We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

~ Albert Einstein

The beginning of February starts breeding season each year and continues through June. The latter part of the month of January becomes quite hectic for most breeding operations as they prepare for the coming months. Recently, I was able to visit with the employees of EE Ranches, Whitesboro, Texas, to see what they do to prepare their stallion station and begin the season.

Grounds & Office Maintenance
The breeding off-season is from July through January and is the time when overall housekeeping is taken care of. In the months preceding the breeding season, basic ground maintenance is completed. Pastures are cared for. All stalls are disinfected, repairs are made and any additions are completed. It can be as large of a project as finishing a new barn or as small of a project as simply repainting the breeding lab. Finally, the barns are rebedded with fresh shavings to prepare for the new occupants.

Records are reorganized and any needed office equipment (computers, software, etc.) is purchased. All necessary items are inventoried and stocked, such as neck tags, lubricant, semen straws, etc.

“Most of the maintenance is completed in the months before the season starts back up,” says Kim Adams, Office Manager. “That way, we are ready for the mares when they start arriving.”

Prior to the season
The two weeks prior to the start of breeding, all stallions are collected to clean out the present semen. Dead or weak sperm cells are passed to allow for new production. Fertility is checked, and cultures of the semen are completed to check for infection. This continues every other day over the two weeks to ensure healthy stallions and acceptable collections when the mares come in for breeding.

Contracts for the scheduled mares are checked to ensure all information is current and correct for the mares that will be bred the coming season. Any missing information or due payments are collected. Once everything is ready and in order, it’s time for the mares to come in.

Once it starts…
“The key to maintaining order is staying current,” says Adams. “We update everything on a daily basis to make sure we are prepared for the next day.”

The Arrival of a Mare
When a mare arrives at the facility, an arrival sheet is written up, she is weighed, and photographs are taken of her. The mare is assigned a band number and a location.

Mares are teased daily and ovulating mares are bred. Thorough daily sheets are kept on each mare to record all breeding progress from teasing to breeding. Records are also recorded into the software program for easy reference and organization.

Breeding
The mare is palpated using an ultrasound machine when she shows signs of heat to track follicle size. When the mare is ready, she is artificially inseminated. She is monitored to ensure that she is in foal by repeated ultrasounds.

Maintenance
Mares and stallions are continually watched, checked and cared for. This will continue until all mares are either returned home in foal or turned out to pasture to finish raising this year’s foals and carrying the next year’s crop.

The day-to-day activities at a breeding facility stay similar for several months out of the year. It is an exciting time for not only the employees that are involved, but also to the owners of these breeding horses. This time of year is what begins the next world champion. Next quarter’s newsletter will discuss the winding down of the season and post-season activities.

About EE Ranches:
EE Ranches is a Quarter Horse stallion station located in Whitesboro, Texas. The stallion station is devoted to breeding high quality cutting horses. There are eight stallions that reside at the ranch that breed over 650 mares each year. The breeding facility is active in artificial insemination with fresh, cooled and frozen semen, embryo transfer, and mare foal-outs. For more information on EE Ranches, visit www.eeranches.com.

It was a cold and grey morning at the Barlett River Ranch with a steady drizzle riding a stiff north wind sometimes all the way to the bone. Winter was in full stride and though the weather wasn’t ideal for it, there were some things that needed to be done. Breeding season was approaching and that always meant a busy time for Cap and the boys. This year was gonna be even busier though. For as long as he could remember Cap had been pasture breeding his mares. He figured that there wasn’t anything he could teach Mother Nature so he turned a stud out with the mares he wanted to breed in each different pasture and left the rest up to them. This year though was gonna be the bi-annual stud maintenance year for the ranch. Every so often old Doctor Tom would come out and Cap would have him float some teeth and just give all the real working men on the ranch a good looking over before their year’s work was to begin. The only problem was that cold weather and seldom handled studs don’t make a very good combination, and when you figure in a lifelong friend of a vet who would rather you had waited for a clear day, the sum of the matter was sure to entertain. You can bet Cap wouldn’t miss it for the world. His old truck rattled up to a stop next to the stud pen and he rolled the window down about half way so as to trap some of the warm air inside with him. Doc Tom and one of his new young interns were having a world wrestling tag team match with the old roan stud and from the looks of it, the stud was getting the best of the combo to this point.

He leaned his head just far enough out of the truck for his hat brim to clear the window glass, “Hey Tom…..whatcha doin’ in there?”

“Can’t you see I’m working? I can’t believe you got me out here today for this.” The doc said and then mumbled something under his breath about not charging enough while the stud slung the young intern around like a ragdoll.

