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> Amen to you Chris!
> I feel the same way and do the same as you do-- with one exception-- I
> have a buyer for my horse before it hits the ground.
Herein, though, lies the philosophical difference between a "breeder" and
a "producer."  As a longterm "breeder," ALL of my matings are done with
the thought of how the foal will fit into and contribute to the long-term
breeding program.  The key to the program is that one produces horses with
consistently useful traits.  BUT--NO foal of mine is ever for sale prior
to birth.  ALL foals are considered in the context of the future of the
program before ANY are offered for sale.  I have turned down more sales
than I can count because the horses were key to the future of the overall
program.  And if I sold them, I can't guarantee I can replace them.  They
only become sale horses when there reaches a degree of genetic redundancy
in the program that I can pick and choose--and then some of them can go
find jobs.

SH Frisky Affair is a good example of this--she is the mare that Karen
Chaton recently posted about that just won overall fastest time on one of
the recent multidays.  She was only for sale because I had five mares by
her sire, and in two cases, the mares were out of closely related dams. 
So I kept three, and sold one from each "redundant" pair.  (The other one
went into an endurance breeding program.)

Additionally, the buyer does not have the risk of a sight unseen
foal--they get a mature horse ready to go, and they can see what they are
getting.

I had a buyer this year really eager to buy a Junior foal out of one of
our leased mares before it was born--but I worked too darn hard to get
that mare line into my herd, and there is NO WAY on God's green earth that
I'd part with the filly that she had.  If I get another one out of the
same mare, then (and only then!) might one be for sale.

I could probably pay the bills easier if I would just put price tags on
everything and let buyers just come shopping.  But I still want to be
breeding at this caliber (and better!) in another 30 years, and to do
that, I simply CAN'T rip the guts out of the program by selling foals that
are integral to its future.

Heidi



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