Re: [RC] Only way to afford...well maybe - Patty P
If money is not the main concern, raising a baby and training him/her can be the most rewarding of all. I cant do it now because I am boarding. But as soon as I graduate, I will buy my land and get back into breeding and having babies. Lots of them. It is the most beautiful experience of all! ...well, with the acception of having my own child that is! LOL And for the reason you specified below...you never know how they turn out. You just never know. And that is part of what makes it exciting. I would not want to breed for a specific sport. I breed with the intention of training the horse to do what it is built for, that way everyone is happy! And arabs can do so much!
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..
