- Breeding
- Breeding Costs: Things to Consider
- Horse Breeding, Part 1: The Estrous Cycle
- Should You Go Into Horse Breeding?
- Buying a Horse
- When Good Gaits Deteriorate
- What to Look For When Buying a Horse
- How to Buy Horses: A Step by Step Process
- General Horse Articles
- How Humane is Race Horse Retiriment?
- Traditional verses Specialty Equine Education
- An Introduction to Dressage
- Horse Feeding
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- A Look at Horse Feed
- 5 Horse Feeding "Don'ts"
- Horse Grooming
- Mane Saving Ideas
- An Overview of Horse Grooming
- eZall Shine & Detangler Transforms Ratty Manes and Tails Into Flowing Tresses
- Horse Health Issues
- Bucking, Shying and other Attention Deficit Disorders
- Common Horse Illnesses: Colic
- Bulging Out and Falling In
- Horse Training
- Did you Buy The Right Saddle?
- Training Mythunderstandings: Heeding Groundwork: Class Review
- Training Mythunderstandings: Teach Your Horse Anything in 3 Simple Steps
- Horses & History
- Top 5 Strange and Unusual Horses
- Battle-Ready: A History of the War Horse
- Horses in Art: An Abridged History
- Horses & Sports
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Nearly $7 Million Generated Annually for the District of Columbia
- Halter Horse Show
Should You Go Into Horse Breeding?
05/26/2008
You’ve read our series on horse breeding. You’ve done your research. Yet, you still can’t decide whether or not horse breeding is for you. This article should help you answer some of your questions.
You’ve read our series on horse breeding. You’ve done your research. Yet, you still can’t decide whether or not horse breeding is for you. This article should help you answer some of your questions.
Breeding a horse involved quite a bit of an investment of both time and money. As you consider this investment, here are some questions that you should ask yourself:
• Does the breeding horse have desirable qualities to be passed on?
• Is there any economic benefit for you?
• Is the breeding horse in proper health?
• Why are you breeding the horse? What will the foal be bred for?
• Do you have the time and energy to devote to caring for a pregnant mare?
• Do you have the time and energy to devote to caring for the infant foal once born?
Many breeders debate on these issues. Some qualities of breeding stock are considered value judgments – the opinion of the breeder. There is also a level of debate and personal belief when discussing the proper level of care for both the mare and the foal, the market for the foal, and the benefits to the owner. These are things that you have to consider for yourself. Consider speaking with various breeders to get a full picture.
If breeding for profit, impeccable quality should be ensured. Poor quality horses at the low end of the market are numbered, regardless of the current state of the market. Financial investments will include paying for the stud, as well as all veterinary care and nutrition necessary to care for the mare, and then also to care for the foal throughout its infancy (through the time it is weaned from its mother’s milk). These investments can add up, and making a profit from breeding a horse is a difficult process. Should the foal be raised and win any sorts of awards, the sale price could go up accordingly. If done improperly, a foal may be sold at a loss, or even sold for salvage value; that is, sold to be slaughtered as horsemeat. This is why an owner of a mare that is considering breeding needs to be realistic and be hard on themselves to make this type of decision – if motivations are not realistic, a substantial amount of time and money can be wasted in the process.
