Re: [RC] Arabian Numbers+SUPPLY & DEMAND - Becky Huffman
I'll poke my head out and
speak as a breeder of endurance horses. Not in argument, but simply as a
matter of perspective.
I am first a preservation
breeder, breeding within a bloodgroup called BLUE STARs whose foundation horses
were designated in the early to mid 1900s. Within that bloodgroup, I breed
for endurance performance first, other performance second.
Without going into a
long list of success and qualifications in my own horses' family, I'll say that
what I have found in endurance is that IN GENERAL, the people aren't willing to
pay performance prospect horse prices for endurance performance prospects.
To date, my foals have sold prior to going under saddle so I've never had any
'going' horses for sale, that should say something good about my program.
The two I've sold that are old enough to compete have both done endurance., my
oldest 'baby' did her first 100 at Bluebonnet last weekend and I think the
owner's pretty happy with her. the next one did a some LD before being
bred and will be back on the trail later this year. I kept my next year's
crop and the others aren't old enough to be on the trail yet.
When you talk about sifting
through prospects, realize that there are horses available that have shown to
have family success in endurance. The two mares that I bred that are doing
endurance are half sisters, through their mutual grandsire, IBN TAAMRI, they're
closely related to a several successful endurance horses. His brother TAAM-RUD
also sired many success endurance horses. the first filly's half-brother
is successful as was the second filly's sire's brother.
What I'm saying is that it
is possible to weed the potentials by family. It's true that you don't
ride the papers and that there are no promises, but when you look at a closed
group and see a high percent of successful horses on both sides of the pedigree,
that should tell you something.
now to bring this
full circle - back to supply and demand. - there is supply, but until the demand
is there, the supply will stay low. personally, I only breed a new foal
each time I sell one, and there are a lot of breeders like me who are careful
not to overstep their resources. So if you the riders want endurance bred
horses, you'll have to push the demand. I have eight mares and have been
breeding only two or three foals a year. If the demand were there I would
breed more.
In a message dated 4/6/2005 1:04:40 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, Pasang@xxxxxxx writes:
Perhaps for years we endurance folk have had a "free ride" in the
horse acquisition aspect of our sport due to market forces driving down the
prices of Arabians. But when availability of good Arabian horses
gets very low, the prices will naturally go up, way up.
Oh no it isn't a free ride, sifting through prospect after
prospect, to find the right combination of ability and heart, The availability
is already very low when compared to the availability of average to poor ones
being bred at a breath-taking rate up until recently, with the "rejects"
finding their way into cheap auctions and often on to the endurance trail,
where they may or may not be particularly suitable, either. At the same time,
a $10,000 endurance horse is already out there, and some probably rightly
deserve such esteem. Most do not - but when the front runners in the pricing
market continue to be horses who demonstrate signs of ADD at the end of
a lead and/or mince about a ring for a full 5 minutes before they are dripping
with sweat, i cannot help wondering where breeding quality for its own sake
went, rather than breeding what is popular this year.
We will not likely be paying $10,000 for a "good" one but
probably for a REALLY good one or top notch one - probably more. But the rank
and file endurance CANDIDATE should not be a $500 weanling or an $800 two year
old.
