Using lights

When do you start them under lights, for how long a day, and what type of bulbs do you use.
Right now I have my mares outside during daylight, then inside the barn with the lights on. They get 18 hours of light a day. I just use regular 100w light bulbs because when I told Wade I wanted to use 250w and would have to change the fixtures he hit the roof. Since I hate doing anything electrical, we still have the same lights. But i"m gonna be doing some work in the barn this summer and want suggestions on upgrading the lighting.

We use 200watt. They are on from 6m to 10pm daily..

oops...6am to 10pm. Need to have your mares under lights no later then Nov 15th to get cycles going for early breeding.. I do not shut mine down. They stay this way all year... This is what works best for me..

I started Nov 1st. Sandy was in heat Feb 10-13, so it must have worked. She was the only open mare (I hope).
How often do you breed your mares when they are in heat?

I AI only.. So, I ultra sound wait for the right day then inseminate the mare.. I AI them on a folicle of 40 to 45+ then HCG. I have AI on a 35 then HCG and got that mare in foal.. This is for shipped semen or we collect our own stallion and AI the mare.. We did not care for the live cover.. That is just us.. Many people prefer it.

On live cover generally you cover your mare everyother day until she will not stand or goes out of heat.. The therory is the semen will stay viable for 48 hours.. Everyone has their own way of doing it. This is a general rule of thumb. Some breed their mares everyday.. There are several on this forum that live cover and can give to some good tips if that is what you want to do..

Lynn, you know those light things that cost like $10.00, that has a clamp on it? That's what I use... at least till I ever get a danged show barn built. On some stalls, just depends who it is, they'll have 3 lights in there, for a total of 300 watts going. No shadows, whatsoever... Plug them all into an surge protector; surge protector is attached to a timer, that's plugged into the outlet.

Good Idea 7C. I have friends that use those as well and they do work GREAT! ....

Quote :

On live cover generally you cover your mare everyother day until she will not stand or goes out of heat.. The therory is the semen will stay viable for 48 hours..

I knew I had a reason I live covered everyother day, I just forgot what it was, THANKS!

7C, Those are the same lights fixtures I use...I throw in a 100 watt Halogen bulb...I can put my little paws on them after they've been on for hours and they stay cold to the touch...I love them!

Yep, Rick doesn't like them because there's cords going everywhere, plus I hook my fans into those, where they'll shut off at a certain time, too.

But I think they're great... You can position your light exactly where you need it.