 |
[RC] To Breed or not to Breed - k s swigartThe first question anybody needs to ask themselves when deciding whether to breed their mare (beloved or not) is, "Do I want to raise a baby?" Because if you are not going to get pleasure and enjoyment out of raising a baby (rather than just having the adult horse the baby grows up to be), then that adult horse that you raised from a baby will just be the most expensive horse you ever owned. If you don't consider raising a baby to be part of the horse owning experience that you are willing to spend a lot of money on (just like we do all of our other horse owning experiences), then it will be far cheaper and easier to buy an adult horse. Raising a baby horse is a huge commitment of time and money, it helps a lot if you enjoy the raising of the baby in the process. Also, it is perfectly okay to breed your beloved mare, even if she is not what other people would consider "breeding quality" as long as you are "prepared to love it no matter how it turns out" and if your motivation is to have a part of your mare even after she is dead and gone (and I can certainly attest to the immense gratification that can be had from this). This, however, presumes that you are breeding the mare to keep the foal for its entire life. kat Orange County, Calif. ============================================================ And remember, an arab's fourth gait is the spook! ~ Jeanie Miller ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
|