Let’s Have a Baby!

The Journey to Breed my World Champion Horse

Blog by: Cassie Rathbun

My foray into this journey started in early February, and this is the chronological documentation of the emotions (highs and lows), the interesting tidbits I’m learning along the way, and the entertaining reaction of those around me. Enjoy the ride. LET’S HAVE A BABY!

Late February

I’ve made a decision. After thinking about it for quite some time, I’ve decided it’s time for a baby. With that decision comes a whole slew of questions: Am I hoping for a girl or boy? When should I plan on this? Who should I contact to help? And, most importantly, who will the father be?

At this point, you must be asking yourselves, “Who will the father will be? Is she planning on going through this process by herself?”

The answer is no. I don’t, because I will not be the one carrying a new life inside of me. Instead, it will be my horse Advisor’s Sacred Wind, aka “Ava.” Ava turned eight years old this year, and after a super successful show year last year, which included winning a World Championship title, four Reserve World Championship titles, and a whole slew of year-end awards with two different organizations, I decided it’s a good midway point in her career to have a few babies.

But there is so much to think about when it comes to breeding…

My first concern is finding an appropriate stallion. When I break down the features that I really want in a filly or colt, I have to think about Ava’s weaknesses. Now, as an owner who LOVES her horse, I’d love to say that she has no weaknesses, but the seasoned equestrian in me knows better. She’s a little quick-legged, which means her legs move faster at a lope than is preferred in the competition ring. She is also pretty narrow on the front end, which means her chest isn’t as broad as I’d like.

Several of the qualities I’m looking for in a stallion are a great personality (mind), beautiful movement, and a nice front end. One of the things I won’t need to worry about is whether or not the baby will have the color traits required to show in APHA competition. Ava is homozygous, which means she carries a gene that will pretty much guarantee her foals will be colored. Another bonus of this trait: if a horse is homozygous for a dominant form of a trait, then EVERY foal that horse produces will carry that trait. So, for a homozygous roan mare or stallion, all foals he or she has will carry and express the roan trait. This also means I don’t have to rely on the stallion to produce a foal with lots of color, so I can think outside the Paint Horse breed when it comes to choosing a stallion.

The search is on for an appropriate sire for my future foal.

TALL DARK AND HANDSOME- Early March

I now know who will be the father of my new colt or filly. His name is Allocate Your Assets, and he’s the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. He stands 16.2 hands tall and has all the qualities I’m hoping he’ll pass down to his progeny.

I reached out to Stallion Manager Jim Searles and inquired about breeding fees. To my surprise, I received a significant discount because Ava has a World Championship title! Now, I need to reach out to my network of horse friends and find a place that specializes in breeding, because I don’t know the first thing about it!

IT’S A WHOLE OPERATION- Sunday, March 8

After consulting with my horse friends, I’ve found the place I’m going to send Ava for breeding. It’s called Rockin’ J Bar S Ranch and it’s owned by a lovely woman I’ve known most of my life, Jean Simmons. Jean has been selectively breeding Paint Horses for more than two decades and has the process down pat.

My mom purchased a colt from her years ago, which, ironically, I ended up riding as an adult and selling to a wonderful family who needed a trail horse. Coincidentally, that sale enabled me to purchase Ava. Life comes full circle.

Now, I need to have the conversation with my news director about needing a few hours off, last minute, to go pick up and deliver semen. That should be interesting.

DELIVERY DAY- Sunday, March 15

Today, I drove Miss Ava over to Jean’s place. She’s very organized, and Ava has a beautiful stall with lots of neighbors to keep her company. Now, she only has one focus. I’m sure you can guess what that is.

There are a lot of horses at Rockin’ J Bar S ranch, and A LOT of adorable new babies! From a few days old to a few months, there is a wide variety of cutie pies at this ranch.

In case you all were wondering, I did have “the conversation” with my news director about what I’m affectionately calling “Semen Watch: 2015.” Her reaction: laughter and admission that no one has ever asked her anything like that in her entire career. It’s good to be original.

TODAY IS THE DAY!- Wednesday 4/8

Insemination day! I picked up the “package” at 11 a.m. and drove straight over to Jean’s.

I didn’t realize beforehand, but I got to help with the first insemination. I just stood at Ava’s head to make sure she stayed calm. To be honest, I’m surprised she didn’t jump right out of the holding area after feeling the energy I was projecting. As usual, though, she was steady as a rock and treated the whole process like she’d done it a thousand times.

The semen already comes pre-injected in the syringe, so all Jean has to do is hook up a long tube (so the sperm is injected directly into the uterus) and voila!

Actually, it’s more of a process than that. First, Jean wraps the top of Ava’s tail in a rubber casing to keep it and any stray hairs out of the way. She then cleans Ava’s lady parts with warm water and a mild detergent. She said it’s essential that any dirt or fecal matter is not present, as to not cause an infection inside the horse. That could not only cause fatalities in foals, but could cause permanent damage to the mare. The next step involves a long rubber glove, which covers not only her hand but her entire arm up to her shoulder. She inserts her hand into Ava and guides the plastic tubing past the cervix. Once she’s past the cervix, she injects the semen into the mare’s uterus and pulls her arm and the tube back out. As final step, she gives Ava an injection to encourage ovulation.

Now, we’re 18 days away from finding out if the stars and eggs align.

AND THE BIG REVEAL IS…- Tuesday 4/28

Colt or filly? Neither, as it turns out. Miss Ava is not in foal. The vet performed an ultrasound today and no baby. What does that mean?

It means we wait until another follicle develops and try again. Jean says she thinks another is growing, and we’ll recheck on Thursday. Hopefully, this time it will happen. I had no idea how big of a role timing plays into all of this. Apparently, you inseminate as a follicle is developing. Then, you hope that in the next 24-48 hours the mare ovulates, moving the egg from the fallopian tubes down into the uterus.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But to be honest, it wouldn’t be a gift if it was easy, right?

THE FOLLICLE WAITS FOR NO MAN- Thursday 4/30

Received a text this morning. Turns out the follicle goes by its own schedule and does not follow the rules. No matter. She will be rechecked on Saturday.

They say it’s the journey, not the end result, right? Well, as a plan-ahead kind of a person, this is REALLY throwing my “planning” for a loop. I’m looking forward to when I can make that Facebook/Twitter post of “We’re expecting… ” I guess now I just have more time to come up with a creative hook.

NOW WE WAIT– Thursday 5/7

She ovulated! I received the text this morning that Miss Ava ovulated overnight, which is amazing news! We only received one dose of semen yesterday, so we were a little worried about whether or not the follicle would detach and ovulate into the uterus before the little swimmers had a chance to make the magic happen.

Now the countdown is on… 18 days ’til we find out if we have a new baby! So, as of right now, the date we’re looking for is May 25th. Keep the fingers crossed for me!