always carry forward. Ask when he was last evaluated and whether current semen quality has been checked this season, not last.
If my mare is coming to you, what does the daily care include and who is the attending vet?
Why ask it
Board arrangements differ enormously: turnout, feed, whether foaling is supervised, whether routine scans are included or billed. Ask who is authorised to call the vet and up to what amount, and confirm you will be told before anything is done rather than afterwards.
What happens if she does not get in foal this season?
Why ask it
You need the mechanism, not the sympathy: a free return, a partial credit, a carry-over to next year, or nothing. Ask also whether the return is to the same stallion, since a substitute may not suit her. This is the clause people wish they had read.
What paperwork will I receive, and when?
Why ask it
A breeding certificate is what makes registration possible, and it is routinely delayed until an account is settled. Ask what triggers its release and how long it has taken others. Missing paperwork is a common and entirely avoidable reason a foal is difficult to register or sell.
What is your policy if he dies or becomes unavailable before she is in foal?
Why ask it
Uncomfortable to raise and worth raising, particularly with an older stallion or a booking made well ahead. Some studs hold stored semen, some substitute another stallion, some refund. Ask whether frozen semen exists and who has the right to use it, because that determines what you would actually be left with.
What would you call his weakest attribute as a sire?
Why ask it
Asked plainly and late, this separates breeders from salespeople. A considered answer, that he needs a mare with more substance or that his foals are slow to mature, tells you the person has watched their own produce critically. A claim that he has no weakness ends the diligence for you.
Who else should I be considering for her?
Why ask it
Generous stud managers answer this well, because a badly matched booking harms their record too. Naming a rival, and the reason, shows they are thinking about your mare rather than their season. A refusal to acknowledge any alternative is worth weighing against everything else you have been told.
Choosing a stallion for your mare
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you call
- Know your mare first: her pedigree, her conformation faults, her breeding history and what you want the foal to do. Most bad matches come from choosing a fashionable stallion and working backwards.
- Have your vet's opinion on her breeding soundness before you commit to a fee. It changes which collection method is realistic and whether this season is the right one.
- Set your total budget including veterinary work, shipping, board and the possibility of a second cycle, then judge the stud fee as a share of that rather than on its own.
- Go and see him in person if you can, and see a foal or two. Photographs and video are edited; the horse standing in front of you is not.
Reading the contract
Find the deadline dates
Live foal guarantees usually depend on a pregnancy certificate submitted by a specific date, and on notification of a loss within a specific window. Diary both the moment you sign, since missing one by a week can void the whole clause.
Check what a return means
A free return may cover the stud fee only, leaving you to pay collection, shipping and veterinary costs again. Work out what a second season would actually cost you before deciding the guarantee is adequate.
Confirm who owns stored semen
If frozen semen is part of the arrangement, the contract should say how many doses you have bought, where they are stored, who pays storage, and what happens to unused doses. This is where disputes concentrate.
Get the extras in figures
Ask for the fee schedule in writing with the amounts filled in rather than described. Collection fee, container deposit, courier, mare care per day and any handling charge should each appear as a number.
Common mistakes
Buying the pedigree instead of the horse
A famous grandsire says little about what this individual passes on. Weigh the foals on the ground more heavily than the names on the paper, and if there are no foals yet, price that uncertainty into what you are willing to pay.
Ignoring logistics
Collection days, courier deadlines and the distance to your vet decide more outcomes than the choice between two good stallions. A convenient stallion your mare gets in foal to beats an ideal one three time zones away.
Skipping the reference calls
Two conversations with people who used him last season will tell you more than any amount of marketing material: whether shipments arrived on time, whether the office answered the phone, whether the paperwork came.
Treating a low fee as a bargain
A modest fee attached to poor fertility, awkward shipping or slow paperwork can cost more than an expensive stallion who gets your mare in foal on the first cycle. Compare the likely cost of a foal on the ground, not the advertised price.