25/08/2022
This is so true!
We all know that a good horse should move straight, have good conformation, a fantastic temperament and good manners. These are not optional extras. These are essential in ensuring a horse has the best chance of being sound, healthy and happy throughout its life. They donโt happen by accident they result from careful breeding, hard work and a little bit of magic.
Why should a horse cost so much to buy?
โช๏ธA breeder researches, selects and chooses a stallion. Stallion choices usually involve costly purchase or stud fees for the right stallion and often include livery, AI, vets, swabs, scans, transport and other fees;
โช๏ธA good breeder wonโt select โBarneyโ down the road with cow hocks and a short neck because his stud fee is cheap nor will they choose โFlashyโ the two year old from free-ads that has four socks but canโt move straight;
โช๏ธ A breeder selects and keeps top class mares and looks after the mare for 18 months per foal (and the foal for at least 6 months). Theyโll also keep the mare through the years sheโs not been covered, hasnโt held and when sheโs having a break;
โช๏ธThe breeder provides and pays for a safe home, stable, feed, grass, hay, farrier, vaccinations, dentist, vets, chiropractors, wormers and more for both mare and foal;
โช๏ธThe breeder will sit up for nights on end, watching carefully to give the foal the best chance of arriving safely, sometimes inevitably experiencing the utter agony that comes with lost foals and orphan foals;
โช๏ธThen thereโs the haltering, careful weaning, trailer loading, ground work and training, registrations, microchips and more to do and pay for;
โช๏ธThereโs fencing repairs, planting hedges for shelter, painting stables, buying horse safe gates, water bills, electricity costs and ground maintenance to pay for.
โช๏ธA breeder may have three, or maybe four or five years of running that youngster on, trying to ensure they mature safely without blemish, breaks or catastrophes and when you do thereโs the cost and time of someone to carefully back and train the maturing youngster ready for the next chapter;
โช๏ธDonโt forget that many breeders rear their breeding stock from foals to breeding age, and care for them in retirement before having to find the strength to honour their old girls and boys with a dignified end (even though a bit of your heart breaks every single time).
โช๏ธ Yes it varies from stud to stud but this is a small window into what goes on behind the scenes of thoughtfully bred horses and ponies.
The financial cost is big.
The emotional cost bigger.
The workload is even bigger still.
^^^ breeding is a 365 day a year commitment, one that bypasses the 9-5 working day, that doesnโt recognise EU 40hr working hour limits, that doesnโt come with a 25 day a year annual leave allowance, nor sick pay or bank holidays. Breeding is an emotional rollercoaster that offers breathtaking magic with each new safe arrival, immeasurable pride watching your babies in their new homes and heart wrenching and devastating lows when nature isnโt kind.
Yes you can find cheap horses on free-adds or preloved; yes we all know someone that picked up a bargain hat-rack at a sale that went on to win at HOYS but we also all know someone whose bargain cost then ยฃยฃยฃยฃยฃโs in colic surgery from worm damage (because it had never been wormed) and we all know someone whose potential eventing pony ended up a happy hacker (because itโs arthritic joints couldnโt cope with anything else).
So whether youโre looking for a bombproof kids pony, an Olympic dressage champion for yourself, a cob for granny to ride round the farm or a royal welsh champion please consider and value the work that goes in to creating and producing all of these horses.
If you canโt afford your dream horse YET donโt settle for second best, donโt be angry it costs more than youโve got right now, remember the work, passion and love thatโs gone into creating your perfect horse and save a bit more money whilst youโre waiting for them to turn up. The right horse will be worth the wait.
Source: Fred Senior van Straaten
