Stud farm

Murrurundi, New South Wales

A stud farm or stud in

. Male animals made available for breeding to outside female animals are said to be "standing at stud", or at "stud service", referencing the relatively high probability that they are kept at a stud farm.

The word stud is often restricted to larger domesticated (especially farm) animals, such as cattle and horses. A specialized vocabulary exists for the studs of other animals, such as kennel (dog), cattery (cat) and aviary (birds).

Horse stud farms

Monastic stud farms

During the

horses are bred.

State stud farms

A state stud farm (

Other European state studs include:

• Haras national du Pin, the first state stud created in France
• Lipizza (1580) of Inner Austria (now Lipica, Slovenia), known for the Lipizzaner horse
• Kladrub (1579), another state stud established by Austria at Kladruby nad Labem, in what is now the Czech Republic, which breeds the Kladruber
• Mezőhegyes (1784) of Hungary
• Bábolna (1789) of Hungary, which breeds the Arabian horse, the Shagya Arabian and others
• Radautz (1792) of Austria (present day Romania
  )
• Piber Federal Stud (1798) of Austria, began as a military depot, since 1920 known for breeding the Lipizzaner horse
• Janów Podlaski Stud Farm (1817) in Poland, best known for breeding purebred Arabians.
• Kisbér (1853) of Hungary
• The Irish National Stud (1946), which breeds Thoroughbreds
• Michałów (1953) of Poland, which breeds Arabians.
• Haflingers, and warmbloods
• Trakehnen, in East Prussia, now Russia, home of the Trakehner
• Yeguada Militar
  , Spain
• Coudelaria de Alter Real, in Central Portugal, which breeds Lusitano (Lusitano) Horses

The German city of "Stuttgart" gets its name from stud farms.

Private stud farms

Around the world, private individuals have breeding farms of various sizes that are dedicated to animal breeding, usually of

, which stands over fifty stallions at stud in facilities located in seven countries.

Stud service

Many stud farms make male animals available for breeding to outside female animals that are not owned by the stud farm. Doing so provides an outside source of revenue to a stud farm via the

of the animal's offspring. At state stud farms, stud service is not only a source of income, but due to the high standards set for breeding animals, has an overall effect of improving the quality of animals throughout an area.

In most cases, the owner of the female brings the animal to the stud farm for breeding, sometimes leaving her there for over a month to be sure that pregnancy has occurred. However, with the invention of artificial insemination and the ability to ship semen, combined with the availability of DNA testing for parentage verification, many breed registries allow semen to be shipped from the stud farm to the location of the female animal, thus reducing or eliminating the need for animals to travel.

Stud manager

A stud manager or "stud master" is an individual responsible for an employer's breeding stock. The term is usually used for individuals working with dogs or horses. It is usually applied regardless of gender.

The stud manager typically suggests desired matings to the owner, and arranges for the same, whether in-house or by contract with animals standing at stud, approves and arranges matings to the owner's animals at stud requested by outsiders, and keeps all records, including notifying the appropriate animal registries.

In a European large or formal household the "Stud Master" or manager may be a permanent title and position; in this case this individual is often responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the stables and kennels as well. Most large stud farms have a full-time individual assigned to stallion management, but many stud managers have either a part-time or contractual arrangement or their duties as stud manager may be incorporated with those of the overall farm or stable manager.

See also

• Horse breeding

References