Mare & Foal

What Mare & Foal does

Mare & Foal Ltd is a privately held UK company (Company No. 17035431) operating a web-based platform, mareandfoal.uk, that connects UK horse breeders seeking foster mares for orphan foals. The platform is a single, self-serve web application offering user registration, horse profile creation (capturing breed, location, dates, and travel preferences), searchable registries of available mares and foals, and a contact-request workflow with email and phone number exchange once a match is approved. It includes an urgent foal registration pathway, a user dashboard ("Stable"), an inbox for communications, and real-time notifications for connection requests. The underlying technology is a web application with location-based matching logic, secure authentication, encryption, GDPR-compliant data handling, and a cookieless analytics solution. No mobile app is offered, and there are no disclosed integrations, APIs, or SDKs.

The company serves a single customer segment — UK horse breeders — segmented as individual breeders and small operations (SMBs/consumers) who either have orphan foals needing a foster mare or have mares available to foster. The platform is currently in Alpha, with data potentially subject to reset at any time, and operated as a free service with no paid tiers, subscriptions, or revenue model implemented. The company is in the process of setting up donation methods as a future funding mechanism to support hosting, maintenance, and feature development. No external funding, partnerships, institutional investors, or grants are disclosed; the company appears to be bootstrapped and founder-led, with Phillip Penny implied as the founder based on a contact email. Marketing is exclusively community-led and word-of-mouth within the UK equine breeding community.

The company is registered in England and Wales with its headquarters at 188 Bromsgrove Road, Redditch, B97 4SL, UK. It operates exclusively in the United Kingdom, with registration forms listing counties across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The platform has documented one success story (Wilson, a Haflinger mare in Banffshire, matched with Goose, a Dutch Warmblood foal in the City of London). No patents, trademarks, awards, regulatory actions, regulatory licenses, or partnerships have been disclosed. Terms and Conditions were last updated on 27 March 2026.

Name

Mare & Foal

Legal name

Mare & Foal Ltd

Website

https://mareandfoal.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mare & Foal is a UK-based web platform that connects horse breeders to find foster mares for orphan foals through location-based matching and a free, self-serve registry serving UK breeders nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equine Foster Matching Platform

NAICS

Horses and Other Equine Production (112920)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Horse Breeding & Stud Farms (AFAEAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mare Management & Foaling Operations (AFAEAGAC)

Keywords

• Equine foster matching
• Horse breeder platform
• Orphan foal care
• Mare foal connection
• Livestock matching service

Headquarters

HQ city

Redditch

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Platform (Currently): The platform is currently free to use with no monetization model implemented. The company mentions they are setting up donation methods and considering financial contributions. The platform is in Alpha stage, suggesting revenue generation may not yet be a priority.
2. Donations (Future): The company is setting up donation methods to support platform hosting, maintenance, development of new features, and ensuring the platform remains free. Users can contact the platform to discuss financial contribution options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Mare & Foal operates a free web-based platform that connects UK horse breeders to find foster mares for orphan foals. Breeders register their mares or foals with details such as breed, location, due dates, and travel preferences, then browse and search for compatible matches based on proximity, breed, and availability. The platform facilitates initial contact requests between breeders, after which fostering arrangements are made directly between the parties. Real-time notifications and a dedicated urgent foal sign-up pathway support time-critical foster scenarios.

Product overview

Mare & Foal is a single-platform solution for the UK equine breeding community, consisting of a web-based platform that enables breeders to register foster mares and orphan foals, search for compatible matches by location and breed, and receive notifications to facilitate fostering connections. The platform includes user account management, a dashboard (Stable) for managing registered horses, an Inbox for communications, and an urgent foal registration pathway. All features operate within a unified web interface with no separate modules or add-ons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mare & Foal Platform A free web-based platform for UK horse breeders that enables them to register mares available for fostering or orphan foals in need of a foster mare, browse and search for compatible matches by location, breed, and travel preferences, request contact details from other breeders, and receive real-time notifications to coordinate urgent foster arrangements. Includes a dedicated urgent foal sign-up pathway and a Stable dashboard for managing registered horses. The platform facilitates introductions but fostering arrangements are made directly between breeders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful foster match between Wilson (Haflinger mare) and Goose (Dutch Warmblood foal) documented as first success story

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Horsemart: UK-focused horse classifieds and listings site covering horses, ponies, and donkey sales plus equipment. Directly comparable as a UK equine online marketplace serving the same breeder/owner audience, though broader in scope (general sales rather than foster matching).
• Horsequest: Long-running UK horse classifieds platform connecting buyers and sellers of horses, ponies, and tack. Comparable as a UK digital marketplace serving equine breeders and owners with location-based listings, even though its core flow is sale rather than fostering.
• Equine.com: US-focused online horse marketplace for buying and selling horses, ponies, and tack. Directly comparable as a digital equine listings/matching platform, though US-centric and focused on sale transactions rather than foster matching.
• Horseclicks: International online horse classifieds platform with listings across multiple countries and breeds. Comparable as a digital marketplace facilitating peer-to-peer equine connections, though broader in geographic scope and oriented to horse sales rather than foster pairing.

Emerging players

• Whickr (UK equine community apps): Social and community apps/networks serving UK horse owners and riders with peer-to-peer connections. Comparable as digital infrastructure for UK equine community engagement, although focused on general rider social networking rather than breeder foster pairing.
• PonyBox: Online horse breeding simulation and community platform with detailed pedigree tracking and breeder profiles. Comparable as a digital platform engaging equine breeders with structured horse/breeding data, though it operates in a gamified context rather than real-world foster matching.

Broad incumbents

• The Horse (TheHorse.com): Established equine media and education site covering horse health, management, and breeding topics. Comparable as a US equine audience touchpoint that addresses breeder welfare and management needs, though operating as editorial media rather than a transactional platform.
• Horse & Hound (classifieds): Leading UK equine media brand with an integrated classifieds and marketplace vertical for horses, ponies, and equestrian services. Comparable as the dominant UK equine audience touchpoint, though it operates as a broad media incumbent rather than a niche foster-matching specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mare & Foal