Should I Breed? Why Or Why Not?

Team Problem Senior 2011 Hippology

You have ten acres and a small barn where you keep two Arabian brood mares and two riding geldings. Both mares are cycling and could be bred in the next three weeks. Outline what management practices you will follow from now through foaling in 2012. How would your preparations differ if the horses were Thoroughbreds?

Some questions to consider: Should I breed? Why or why not? If you are going to breed, what breeding management technologies would you employ? How would you identify the stallion to book? How would you manage your broodmares in preparation for, during and after foaling? How do you know when they will foal?

Your pasture and barn design may be set-up however you want them. You are welcome to be creative with your response, but be sure to be as thorough as possible in your approach to broodmare management. Be ready to respond to questions the judge may have regarding your solution.

You have 10 minutes from the time you are given the problem to prepare your response and five minutes to present it.

Evaluation of the team presentation will be based on:

Completeness of response - 60 Support of ideas - 60 Organization - 30 Response to questions - 30 Total team participation - 20

Total: 200 Team Problem Intermediate 2011 Hippology

Your family has moved out of town to a house on ten unfenced acres. Now that your family has the space and can afford the purchase price, they decide they are ready to buy a horse. Because of all the reading you did about horses while you still lived downtown, you know that the purchase cost of the horse is not as big as the ongoing cost of care. You decide to help your family understand all of the costs that go along with owning a horse.

Outline what you need to do to your land and what equipment must be purchased before bringing home your horse. Also what expenses will continue through the year and repeat each year?

This horse may be any breed, color, and gender that you would like. You do not have to list dollar amounts of what everything will cost, but be sure to list everything you will need or what has to be done to the horse that will cost money. Write your plans and reasons for them on the answer page. You will have one hour from the time you were given this problem to write your response. The blank papers may be used to write notes and plan your solution. Each team member is expected to give input.

Solutions will be evaluated on:

Completeness of response 80 Application of knowledge 40 Support of your ideas 40 Organization 40 ----

Total possible = 20