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1 REGIONAL SPRING SEMINARS 2014

3 Introduction This booklet entitled ITBA Regional Spring Seminars 2014 is the latest educational and informational publication produced by your association. During the months of February and March three seminars took place across the country, all hosted by the respective regional committees. On 26th February, the Northern Region Committee under the guidance of Chairman Denis MacAuley hosted breeders at the Seagoe Hotel, Portatown. Hugh Ryan, Western Region chairman and his committee hosted breeders in the Carlton Hotel, Ballinasloe on 6th March, while on the 19th March the North and South Leinster Regional Committees hosted breeders at Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, which was chaired by Derek Iceton, ITBA Vice Chairman. The ITBA is committed to providing a comprehensive series of information seminars for breeders. We were delighted with the exceptionally large attendance at all meetings and the level of positive feedback which has resulted in the publication of this booklet. I would like to formally thank all our speakers who donate their time and expertise so willingly to make these evenings so successful. Shane O Dwyer ITBA Manager Contents Introduction 1 Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant 2 by Meta Osborne MRCVS Getting and Keeping Your Mare In Foal / Looking After Your Newborn Foal 5 by Tina Roche, MRCVS Bloodline Crosses & Pedigree Analysis 7 by Gary Hadden, Equine Consultant 10 by David O Connell, OCAE Consultants Grass and Forage Crops 11 by Paul Ward, Goldcrop Ltd 12 by Declan McEvoy, IFAC Accountants 1

4 Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant by Meta Osborne MRCVS Meta began by giving breeders one vital take home point keep records. It is all too easy to forget from one year to the next problems that a mare may have encountered and as the new season starts you may not be aware of those problems and therefore be in a position to prevent them recurring. She stressed the importance of keeping a clear and legible record, be it a diary, notebook or computerised, which is accessible to others and can be easily retrieved and viewed. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail, Meta quoted Benjamin Franklin, as she urged breeders to pay attention to detail. In this respect, a vet can bring added value. The breeder and vet should be a partnership and the vet should never be regarded as a cost centre, but as an added value. But it s important to provide adequate facilities for the vet and to be aware of basic health and safety. As Meta pointed out, you are not allowed to keep cattle without use of safely examined. Meta also reminded breeders that the breeding season does not start on 14th February it starts 1st October! It s at this point you should be separating your sheep from your goats! she recommended and getting prepared. If a mare isn t in foal, start thinking about what you are going to do next season to get her in foal and to keep her in foal. It s important to build up a clear picture of what s going on and to create a plan of action. It is here that late stage monitoring becomes so important. Meta recommended that older mares, or those with previous problems, should be monitored during the later stages of to look out for are the premature development of the udder and any discharge from the vulva. A BSE Breeding Soundness Examination should be carried out on all barren mares, involving the simple process of sitting down with your vet and detailing the number of foals the simply lift up her tail and have a look. Is she stitched and, if so, is she stitched well enough? Do the lips of the vulva snap back together with a good tone? The vet will then check the lining of the vagina and cervix with a speculum and scan the uterus and ovaries. thing and is designed to support life for 11 months, but it needs to be treated with respect. If not treated, the problems will become chronic and chronic problems can only be managed, tests and cytology are like love and marriage you can t have one without the other. She cited incidents where cultures have come back negative, but infection has shown up in the cytology. The message: Always do a cytology. Meta recommended the use of a guarded culture swab, which only picks up a sample swab from the lining of the uterus without picking up contaminants elsewhere. She had personally found that she recorded 70% positives from unguarded swabs, but only 40% from guarded swabs, and had therefore been treating some mares unnecessarily. small area of the uterus, while the lavage sweeps through the whole of the uterus and picks up samples from all areas. 2

Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant (contd.) Where endometritis exists, teasing can be a very good treatment as it encourages the repeat the lavage, until it comes out clear.

