Wow - I don't know what to say except that without question over the past 3
decades of competing, breeding, riding, training, any stallion we have owned
cost more than any mare. I suppose when the fee for mares being nominated for
Sweeps, etc. goes up; when mare owners take out full page ads for their girls;
the cost of general care (since by and large boys must have separate
accommodations and sometimes even handling) hits a status quo....in general the
costs bear out that the mares should be the ones charging the fees :), then
perhaps it would be a different story. I would agree that MANY mares are FAR
superior to a ton of stallions. But here is the thing - who gets the foal??? If
a mare owner is going to get to keep the foal - which is usual - of course that
owner should pay for the service of a stallion. If a stallion owner spies a
great mare and wants a foal then he or she can possibly lease the mare. In
addition, since a mare can only produce one foal per year (don't - DON'T get me
started on ET!), the high cost and the extent and gamble of advertising a mare
for, what, lease, is not only a crap shoot but not very financially
appealing. We do offer a mare or tow each season for breeding leases - and of
course a mare can only be leased for one person - a stallion can be bred to
numerous mares - though that issue too is a hot button for me - something wrong
with a stallion siring 100 or more foals on his debut season.
In the end, the stallion owner bears a huge cost of both money and effort
in promotion and care. It seems fair that a mare owner shares that cost should
the mare owner desire a foal from that union.
my question has always been why stud fees??? there are mares out
there superior to stallions, mares i believe contribute at least as much if not
more to the quality of the foal... shouldn't stallion owners be paying and
courting to breed to these superior mares... ( i know partially private
treaty allows for this) but really the few foals a mare could have should be
more valuable than the thousands a stallion could ... the whole stud fee
thing is sexist, don't you think?