“Well Doc I was only thinking of you when I scheduled this. I know how you hate to sweat so I decided to do my best to keep you from it. How long have you been working on old roan anyway? He’s the tamest one on the whole place.”

The intern’s eyes widened in disbelief to the size of coffee saucers at this statement as he clung to the side of the halter for dear life. The stud slung his head one more good time, which dislodged the intern from his grip knocking him into the Doc who consequently spilled his bucket full of teeth floating tools all over the ground into the mud.

“Tame? You call a 9 year old stud horse who is handled once a year for 45 minutes tame? I oughta come right outta this pen and show you something else that ain’t tame Cap. If I wasn’t so old I’d be over there already. Just wait there a minute we need to talk.” And with that the Doc picked up one of the teeth floats and started for the fence. Right about that time Cap noticed Ely walking towards them from the saddle barn. He started up the old truck and drove off just in time to miss the Doc’s tirade. He picked up Ely without completely stopping and headed out of the Lot towards the back pasture.

“What’s wrong with Doc Tom?” Ely asked innocently.

“Nothing, he’s just training a new intern in the fine art of desensitizing stud horses with a minor in client relations.”

Morgan,
Based on a normal cycling mare (no superovulation), it is physically possible to flush five embryos between February and June, which would produce babies in January through May. It gets controversial when we get into how many you should flush. Many breeders limit it to three embryo flushes, due to health reasons. Some will try four. Since the breed associations are allowing multiple registrations from the same mare and stallion in the same year, the embryo flushing continues to grow in popularity. The industry is seeing some complications in the donor mares, such as fluid retention and infection, with multiple flushes. Finding the right number of times to flush each year is a personal preference combined with how tolerant the mare’s system is to the flushes. Some mares can handle one or two. Some can handle four. The mare needs to ultimately be the deciding factor, and her health should never be compromised.

Best Regards,
RanchForeman Team

Tom,
The breed associations are fairly lax when it comes to how-to directions in filling out the stallion report with embryo transfers involved, and there may be times you have to put in a call to them to straighten out the initial result. When asking a representative both at AQHA and APHA, I was told to simply state somewhere on the form which breeding created a transferred embryo. I was also told, when I asked, that a new form is in the works and will be available within the next couple of years that is a bit more embryo transfer-friendly. A column is to be added that is similar to the transported semen column. Until the new form is out, we just have to make due with handwritten notations to the current forms.

Best Regards,
RanchForeman Team

Mary,
The first thing that I will say is that it really depends on the stallion. Some can handle the cross over better than others. Two things are at risk when you continue to breed a stallion during his performance career: his physical soundness and his mental soundness. His physical soundness is at risk because there is always a chance that he will get hurt by a mare or hurt on the dummy. If that happens, he will be out of commission for both breeding and competing, which will frustrate both the breeding manager and the trainer. As far as mental soundness goes, many stallions cannot handle the crossover from performing in the breeding shed to performing in the arena. Even though correction is given by the trainer, some just cannot keep their mind on the task at hand. There may come a time when a choice has to be made on what their primary purpose is going to be for that season.

Best Regards,
RanchForeman Team

Time for a Custom Bit

The available selection of bits is near limitless. From simple ring snaffles to spade bits, we all have our preference and know what works. There may come a time when you want to go a step further from the closest tack store or catalog and have a piece made just for you.

The practicality of purchasing from a feed store or local tack store usually outweighs the idea of a custom piece. But if the opportunity presented itself to get exactly what you want custom made, what would you get? It truly is a treat to have something that is totally unique and belongs to you, and when given the opportunity to get that, research needs to be completed to essentially get the best bit for you.

Finding a Maker
The most important piece to the custom bit puzzle is finding the maker. To get what you want, you need to find someone that can meet your expectations. When visiting with Joe Spiller, a Texas bit and spur maker, he recommends finding someone who has been in the business a while and knows about the use of bits firsthand.

“The maker needs to not only be a bit maker, but he needs to be a cowboy and horseman to know the function of a bit,” Spiller said.

While the maker needs to be a good metal craftsman, he will have needed to have ridden some horses where he can appreciate the art of the bit. To truly be an expert, your maker needs to know all aspects of bitting a horse, and that includes the use of one. A baker would never know how successful his bakery was if he only looked at his pies didn’t eat them.

Reference His Work
Look at the quality of pieces the maker has made in the past. What you will potentially get from him is exemplified in his previous work. When asked about what to look for in a bit, Spiller had some suggestions.