5 Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant (contd.) Where endometritis exists, teasing can be a very good treatment as it encourages the repeat the lavage, until it comes out clear. Mucolytics and chelating agents are used to improve intrauterine DMSO or aspirin. It isn t always a good idea to use antibiotics to eliminate pathogenic bacteria. Not every bacteria is causing the problem and the use of antibiotics should always be limited, due to the growing risks of resistance. Where antibiotics are necessary, refer to lab tests to ensure the appropriate antibiotic is used. Meta warned, The mare s uterus is NOT a carrier bag! In order to ensure your mare remains in foal to the end of her term it s important to improve the uterus environment before breeding the mare. With the modern use of scanners it s very easy to see a big follicle and assume the mare is therefore ready to breed, but there may also be a lot The most common causes of EED Early Embryonic Death are mares covered on the foaling by long distance travel. Regumate will not be of any help to such mares. In the following Q&A session, Meta explained that travel anywhere within Ireland would not be considered long distance, but she did not recommend sending mares to the UK or further abroad within the breeders that Regumate makes no mention of maintaining pregnancies on its label and again warned against treating mares unnecessarily. While placentitis was almost unheard of a few years ago, it is becoming more frequent, perhaps due to the improvements in fertility and getting more mares in foal. Meta suggested we may have become victims of our own success in terms of fertility improvement, which may have led to the problems faced further down the line. There are not always outward signs of placentitis, but can include a cloudy white/yellow or brown discharge from the vulva and premature udder development. Ultrasound will show abnormalities in the foetal membrane, the thickening of which starves the foetus of oxygen. The advice here was, If in doubt, check her out! and Meta warned that if you have any suspicion at all regarding the health of your mare, call your vet. Don t fall victim to thinking you can wait a few days and see if she ll be okay, as the quicker you react, the better the outcome 3

Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant (contd.) season. Meta warned that the breeding season is just 20 weeks and if you lose time through a problem you don t have many weeks to spare.

6 Getting Your Mare Pregnant & Keeping Her Pregnant (contd.) season. Meta warned that the breeding season is just 20 weeks and if you lose time through a problem you don t have many weeks to spare. Meta concluded with a few of her mantras: If sutured before foaling, get the mare sutured back up as soon as possible and reduce any risk of irritation getting in. ITBA Northern Region Spring Seminar - Chair Denis MacAuley, Dean Harron, ex ITBA Chairman and Panelliests Meta Osborne and Gary Hadden 4

7 Getting and Keeping Your Mare in Foal / Looking After Your Newborn Foal by Tina Roche, MRCVS increase of daylight hours and routine healthcare includes paying close attention to the mare s body score and carrying out regular dental and foot care and worming. It s important to stay on top of the trace minerals in the last third of pregnancy, because these are transferred to the foal and stored in the foal s liver. Regular hoof care and dental care, worming and vaccination are basic essentials and attention should be paid to the body score of the mare, who should be neither too fat nor too thin. Daylight hours should be increased two to two and a half months prior to breeding, watts. The mare should be brought in and accustomed to her foaling area three weeks in advance of environment, which will be passed on to the foal, Roche continued. The foaling box should be 12 x12 or larger, with good ventilation and suitable companions in adjoining stables, to reduce The average birthing process takes just ten minutes from the emergence of the front legs, recommended a Foaling Kit that includes A torch, emergency phone numbers, clean buckets, which costs around $100 online, but if only used once more than pays for itself. birth, as the foal moves position, her abdomen will drop and she ll look a little hollow in front will occur. If any of these signs are too early or vaginal discharge is seen, the mare should be checked by a vet. up to one hour for the foal to stand. It should have suckled between one to two hours from birth. Meconium must be removed from the foal within 24 hours, Roche advised. from the teats, aggression, or if the mare has a history of previous problems, then you should monitor the mare and have your vet examine her. Risks relating to the birth include a premature and excessive bleeding. 24 hours and, again, checked for tears, infection or haemorrhage, all of which are causes 5

8 Getting and Keeping Your Mare in Foal / Looking After Your Newborn Foal (Contd.) of infertility. If you have a poor conformation of the vulva it can lead to pooling of urine, growth is 4mm per day and ovulation is at around 40mm. On day four of her cycle the mare is Finally, Roche reminded us, When selecting matings we look at pedigree and conformation, but we often forget natural inherent fertility. Poor fertility is inherited, but we breed on pedigree selection without taking that into consideration. ITBA Western Region Spring Seminar 6

