[wyldterv]

I saw this article on a different forum and felt it was a good one to share here... It is NON-breed specific and should make ALL breeders and POTENTIAL breeders sit back and seriously THINK about markets (or lack there of) and how to proceed to produce SALEABLE animals in the new emerging market.

http://www.corralonline.com/articles...0406190644.htm

[doublebarr]

Very good article. My thinking right now (and I'm not a serious breeder, but perfer to buy my yearlings) is if you don't have enough saved up for at least 5 years of care and feed for any horses you breed and raise, do not breed it. Cause it's going to take at least that long before you have a proven (either show or work) horse to find a good market for your horse.

[wyldterv]

Originally Posted by doublebarr

Very good article. My thinking right now (and I'm not a serious breeder, but perfer to buy my yearlings) is if you don't have enough saved up for at least 5 years of care and feed for any horses you breed and raise, do not breed it. Cause it's going to take at least that long before you have a proven (either show or work) horse to find a good market for your horse.

That has been my thinking as well, which is why I don't, personally, ever want to breed more then one mare at a time, and probably NO more then a foal every 2-5 yrs .... I just don't have enough room or money to house 3-10 young horses plus their mother's at a time.

Being a SMALL hobby breeder is NOT going to get you into the National Record books in a HURRY, but if you're EXTRA selective and really pay attention to the market itself and only adding QUALITY animals back into the market, you CAN survive, and in some ways, you can survive more easily then a full scale operation who can ONLY look at the bottom line if they want to survive.

[ryu2832]

Great article, the points put forth are why I'm only breeding for 1-2 foals a year.

I think for horses trained in dressage, you need to be prepared to keep them probably 6 years. If they aren't showing at 1st and schooling second, I don't think I could sell for a decent price in my area.

[ryu2832]

Originally Posted by wyldterv

That has been my thinking as well, which is why I don't, personally, ever want to breed more then one mare at a time, and probably NO more then a foal every 2-5 yrs .... I just don't have enough room or money to house 3-10 young horses plus their mother's at a time.

Being a SMALL hobby breeder is NOT going to get you into the National Record books in a HURRY, but if you're EXTRA selective and really pay attention to the market itself and only adding QUALITY animals back into the market, you CAN survive, and in some ways, you can survive more easily then a full scale operation who can ONLY look at the bottom line if they want to survive.

One of the most sucessfull breeding farms in europe has only a maximum of four broodmares. They have a stunning rate of stallion approvals and model mares. It is all about selection of breeding stock and quality of animals.

[morgangirl]

I agree with most of this article. A study was done on the horse industry in our area and it showed that demographically female participation was between the ages of 36 to 65. Male participation was earlier at 26 to 55 years. They were mostly all sport-recreationally focused. If you look at the demographics they are mostly baby-boomers involved in the industry. I see the problem as a disconnection of the younger generation with horses, even with the amount of horse movies lately. People are more willing to spend their money on atv's, dirt bikes, etc. that they can haul behind their RVs. Another problem I see is the lack of riding trails available in some areas. Not everyone wants to show some would just like to go trail riding and if there is no place to go it makes it hard to get these people interested in horses.

[wyldterv]

A problem I see is that , flat out, younger people can not afford to pay the current prices of high quality horses of any age.... I'd love a nice Warmblood mare to cross with Arabians for a very nice 1/2 Arab Sporthorse that is suitable for dressage or Hunter/Jumper or Eventing... So far, I can't find ANYTHING that is NICE enough, even as a weanling for under $10K.... I'm not spending $10K myself on a weanling or something that isn't even broke to saddle yet, that's not a realisitc use of my limited budget.

So being able to present to the market something that they can afford in a quality animal is another factor that we, as an industry, need to look at.

We also need to re-introduce things like inter-scolastic horsemanship programs by collective breed clubs sponsoring them so the school districts can afford to offer them. Also by offering scholarship and grant opportunities to college aged enthusiasts who might otherwise have to give up horses due to cost of college...

It really needs to be a COLLECTIVE effort of ALL breed clubs combined working TOGETHER to draw 'new blood' back into the Equine Industry if we're going to survive as an industry.

[morgangirl]

Originally Posted by wyldterv

It really needs to be a COLLECTIVE effort of ALL breed clubs combined working TOGETHER to draw 'new blood' back into the Equine Industry if we're going to survive as an industry.

ROFLOL, wyldterv, I agree with what you say but we can't even get all the members of one breed club to work together around here. They just don't get that saying United we Stand, Divided We Fall. There is just so much competition amongst the members that you would never get them to work together.

[wyldterv]

Originally Posted by morgangirl

ROFLOL, wyldterv, I agree with what you say but we can't even get all the members of one breed club to work together around here. They just don't get that saying United we Stand, Divided We Fall. There is just so much competition amongst the members that you would never get them to work together.

I think that it IS possible to get the Heads of the major breed clubs to work together to come up with Pro-horse ownership campaigns... They're going to have to or our industry will not survive as an industry. It will turn into a hobbists job to produce all horses. I'm not saying that being a hobby breeder versus a for-profit breeder is bad, or is better, just that is the way it will 'be'. It will be hobby breeders and back yard breeders because anyone else needing to make a true profit but trying to produce a QUALITY animal won't be able to afford to stay in business.

I am breeding but NOT to make it my profit center. I am a true small scale, quality driven, hobby breeder. I realize that I am going to pour more money into my foals then I'm likely to get back out of them if I go to sell them down the road. SO there fore I only breed the number of foals I can afford to keep and live with.

If I was a For-Profit breeder, things would be more of a challenge as I MUST show a profit to the US Gov't periodically or lose my business status and all tax deductions that go with that title.

I truly believe that an organization such as the USEF CAN get all the breed organizations to work in co-operation to promote horse ownership a solid family participation 'sport' even if all the family wants to do is go for a nice trail/pleasure ride, it can still be a family 'sport' that everyone can participate in at some level.

[John]

Good article!! I would like to mention that there are now computer programs using large data bases of the most popular horses in a given breed that will predict foal results far better than the individual breeder could hope to do.