You Can't Breed Horses Safely Without Horse Breeding Equipment
At first you might wonder why on earth horses would need any extra horse breeding equipment. Didn't Nature provide them with all of the horse breeding equipment that they would need? Actually, no. Nature did not provide horses with the means of knowing how to make baby horses (foals). Horses are mammals and need to learn how to do many things, including breed. In the past, foals learned about breeding by watching the actions of their elders.
Domestication Dangers
Horses need to be taught how to mate. This is one of the strangest aspects of being around horses, but then again, humans face this problem, too. Unfortunately, horses can weigh hundreds of pounds to one ton. When they are upset or aroused, they can get very cranky. A cranky horse can be a very dangerous horse. Even Miniature Horse breeders have to be wary of a cranky stallion or mare. This is why the need for horse breeding equipment developed.
For Her
If the mating is to be a natural mating, then the mare has to be equipped with special horse breeding equipment. Not all mares need all of this horse breeding equipment, but one good kick could kill a stallion worth millions of dollars. The normal horse breeding equipment for a mare includes:
breeding hobbles, to keep her hind legs from moving
a twitch on her upper lip, to distract her attention
a pad on her shoulders where the stallion bites
a tail wrap
Sometimes, if the stallion is smaller than the mare, the mare must stand in a ditch.
For Him
Stallions have to wear a lot less horse breeding equipment, but it still has to be on in order to keep the stallion from attacking the mare, the grooms and other horses. Real problem biters need to wear a muzzle. He also needs a chain to go over his nose through his stud halter in order for the groom to exert more control.
Artificial Insemination
There's a lot more horse breeding equipment required for artificial insemination, but it's a lot safer for the horses and for their handlers. It's also a lot less stressful for the mare. The horse breeding equipment is all on the stallion owner's end. This includes collection tubes, storage containers packed in dry ice and a dummy mare for the stallion to mount. The dummy mare is optional for some stallions.