9 Bloodline Crosses & Pedigree Analysis by Gary Hadden, Equine Consultant Gary Hadden, a Darley Flying Start graduate, began by explaining that there are no schools pointed out that the bloodstock industry lags greatly behind other livestock farming sectors, where bull catalogues, for example, provide comprehensive data to assist breeders. complement that of the mare and cancel out any of her own conformation faults. The stallion s pedigree is also of consideration and should ideally reinforce the better elements of the mare s pedigree and represent a proven cross. There are also commercial pressures to consider, such as the buying power of stallion farms like Coolmore and Darley, and sires likely to be in fashion at the sales. Gary posed the question, do breeders do enough pedigree research? Does their selection of do we know if she is failing to pass on performance ability, or the stallion? The mare s pedigree can also provide a clue to her potential, as Gary went on to illustrate. He used as an example of how to pick up a bargain at the sales the Green Desert mare Desert winners and her third foal was the Breeders Cup Juvenile winner Wrote, by High Chaparral. When selecting a stallion, what performance parameters can we use for pedigree analysis? Gary pointed out that earnings may be distorted by a single representative winning a high value race, so earnings per starter might be a better guide. He felt that Blacktype provided the Group One and Group Two races in the European calendar, Gary regarded any horse capable of winning at that level to be of elite standard. He pointed out that Blacktype could be hard to compare internationally, with Australia and the USA staging Graded handicaps, but just over 12,000 foals are born in Europe each year, with up winning a Blacktype race, making it a good benchmark. When analysing a pedigree it may stamina. Gary believed that very few crosses were deserving of the word nick and set out to He began by explaining the meaning and importance of reinforcement. Using the pedigree Groom were contained in both the top and bottom of her pedigree on her sire s side and on her dam s side. Classic winner Lawman had a similar repetition of Sir Gaylord in his pedigree and Gary demonstrated the various pedigree analysing software packages, such as G1 patterns with their own mares. Look for anything in the background that can be switched on, he advised. 7

10 Bloodline Crosses & Pedigree Analysis (contd.) He also warned that careful comparisons need to be made in how well a particular cross is the same stallion, but one mare could be a Group One winner while the other failed to win. Furthermore, when a good cross becomes widely known the more it is used, but not all of those mares will be suited by the mating. The cross will therefore become more exposed and possibly less successful, but good combinations tend to continue to get good ratios. Gary also reminded breeders that a successful cross usually only works one way and can Group/Graded winners to runners and an impressive 17.5% Blacktype winners to runners. The Sadler s Wells over mares by Darshaan cross has so far yielded 169 foals of racing age, Group One winners to runners, 15.2% Group/Graded winners to runners and an even more Group Two level. 8

11 Bloodline Crosses & Pedigree Analysis (contd.) One level. But Gary cautioned that breeders can focus too much on crosses and not enough and reinforcements can often overlap and one common ancestor Gary highlighted was that When looking at crosses, it is also important to consider the best racing age of the performers. Galileo over Danehill mares produces similar results with runners of two, three and four years of over Sadler s Wells mares, but the percentage of winners rises from two to three in those from Dansili over Sadler s Wells. Gary then explained APEX ratings, devised by Bill Oppenheim and annually rating progeny calculated from starts in the USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Japan and the sire s runners can be categorised by region and age. possible to spot a stallion on the way up. Gary also reminded breeders to be aware of highs season. Analysing pedigrees in this way can provide a tactical advantage and add value to your mare. recommended Weatherbys and for NH breeders to access ITBA North and South Leinster Region Spring Seminar 9

12 Cost Effective Methods For Land Management by David O Connell, OCAE Consultants he recommended developing a business plan and strategy. The more information that can be gathered, the better the decisions that can be made. Keep management accounts up to or rectifying a clinical problem in relation to the land. Allow for a complete restructure of your business, if required. O Connell said that we are spoilt in Ireland regarding our grassland and don t realise how lucky better the quality of your grass, the less you spend on feed and the better the quality of animal you produce. ewes from October to December for an income of 1,575. Equally with cattle in the summer months. O Connell warned that, Once grass goes over three to four inches the nutrition goes out of it, improving your pasture. Although O Connell recommended the use of fertilisers where needed, he pointed out they can be expensive and are not always necessary, so be sure to invest in regular soil tests and should be on going in order to monitor how successful your grass management is. areas and the area becomes larger. Patches of pasture generally become horse sick due to higher levels of metals, which can be improved with lime, but soil testing is essential to identify the problem. If you dig out a spadeful of soil, O Connell said, and all the roots are in the top inch and there s no root or worm activity deeper down, then the ground has become too compacted. It s developing, which shows a much healthier soil and balance. Moving on to other ways of cutting costs and workloads, O Connell recommended the pointed out. lifestyle unsustainable, due to long working hours or simply the fact that you re getting on in 10

