Here are 5 basic things to keep in mind if you intend to start raising polo ponies:
A chief trait of polo breeding is to properly plan a balanced amount of fodder based on the number of horses. It would be problematic if there is no proper forage to horse ratio. I will tell you why: If the mother mares are not in a healthy enough state to complete an estrous cycle, there will be low fertility and pregnancy rates. As for raising the foals, they will have a better upbringing if more, rather than less, food is available to them.
The ideal would be to have all the births in the same season, so that when you check on the foals in your parcel of land, all of them are going to have the same standard size. This would be very practical since you could then send the foals to be broken at the same time. It would be a pity to have to wait until the following year for the breaking of one of the foals, due to it being too small. By impregnating your mares in the same season, other organizational issues are going to simplify. For example, all of them are going to start eating pasture at the same time.
I recommend you delouse your mares twice a year, but three times a year for the foals. If you delouse the mates as soon as they give birth, the foal is going to be protected through nursing by the mother mare’s milk. It is also better to delouse the weaning foals every three months, changing the dose each time to prevent resistance from parasites.
If you imprint your foal as soon as it is born, the animal will trust human beings for a lifetime. Try to remember that horses are born assuming humans are a threat; imprinting will teach them the contrary. Is it necessary to imprint the foals every day? The answer is no. Once a month is enough. (In another opportunity I am going to discuss in depth if the foal soften their neck when being tethered).
All horses need hoof trimming to walk at ease and feel good. To understand trimming, it helps to ask oneself: Would I prefer to walk in the streets with Nike Air sneakers or barefoot? The horses experience that same feeling. They are going to be much more comfortable when they are trimmed or shoed.
How many times a year should you trim the horses? You should trim the mother mare when delousing them, twice a year. (An advice: If you have a herd of horses in which most of the mares are Light Bay horses with black hooves, they are going to be healthier than Chestnut horses. Why? Because the Light Bay horse is more rustic.
The foals are trimmed when they are weaned. Their hooves are shaped, giving them the corrections needed to avoid problems related to improper trimming (for example, twisted hands or twirling hands when galloping). You have to trim the foals three times a year, before breaking them. Normally, when you catch the foals, you do these three things before releasing them again: imprinting, delousing, and trimming.
These have been some easy but effective tips for the proper formulation of your breeding.
