Donna, it is breeders like you who SHOULD be breeding..! And I bet if the time ever comes when there is not a market for what you produce, you will stop.
Thank you for being responsible.
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
thank you for that insightful post ... "...honest-to-goodness preservation breeders (those actually striving to preserve genetic traits, not just names in pedigrees) are doing a tremendous service to the future of the breed--whatever breed ... thank goodness for dedicated breeders who continue to breed (responsibly, certainly) with vision and foresight, so that many of the genetic treasures are not lost."
I am a preservation breeder of the Pure Spanish horse of Spain. My horses are double-registered in the US and in Spain. They are a fairly rare breed. My mares have been through an inspection process that "allows" them to be bred and for the resulting offspring to be papered in Spain. The US-based registration doesn't require an inspection to issue papers. I've been asked if I would do embryo transfers off my mare just to make more $$ - the offspring couldn't be registered in Spain, only in the US. And that just doesn't make sense to me. I don't want to produce "average" easily available horses. Preserving the breed has a higher priority to me than the profit motive. Although making a profit is important so that I can continue to re-invest in my program.
As a result of all the research, time, and effort I've put into my breeding program, my mares/babies are very valuable to buyers. My foals often sell before they are even conceived. There is a strong market for them. But I don't try to exploit them. I currently raise 2 foals a year and will have 4 mares producing in 2010. I keep my numbers small so as to keep the business manageable and it gives me the time to market/promote/educate and sell these "genetic treasures" to excellent homes.
Maybe it's vision, maybe it's foresight, or it could just be good common sense... keep your numbers small and your quality high.
