New England people - Is it too late...

[notadumbld]

...to breed up here? Two friends have told me about mares we might be able to use for our last breeding with the stallion we used for Fiona. She isn't able to carry to term but the stallion owner might let us try again with another mare that meets her approval. We have a live foal guarantee giving us three seasons to breed.

One mare is a 4 y/o TB and the other is a 3-4 y/o Hanovarian.

THe Hano owner also suggested embryo transfer since our Fiona is an approved mare already. She would "rent-a-womb" for the cost of feeding the mare and said her ET vet in NY is very reasonable. Any vet expenses directly related to Fiona that are done at the vets were I work are free so we'd just be paying for the transfer portion. All of the initial ultrasounds and AI's would be free. Any thoughts about this?

BTW, Lucy and Legz are doing well. Legz' face is shedding her chestnut and she has a dark gray face hiding under there so she's probably going to be silver dun pinto like Lucy. We will be doing the DNA testing soon to identify the sire. Time to think about selling Legz - sigh!

[devotee]

Somebody here might be able to give you some good advice, but you could also try posting the questions on Tintagel's MB. They are in MA, and Sarah seems to do some ET stuff. Good luck! Sounds like fun.

[twnpnds]

I wouldn't think it would be too late to breed. You would be having summer babies and New England summers are wonderful. When you breed really is a matter of preference. It seems like you are getting a wonderful opportunity here. I think ET is a great way to get a foal from a mare that can't carry to term. I would go for it. But that's my personal opinion. Be sure to read any contracts carefully and ask a lot of questions so that there aren't any misunderstandings.

[Regret]

Well, if you breed now- your foal will be born in early June. That's still a nice time- I wouldn't wait a whole lot longer though, otherwise your little one will be born in the hottest part of the summer- July or August. I don't think it's too late to breed.