Will The Breeding Business Bounce Back? Each summer, T e Equiery publishes a “Mare


and Foal” issue, a companion to our winter stal- lion issue that serves as a brag book for proud foal owners around the Free State. T e issue serves to bookend all the stallion marketing just before breeding season, illustrating the grand re- sults of all that breeding testoster- one, giving us a sneak peek at what we will eventually see at keurings and inspections, yearling shows and young horse classes. T e Equiery’s “Mare and Foal” is- sue also provides a quick snapshot on the state of the breeding business…and truth be told, since the economy crashed in 2007, it is almost hard to qualify it as a “business” at this point. For those struggling with the consequences of the unwanted horse issue, the decimation of breeding as a business cannot come soon enough. T ere are enough horses in the world, they argue; and breeding horses on the specu- lation that they might one day be sold is…(fi ll in the blank with the derogatory term of your choice). For those intent on seeing the concept “business” detached from the action of breed- ing horses, these should be happy days. But for those who earn part or all of their living in the breeding business, be they vets or foal-watchers, trainers or handlers, these are hard times. “Breeders have been hit on both ends with higher costs for feed, hay and bedding,” explains Claire Lacey (Camelot Farm, Clarksville), “and it’s taking longer to move young stock. I do see a reduction in mid-range ‘speculative breeding’ by people who saw breeding as a quick way to make some money. T is is probably a good thing given the current situation with so many adult horses needing homes. Breeders have taken a lot of blame for that situation but re- alistically we want our off spring to go to good homes where they will thrive, perform to their full potential and fulfi ll their owners’ dreams. T at is good ethics and good business.”


The Warning Signs Although the economy crashed in the fall


of 2007, there had been warning signs of im- pending doom. A signifi cant number of Cas- sandras read the tea leaves and the spring of 2007 showed a marked decrease in the number of mares bred. By the spring of 2008, almost no one “in their right mind” (as the saying goes) bred their mares. Not only were the prospects of being able to sell the young stock dim, owners had to invest in the upkeep of those horses un- til they sold, if they ever did. With the declin- ing foal numbers, we may have almost reached the point of zero equine population growth (in which the number of births each year equals the number of deaths).


www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 And, of course, Maryland’s famed and glo- Equiery Stats


Foal Announcements 2008 – 485 foals 2009 – 404 foals 2010 – 335 foals 2011 – 342 foals


rious T oroughbred breeding farms have had a double whammy. Not only must they bear the brunt of a cruel economy, they must suf- fer the indignity of mare owners fl eeing to the slots- fertilized greener pastures of surrounding states. T e Jockey Club, which handles all T oroughbred registrations, can only give complete breeding statis- tics through the year 2010,


but those numbers are gloomy enough…we probably can’t really stomach the 2011 num- bers. Here are a few highlights:


Maryland-bred T oroughbred Foal Crop 2000: 1,212 2005: 846 2010: 574


In 2000, 115 T oroughbred stallions stood


in Maryland; according to T e Jockey Club, in 2009 there were only 46. And it is not just that there are fewer T or-


oughbred stallions standing in Maryland, there are fewer active stallions of all breeds. Some breeders have gone out of business and dispersed their stock. Others have not replaced stallions who have retired or died. And some stallions have been gelded. Others gave up the hassle of promoting and managing a stallion, resorting to just breeding their own farm mares. Likewise, breeders adjusted their number of homebreds as well.


Making Adjustments By 2009, Vicki


G. Carson (Fly- ing Chesterfi eld Farm, Middleburg, MD) had plenty of babies and young stock that were not selling, so she did not breed any hors- es in 2009 for 2010 foals, and stopped taking on any new broodmares.


(Blue & White Morgans,


Joanna Kelly Jar-


rettsville) saw the demand for young Morgan horses dry up almost completely.


rights) and has shifted her focus. “My concern was in helping horses get placed in new homes, when their owners could not aff ord to keep them any longer,” she explains. “I did not want to bring any new horses into the world when so many needed homes.” Natalie DiBerardinis, General Manager and


Breeding Manager for Hilltop Farm in Colora, concurs. “It’s been a hard couple of years for the industry. Sales of young horses has slowed. People are still breeding, but the economy has made them take a hard look at their mares. It’s a tough breeding market, but still active.” Hilltop cut back on breeding mares about four years ago, and now only plan on about 2-4 foals per year.


Future Demand, Future Supply?


Will demand ever rise again? Horse shows and horse trials are reporting higher entry numbers to T e Equiery than last year, and when that happens, demand will follow. Randy Johnson of Greener Pastures in


Clarksburg, who breeds warmbloods primar- ily for jumpers and show hunters, believes that demand is going to rebound in a few years, and there will be fewer horses available to meet that demand. T erefore, he continues to breed a se- lect number of in-house mares every year. And Randy is not the only stallion owner continuing to breed homebreds. For the owners of breeding farms, who already had the infra- structure in place to foal the mares and raise the young horses and are not therefore paying the boarding rates that owners of individual mares might pay, maintaining a limited stock of homebreds can be more fi nancially feasible. Like Randy, these breeders are taking a long


continued...


My observation of the sporthorse breed- ing industry, and what other breeders have told me they’re seeing too, is that the market for riding horses has recovered somewhat since mid-to-late 2010. The sport pony market hasn’t recovered yet. The market for young stock is completely stagnant. I felt fortunate to sell a three- year-old this spring. I have had no nibbles on the two year-old warmbloods or the four year-old half-Welsh multi-champion fi rst premium North American Sport Pony for sale. While I intend to continue mar-


She


has sold her stal- lion (although she retained breeding


keting and showing the youngsters, I’ve adjusted my business plan to refl ect what I see as the current reality. I may have to wait until the horses and ponies are going under saddle, and the warmbloods are at least four or fi ve years old and the ponies are six years old before they sell. As things stand now I’m going to have to invest quite a bit more money and time in them before they sell than was the case before the economic downturn, when foals, yearlings and two-year-olds were selling at a healthy pace. The breeding business is defi nitely becoming a labor of love, and not something that you can easily make a profi table business from–not without other lines of business to contribute to the bottom line. - Vicki Carson, Flying Chesterfi eld Farm, Middleburg, MD


AUGUST 2011 | THE EQUIERY | 17


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