08/08/2023
A very good read
Fools breed horses......
for wise men to buy.....
There is a lot of debate about the price of horses at the moment. I’ve seen people suggesting £4,000 for a mature backed and safe horse is “silly money” and people seeking a bombproof kids pony for £500. Personally I think the first is cheap and the second should equal the value you’d put on your kids....
I believe passionately that it’s important for breeders (and producers) to value their stock well. A good breeder has put their life, money, heart, body and soul into creating your future perfect equine partner and I am so grateful to the buyers that acknowledge, respect, value and expect this.
In my opinion good prices aren’t “silly money”. Yes £10,000 is a huge amount of money BUT when you consider the average cost of private horse owners keeping one horse per year is estimated to range from £2,925 (on DIY grass livery) to £10,300 (on full livery) it’s not so silly. That’s £60,000 to £200,000 if you keep a horse on some form of livery for 20 years. Surely then it’s sensible that, whether our passion is for shetlands or shires, dales or dressage, welsh or warmbloods we should all be striving to breed (and buy) quality horses and should expect the prices to reflect this.
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 don’t 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?
▪️A 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;
▪️A good breeder won’t select “Barney” down the road with cow hocks and a short neck because his stud fee is cheap nor will they choose “Flashy” the two year old from free-ads that has four socks but can’t move straight;
▪️ 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). They’ll also keep the mare through the years she’s not been covered, hasn’t held and when she’s having a break;
▪️The 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;
▪️The 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;
▪️Then there’s the haltering, careful weaning, trailer loading, ground work and training, registrations, microchips and more to do and pay for;
▪️There’s fencing repairs, planting hedges for shelter, painting stables, buying horse safe gates, water bills, electricity costs and ground maintenance to pay for.
▪️A 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 there’s the cost and time of someone to carefully back and train the maturing youngster ready for the next chapter;
▪️Don’t 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).
▪️ 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 doesn’t recognise EU 40hr working hour limits, that doesn’t 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 isn’t kind.
Yes you can find cheap horses on free-addsor 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 £££££’s and we all know someone whose potential eventing pony ended up a happy hacker (because it’s arthritic joints couldn’t cope with anything else).
So whether you’re 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 can’t afford your dream horse YET don’t settle for second best, don’t be angry it costs more than you’ve got right now, remember the work, passion and love that’s gone into creating your perfect horse and save a bit more money whilst you’re waiting for them to turn up. The right horse will be worth the wait.
