Day 3: 6666

Written by: Khloe

Today we went to the 6666 Ranch where we took a tour of their breeding facility. We were able to see some of the stallions they had housed at the ranch, there were about 27 stallions total. Around September they have an annual sale where they sell about 150 horses. And in the sale it’s not just their horses, they collaborate with a other breeders as well. One of the highest producing stallions is named “Bet Hesa Cat”.

 

 

Most of the stalls that the stallions are kept in had two name plates, one being for their name and the other being for the past horse in that stall. All of the horses born on the ranch are branded to identify their lineage and age. One thing I thought was crazy is that a horses typical life span is only about 25-30 years of age.

On to the actual breeding side of things, how often a stallion is used for breeding depends on their popularity. The less popular may be used for breeding about 30-45 mares, while the more popular stallions will be used to breed 200+ mares in one breeding season. During one breeding season they usually collect semen around 1,500 times. Now on the female side of things they normally breed about 150 mares during breeding season, all through AI (artificial insemination) and not live coverage. AI is used so that they can steer clear of any potential diseases that may be transmitted during natural breeding and also helps to prevent injuries to the mare or stallion.