Fenmarsh / Boarding & foaling
Boarding & foaling
One hundred and forty mares a season, foaled down by the people who look after them the rest of the year. Owners in eleven countries, and one named person to ring.
What we offer
Six things, done properly
We do not offer everything. What we do offer, we do with our own staff, on our own ground, and we will tell you the rate before you ask twice.
The season, honestly
What a year at Fenmarsh actually looks like
Boarding mares come in from four to six weeks before their due date, so they build antibodies to what is in our fields and not somebody else's.
Attended, every one. Two staff on through the night from 1 February, cameras on all twelve boxes, and the vet nine minutes away in Cheveley.
The book opens on 15 February. Two coverings a day per stallion, three at the peak, never more.
Fifteen days, twenty-eight days, forty-two days. You get the result the same afternoon, not in a monthly statement.
Done in pairs, in the paddock the foals already know. It takes longer our way and the weanlings come through it better.
Tom preps the yearlings here and stands with them at Park Paddocks. You will meet the person who walked your horse every morning.
Rates
We will quote you in writing
Board is charged daily and depends on whether the mare is in foal, whether she has a foal at foot, and how long she is staying. Sales prep is quoted per horse.
Rather than publish a number that will be wrong for your situation, ring Declan and describe the horse. You will have a written quote the same week.
Ask for a quote →Questions we get asked
Before you ring
What does boarding actually cost?
Dry mare £24 a day, mare and foal £31, yearlings £27. Veterinary, farriery and transport are billed at cost with the invoice attached — we do not mark them up.
Who is awake at night during foaling?
Two members of our own staff, from 1 February to the end of the season. We have never used an agency and we do not intend to start.
Can I visit my mare?
Yes, and without booking a fortnight ahead. Ring the morning you want to come. The only weeks we ask you to avoid are the first two of February, when the barn is at its busiest.
How quickly do I hear if something goes wrong?
Immediately, by telephone, from Declan or Niamh. Not by email, and not the following morning.
Do you take mares in foal to other studs' stallions?
Around sixty per cent of the mares here are covered elsewhere. Boarding and nominations are kept entirely separate and there is no pressure to use our own horses.
What happens if a mare does not get in foal?
Our nominations are Special Live Foal, so no fee falls due until your foal stands and nurses. If she is barren you owe nothing beyond the keep.
Anything not covered here, ask Declan directly on +44 (0)1638 730 000.