We had $3500 into the last foal our mare produced
before the foal ever hit the ground. Breeding a mare is not something I
would ever do again. Haven't that much time left in my life to wait around
to see how a foal is going to turn out. And it is MUCH more costly to
raise one than buy one.
Before making this decision, add up ALL you
spend on your horses per year. (At my farm it's generally $1200 per horse, per
year)... Add the price of this mare. Add the stud fee (from what I've seen, WB
shipped semen's running from $1500-$4,000+, So we'll hypothetically price it
at $2500)... Now I'll ASSUME that you can train this future colt out yourself.
But it'll be a five-year-old or older before you'll know it's true abilities
as a jumper..
So let's see... Without adding the price of the mare...
You'll have at least 6 years of 'care costs' between initial conception - and
putting the resulting foal over those big jumps.. So if it were mine - I'd
have a minimum of $7200 in 'care costs', plus around $2500 in stud fee. (plus
price of mare).... So that's well OVER $9700 that'll be invested in this
POSSIBLE jumper. Yep, I could purchase a nice, untrained 3-year-old full
blooded WB around here for that... Or I could purchase a decently started
4-year-old TB, or TB cross for that... I've even seen some trained, 2nd level
dressage, going over 5' oxfords, middle-aged geldings in that price
range..
It's your decision, but most likely you'll end up with more
money invested, in a foal that may NOT be talented for what you want. And you
always stand the chance of losing both dam and foal during delivery.
Personally, I'd show the future investment figures to your hubby, then go
looking for something near riding age - or already trained, with that
money..At least you can see what it's conformation and temperament are suited
for..
