We stand both of our Shire stallions, Wyee Archer & Darkmoor da Vinci, at public stud. If you’re thinking you’d like to send a mare to one of them, here’s what you can expect…

How Sending A Mare To Us Works

First up, you’ll need to phone or email us to make a booking for your mare. We can only cover so many mares in a season, so make sure you book early! When you’re booking in we will need your full name, email address, phone number and physical address.

Next, you’ll organise transport for your mare. Please remember to consult us on travel dates so we can make sure we’re here waiting for her.

Once your mare is on the property, she’ll be put in a shared paddock with other visiting mares and allowed 24 hours to settle in. She’ll have free access to however much hay she’d like and if she’s having trouble with any paddock bullies, we’ll move her.

All mare and stallion interactions are done ‘in hand’ and are carefully monitored to protect the mare, stallion and handlers. After your mare has had some time to settle, we’ll bring her in and tease with the stallion. If she’s not showing, she’ll go back to her paddock and we’ll repeat in 48-72 hours. That process continues until she comes into season. If she shows to the stallion, we’ll cover her, then continue to cover every 48 hours until she teases off.

Mares that have been covered and teased off are then booked in for their early pregnancy scan, which occurs 14-18 days from the last cover. In the day or two prior to the scan, we’ll tease the mare again just to be sure she isn’t coming back into season. If she is, we cancel the scan and cover again. If she doesn’t show to the stallion, we go ahead with the scan. Our vet offers shared travel days and a lower rate for multiple scans, so where possible we group mares together and book on those days to reduce the cost to owners. You can expect the scan to cost between $80-160 depending on the circumstances. This will be billed directly to you by the vet practice and is generally closer to the lower end of that estimate.

If your mare is pregnant, you then have two options: take her home or leave her with us until she passes a 45 day scan. Most mare owners make this choice based on distance and ease of transport. The cost for the 45 day scan is the same as that detailed above for the early pregnancy test.

If your mare is not pregnant, the vet will give us a good indication of when she’ll begin cycling again and we will proceed as above.

We understand that it can be daunting to send your horse to another property, so we do our best to make the process as easy as possible. We send regular updates and pictures of your mare to you while she’s with us so you always know exactly where she’s up to in the breeding process and can see how she’s doing.

NB: Mares will only be accepted if they are well handled and in good health.

LFG: Breeding with our stallions comes with a live foal guarantee. If your mare absorbs or miscarries, you can send the mare back and we’ll repeat the breeding for you. Should this occur, the handling, agistment and vet fees will be payable again but no stud fee will be charged.

Cost Breakdown (not including GST):

Stud Fee – $1,000

Handling Fee – $200

Feed/Agistment – $40-60 per week (season dependant)

Scans – $80-160

The handling fee and one month of agistment are payable when the mare is dropped off. Once the mare is in foal, we invoice the mare owner for the stud fee and any additional agistment. That account must be paid before the mare leaves the property and service certificates will not be provided until all fees are paid in full.

Vet fees will be sent directly to the mare owner by the vet clinic.

How Breeding Via Chilled Semen Works

Darkmoor da Vinci is the only stallion available via chilled semen at this time.

First up, you’ll need to phone or email us to make a booking for your mare. We do our best to be available when you need us, but can’t guarantee we’ll be able to get the stallion in for collection when you need the semen unless we’re expecting your call! When you’re booking in we will need your full name, email address, phone number, physical address and estimated breeding time.

Next, you’ll make arrangements for breeding with your own vet and also the vet clinic we use for collection. They’ll need you to fill out and return a semen request form prior to the collection being done. You pay the collection and shipping fees directly to that clinic.

Once your mare is at the vet, keep us posted on her progress as much as possible. When your vet says it’s time, we’ll take the stallion in for collection.

NB: Please note we need at least eight hours notice to ensure we can arrange a collection appointment that meets courier cut off times.

Once the stallion is collected the vet clinic will process the semen and get it to a courier as quickly as possible. Depending on the location and timing, the semen should arrive with you late the day of collection or early the following day. Your vet completes the artificial insemination and we all wait for good news!

Should your mare not go in foal on the first cycle, the same process is repeated again. The collection fee and shipping will be payable again, but no stud fee will be charged.

LFG: Breeding with our stallions comes with a live foal guarantee. If your mare absorbs or miscarries, you can let us know and we’ll make arrangements to collect semen again so you can repeat the breeding. Should this occur, the vet fees and shipping will be payable again but no stud fee will be charged.

Chilled Semen Cost Breakdown:
Stud Fee – $1,000 (plus GST)
Collection Fee – $300
Shipping – location dependant

The mare owner will need to fill out a semen request form and return it to the vet clinic prior to the stallion being collected. They will also need to communicate directly with the vet clinic to organise payment for collection and make shipping arrangements.

The stud fee is payable in advance – the stallion will not be collected if the semen has not been paid for.