Les Bunning

Amanda Howell - Eventing

As a new small-time breeder, I am experiencing first hand what it's like to breed & raise your own foals! I have bred two warmblood fillies for dressage by Mayfield Pzazz, one now a yearling & the other a weanling.

Here are the pros & cons of what I have experienced -

• Breeding your own horse means that you can choose exactly what sire & dam your prospective foal is to have. If you have a nice mare who has the type, temperament & athletic ability you want to pass onto foals, then choosing your favorite stallion will hopefully produce a foal that you may not otherwise be able to find or afford. You can choose a jumping sire, dressage sire, pony cross - the choice is yours!
  

• Buying a foal (or any horse for that matter) means that you can see exactly what you are getting - it's there in front of you. Breeding something means that until it pops out, you've no idea what you're getting - that bay colt with lots of white you were hoping for might actually turn out to be a chestnut filly with crooked legs & giant ears!
• The chances of your foal surviving until it's ready to be broken in, without injuring itself, is semi-remote. I'm not necessarily saying they're all going to cut their legs into shreds, but there's the little things - little cuts, kicks, things that babies do either learning something new for the first time, or mucking round in the paddock, that mean vet bills & hopefully not too many scars or permanent injuries. It may not be cheaper in the long run to breed, as you still have to feed, trim, worm, vaccinate & handle your foal until it's ready to be a useful riding horse.
• If you're breeding large numbers to sell, rather than breeding to keep a couple for yourself (like I am), then it can be a numbers game - how many are going to be worth good money, because they are all going to cost the same to bring up. The longer you keep them, the more they cost, although once broken will be worth more as a riding horse.
• You may however, not be into actually riding & competing, & prefer handling young foals & bringing on youngsters. I can imagine it would be really rewarding watching horses I had bred leading successful careers in their chosen field.
• Bringing on your foal from day one ensures it's handled the way you want it to be. You know exactly what your foal has been doing from day one, & you are in charge of its training.
• At the end of the day, breed for a reason, not for the sake of it - remember it will be around 4 years after your foal is born before you can ride it. But on the other hand, I am enjoying bringing up my foals, with the idea being that I do most of the breaking in, & hopefully they'll turn into little superstars….like we all dream for!

Amanda Howell

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Francesca Christie - Showing

Hard question? No it's not. Take it from someone who has done both. It's very simple; the probability of breeding a super star is few and far between.

My personal opinion is the breeders have made it hard on themselves with the big premonition of buying the filly and if she did not work out you could breed from her.
The reality is that geldings are designed to ride, no hormones. How many stallions show, and how many people choose to show them under saddle?

But the poor little mare is not meant to recognise her hormones? Don't forget the geldings have had there bits cut out - now answer the question yourself.

The sad part is in the breeding of ponies. The geldings have been devalued and they really are the most valuable of them all. The geldings form a major part in the quality and quantity in our open classes today.

In hacking could you name a mare that has consistently won champions at Royal Shows? There are a few mares out there but you can count them on your hands. In saying that, I have won champion at all eastern royals with a pony mare. I do this every day so I am definitely not a mare hater - I just feel you will have your work cut out for you.

Back to the subject... There is nothing more beautiful than breeding and birth but my true feeling is leave it to the professionals who have put there life into finding the best mares to match with the best stallions at huge time and cost, and go there and be prepared to pay for there experience and the opportunity to buy the best they have bred. Do not try and get it for nothing as breeding a champion doesn't come easy.

Enjoy
Francesca Christie

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Les Bunning - ShowJumping

After having tried to do this both ways if I am put on the spot I would have to say buy a purpose bred performance horse everytime. But its unfortunately just not as simple as that!.

There are a bunch of people that can think of nothing better than to get a nice type of mare - it helps if she has been a jumper (in my case), and picking the stallion of your choice, mating it, weaning it, after 2 or 3 years breaking it in and then training it and hopefully it is good enough to keep and show. That sounds all straight forward and simple but it is filled with anxiety, difficultly, joy and in some cases heartbreak. If you decide to use frozen or chilled semen it can become more expensive and at times you need to be patient and philosophical. But if luck is on your side you may produce a very good performance horse

On the other hand if you are not patient and want to get going, then buying is for you. There is no doubt if you are going to buy an experienced or purpose bred horse it will initially be expensive but you do know what you are buying and in most cases you can start competing straight away. Again if it is purely economical decision without a doubt to buy a 4 yr old broken and ready to train will be cheaper than, paying for a service fee, vet bills, farrier, feed caring for the mare and foal, rearing the foal and the cost of breaking in using a professional breaker, and then time spent handling and training, at an average cost of up to $5000 a year.I would expect $20,000 would buy you quite a nice young one, so you have to weigh up all the pros and cons before you make your mind up.

For me if I had the money up front I would buy a potentially good young horse and cut out the stress and save time waiting. But I must say that I have bred a few out of my mares that have been successful jumpers and I am looking forward to training and competing on them, ( being able to do the breaking and training helps cut down my costs), from a nostalgic as well a bloodlines point of view. At this point I feel that the mare plays such an important role in producing good performance horses. Having seen the quality of horses at the World Cup final in Kuala Lumpar I believe jumping breeders here in Australia must spend more money on purpose bred jumping mares before they spend money on the sires they choose.

Whatever way you choose to go I wish you luck.

All the best
Les Bunning

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