“Finish is important. There should be no rough edges and nothing that would possibly pinch the horse’s mouth. Mouthpieces need to be wide enough, but not too wide. The bit needs to be balanced. It should hang in correlation to the top rings. The port needs to be in proper position. The mouthpiece needs to be symmetrical – from the center to each side,” he said.

By looking at past pieces, you can see the knowledge the maker has in his field. If the examples pass your review, proceed. If they do not, of course, keep looking.

Having the Right Bit Made
There are several things to consider when ordering the custom bit. Take into consideration the age of the horse that will wear the bit, or the level of training. Event types are also important. Will this go on a reiner, a cutter, a ranch horse?

Shanks
When having a curb bit made, the length and shape of the shank determines the amount of leverage you can get from the bit. The longer the shank, the more leverage; the shorter the shank, the less leverage. A straighter shank enables more leverage, while a more curved shank allows less. Thickness of the shank will determine the overall heaviness of the bit.

Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece is broken down into port and material. There are various ports available from broken mouth to low port to correction to a spade mouthpiece and many in between. When choosing your mouthpiece, choose something that you know works already. Just because you are getting a new bit made does not give you any reason to change to something fancy. Stick with what works.

The most common materials available are aluminum, stainless steel, sweet iron, carbon steel and copper. The aluminum and solid stainless tend to dry a horse’s mouth, which leads to less response to the rider. The carbon steel mouthpieces will rust, which will give the bit a better taste.

“The best mouthpieces are made from carbon steel inlaid with copper,” Spiller explained. “It entices salivation and makes the bit more appealing to the horse.”

The right material makes the horse accept the bit more willingly. The bit is essentially a foreign object to a horse’s mouth, and anything we can do on our end to make it more comfortable should always be considered.

“There is no such thing as a severe bit,” Spiller said. “Only severe hands.”

Decoration
Choosing the decoration for your bit is where it really gets fun. Once you get the basic ideas for the bit down, decide on your “bling”. Most decoration is made with sterling silver and solid 14K gold mounted on the shanks of the bit. It can be engraved or smooth. It is common to see a name, initials or brand. Some add conchos or beads. The intricacy of the shank design is limited only to your imagination and the maker’s skill. Most makers have a portfolio of their past work to look through and get ideas of what you like.

Budget
Because so much work goes into a custom piece, the cost is considerably more than a store-bought piece. When you look at having a bit made, consider your budget. Most makers have a minimum price and it includes certain details, such as the bit itself with some silver decoration. Prices range from the lower hundreds up into the thousands. A fair average for the price of a custom bit is around $600. Some pieces will be less, and of course on others, the sky is the limit. The amount of labor that goes into the piece, as well as materials, sets the final price. Pricing should be covered when the order is taken.

Why Custom?
Connoisseurs, collectors and horseman, or any combination of the three, are the most common custom bit audience.

Having anything custom made to your specifications is a luxury. People throughout history have desired to have things made only for them, and the horseman is not excluded.

Custom bits ensure quality. Quality is becoming rare, and in essence, people want a warranty. When you purchase a store-bought bit, there’s no recourse for breakage or poor craftsmanship. Custom bits, from a reputable maker, guarantee quality. For these makers that put their life’s work into making bits, they will be more conscious of their work quality.

“Custom makers are going to typically make a better bit than what you can get in a store because their reputation is at stake,” Spiller said.

If you are not an active horseman, a custom bit may still be something you desire. Collectors are a portion of the custom market as well. Collections can be completed by simply ordering the piece the collection lacks, exactly to specification.

Conclusion
Just like many other pieces of a horseman’s gear, bits are a necessity, but an enjoyable necessity. If you have the opportunity to have a piece custom made, go for it, but take your time. You will hopefully have it for the rest of your life and ride many horses to successful careers with it.

Spiller reminds us, “There is no such thing as a severe bit. Only severe hands.”

Contributing Maker
Joe Spiller has been in the bit and spur industry for 24 years. Joe and his wife Baru live on a ranch in Wingate, Texas. He has made his life riding and training horses along with his metal work. Joe was named Top 10 Maker by the Academy of Western Artists in 1999. You can view his work at www.spillerspurs.com.

RanchForeman Equine Management Software assists equine professionals manage records regarding breeding, training, boarding and accounting. Professionals throughout the equine industry, whether they need software for American Quarter Horses or Kentucky Thoroughbreds, can use our horse management software to track health records, manage pedigrees, record feed schedules and record cleaning schedules.