That’s the question which so many of us are currently asking.
We are part of an industry with declining numbers of mares being bred, declining numbers of stallions available and – unsurprisingly – declining numbers of foals making an appearance each Spring.
Last breeding season, 4586 mares were covered – 1918 fewer than 14 years previously; 2893 foals were born – 1660 fewer than in 2008-2009.
Even more dramatic was the decreasing numbers of stallions at stud: 170 to 106 over the same time-period.
And yet we are told that the industry is doing just fine. Really?
Our breeders are continuing to produce a quality product. Studs are investing in stallions as cleverly as they’ve ever done but we’re getting to the stage where stallion choices for breeders are so limited we’ve got to ask the question – is it all worth it?
I have a policy of never paying more than $4000 – ish for a service fee. According to www.arion.co.nz just 34 stallions stand at this figure or below. Once you eliminate the proven failures, horses that stand at the other end of the country and those with pedigrees that simply don’t suit your mare, there’s not a lot left.
So what to do? The only answer I can think of is to patronise those stallions which offer excellent value.
I’ll name just six of them. I’m not saying that the other 28 are not worth considering but for my mares I really like – in no particular order – Echoes of Heaven, Pure Champion, Jon Snow, El Doute, Mongolian Falcon and Embellish.
Or is it smarter to just do nothing?