13 Grass and Forage Crops by Paul Ward, Goldcrop Ltd. hectares of agricultural land in Ireland is devoted to pasture, hay and silage. He informed us Ward took us through the steps that can be taken to increase grass utilisation, beginning with of P, K and lime is not getting through to the roots and you are probably wasting more than half the fertiliser you re putting down, he warned In talking about the various grass seed mixes available Ward recommended those with one part number of chromosomes. Diploids have two sets of chromosomes per cell whilst tetraploids Diploids have more tillers per plant and a higher dry matter per kg of feed and also more energy than tetraploids. Both have similar protein levels and a mix of tetraploid and diploid ryegrass achieves a more balanced pasture, retaining a good level of dry matter production, an improved balance of quality feed and, if used for silage, will be more easily cured than a pure tetraploid pasture. Tetraploids are tall and fast growing, while diploids provide a denser and better ground cover taking hay. It contains strains of grasses that are noted for their persistency and density, able to Ward also looked at weed management and the vital need to aerate poached ground. Poached ground, if not repaired, will encourage weed growth. He also strongly recommended carrying out soil tests, by taking a good kilo of soil from each paddock, mixing it thoroughly and sending just 250gms from the mix from each paddock to a local lab. A soil test costs around 40 and Although reseeding stud farm paddocks is generally not recommended, reseeding of paddocks for cattle was recommended by Ward to increase dairy/meat yield. Ward listed the best land, in which case you would use a power harrow. Sowing 14kg per acre, he emphasised the importance of Seed to soil contact. The seeds must problem of dock leaves, but should only be applied to fresh, young healthy plants. It kills the roots, but if the plant is older, or if it is too young and too small, it will only kill the leaf and the plants will come back again after a few weeks, he warned. In summary, Ward said of reseeding to Soil test, plough, till, roll, sow, roll, fertilise. He warned that fertiliser should not be applied until six to seven weeks after sowing. 11

14 Financial Planning and Better Use of the Tax System to Fund Your Stud Farm by Declan McEvoy, IFAC Accountants Declan McEvoy pointed out that a good set of business accounts can provide valuable information for your business, which should be better used by most. Business accounts are historic. Traditionally only for tax compliance, there is actually a lot of valuable information in there that s not used, he reminded us. He explained technical terms such as Debtor, someone who owes you money; Creditor, to year, but your main income may not be coming in until the autumn. Examine your accounts to banks will look for this if you apply for a loan. A projection plan never fails to work for a bank. projection. It will show the variances. McEvoy also advised, Look at the bigger costs. People often look at the electric bill or the a business need to outweigh the expenses in order for the business to be sustainable. If you re quickly, have large debtors or high living costs, or perhaps a large increase in stock. We were reminded to keep records and receipts of all our expenses, such as feed, vet bills, expenses. It was also highlighted that 92% of farmers are not registered for VAT, as is the case Similarly, a Sole Trader would be unlikely to consider becoming a Company unless their annual McEvoy explained where useful savings could be made, such as if a contractor is hired to come contractor supplies the seed and sows it, the VAT rate is 0%. If you ve had a good year, you tax to a minimum. reminding breeders to retain their receipts for specialist publications such as the Racing Post, EBN and The Irish Field, etc, which can be claimed as necessary expenses. for seven years, you qualify for Capital Gains Tax exemption. This is among several tax savings selling horses in training could show a pattern of trading and therefore be taxable on the sale. A private individual can normally show losses from having horses in training and their sale is 12

Chairman s Title Published April 2014 The opinions and views expressed by the contributors may not be shared by everybody in the thoroughbred industry so therefore all ITBA educational

16 Chairman s Title Published April 2014 The opinions and views expressed by the contributors may not be shared by everybody in the thoroughbred industry so therefore all ITBA educational publications are, by their very nature, guidelines. Front cover photo by Kevin Corley. ITBA, Greenhills, Kill, Co. Kildare, Ireland . Info@itba.ie Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association 16

BREEDING YOUR FIRST FOAL - A GENERAL OUTLINE OF WHAT IS INVOLVED. Written by Astek Stud, Nelson, New Zealand.

BREEDING YOUR FIRST FOAL - A GENERAL OUTLINE OF WHAT IS INVOLVED Written by Astek Stud, Nelson, New Zealand. When people come to us interested in breeding a foal, our first question to them is what sort