Breeding plans for 2009 and beyond..?

I would personally love to see a breeding freeze for 2010....I think we need to deal with what we have before producing more....We have a real serious issue on our hands and until BYB get it through there head that breeding crap is pointless....I dont understand the selfishness...I feel the need for bringing back slaughter with stronger regulations and having qualified personal working there as if to spot a potential mistake....get qualified people to assess horses, place good quality horses with proper homes and move the pukes and dangerous horses along to a quick and painless death....infuse the market with quality and weed and thin out the rest.....i would like to see stallions registered like the Warmbloods and only allow approved mares to be bred and penalties for irresponsible breeders and keepers of livestock....Not sure what the solution is but what were doing now isnt working.

<<Regardless of the economy I don't breed with the intent of selling - although I am 99% certain that I would be able to sell if I needed to (very good familial show record).>>

It's interesting you say that because that's what a large percentage of breeders say as well. My filly from last year has not sold and she is by one of the leading pleasure horse stallions in the nation and her dam has a proven show record along with being a daughter of another leading pleasure horse stallion. I didn't breed to sell but with the economy I won't be able to show her like I had intended so she is for sale. I won't be breeding at all. It's cheaper to buy a prospect these days than breed for one.

Preface, I know JACK about showing & breeding compared to some folks here. At this point in my life I do not breed, I do not show- I just read a lot and lurk on a lot of message boards. But I'll throw in my worthless 2 pesos anyhow (I'm bored!) I would guess the striking dog with ONE fault would be more desirable/valuable in a breeding plan. PROVIDED that fault was not detrimental to the health or overall temperament of the breed. I could not condone a breeder who bred a nasty-tempered animal or a dysplastic animal or a working breed with NO drive, simply because he was striking in appearance. A mediocre, yet overall proper dog is IMO much better than perpetuating some of these breed-crippling traits. But something like a weak front, poor topline, improper angulation, improper bite, snipy muzzle, etc? Assuming the dog was stunning in every other facet of his structure, and functional, and had an amazing temperament....I would imagine you could find a b**** who had an EXCEPTIONAL (whatever was faulty in the dog) and who was also a good representation of the standard, and hope at least SOME of the pups would exhibit the "best of both parents". And those would be the pups you reserved for use in your own breeding program. I guess my line of thinking is you can't make diamonds from quartz crystal; they are both pretty rocks and they'll both shine up real pretty, but there is no comparison. It would be much harder to start with a "mediocre" yet conformationally sound animal and end up with with "diamonds" in the ring. A solitary fault is going to be easier to breed away from, and once you see the results you wanted, it's easier to "set type" at that point. Just my random musings on the subject.

I am planning on breeding my mare in 2010 for my own selfish reasons...I want a foal off my mare to keep and train as another of our trail horses (we are short one). I do not want a horse from someone else and inherit a problem. I know my mare and that's what I want.

The stud I chose is in show, has points and has been to the world championships. Not a back yard bag of bones.

The breeding farm I used to work for is closed down from what I've been told. All of the horses were shipped out to other breeders under a lease.

He took big losses and this was all he could do.

I'm not a breeder, but I'm watching the Thoroughbred sales very closely because we are looking at buying a couple of broodmares in the next year.

All the sales are down. The regional sales are WAY down. The Ocala Breeders Sales Company winter mixed sale, going on now in Ocala, is down 63% percent in average and 74% in median price as compared to last year. 27% of the horses offered failed to meet their reserve price.

Prices are off at least 30% at virtually every sale since last summer, but that isn't the whole story. Horses at the top of the market are still finding buyers without too much trouble, but the "middle market" is very, very soft. As for the horses at the bottom of the market, there is no market. Horses with physical flaws or with pedigrees that have no commercial appeal are just unsellable right now.

Stud fees have been reduced twice since most breeders announced their initial 2009 stud fees, and many stallion stations are offering breeders multiple-mare incentives or other deals to try to get people booking. Usually by this time of year, most mare owners have made their bookings for their mares, but the reports are that that just isn't happening. There may be another decrease in stud fees to come if this keeps up.

Again, the decreases in fees aren't the whole story. Stallions that are commercially desirable and have good runners currently at the tracks are still doing okay, and of course there are the horses at the top of the market who could probably fill their books three times over no matter what. But marginal stallions-- either those who didn't have a banner year last year, or whose foals have yet to race and on whom the word of mouth about the foals isn't completely positive-- are really not looking good right now.

The Jockey Club estimates that the foal crop for 2009 may be down by as much as 15-20%, based on reports of mares bred submitted by stallion owners. A lot of marginal broodmares are being sold out of production or even given away by breeders this year.

I have reduced the breeding of my own horses and even the breeding to outside mares with my stallions. I have 13 foals due from the end of Jan. to end of April and all but 2 have already been paid for and have an awaiting home after weaning. If for some reason during the next 6-8 months one of the awaiting purchasers gets to where they can't take care of the foal and life long care for the horse..then I will keep and replace.

I don't breed but I have a friend that works for a place that breeds and trains foundation QHs. Their sales were WAY down this year so he said the cut their breeding back by a third. They also "no-saled" a lot of horses at their annual sale due to low prices. Instead they decided to hold on to the horses until the market picks back up and they can get "fair" prices for the horses instead of losing money on them...which I thought was interesting. I thought they would have just wanted to get them off their hands but I guess not.

I hope all the BACK YARD BREEDERS read these comments. If not they can always read Fugly Horse or Tuesday's Horse if they can read.