So where do breeders go to get a return on their investment?
How do breeders react to the current choices for the future?
If you are a glass half empty person, you might say: “Into the same corner where a lot of other breeders have gone.”
If you are a glass half full person, you might say: “Forward, to a better place.”
I’m a positive person, so I will opt for the latter. But to do that, I need to ignore some signals from the “market” which tell me that breeding is such a high risk industry with such a small conservative market (at any age or ability of your horse) that it is not a viable option to even cover your real costs. Unless you do exactly this, and exactly that. And then cross your fingers.
Are we really going to attract new breeders into this situation?
Personally, I have taken risks and been lucky, but many have not had the same rewards. And I feel for them. It could well be me next time. It has been in the past.
The issue is this: the commercial and hobby side of breeding need more positive and consistent signals from the industry to keep going.
If the signals are as short-term and limited as: “Breed your best mare to Bettor’s Delight or Art Major” – then I am out of here. Because that is a blinkers on and ear plugs in, and we are steering into a corner.
Industry signals need to be medium term and consistent. Breeders are in it for a long haul. Decisions we make take effect 2 or 3 years later, or more.
But the current signals (e.g. market prices) are impossible to meet without the whole production line narrowing to short-term output. These sires. These families. These types. Tick the box.
Innovation and commercial development has never originated from such a narrow perspective. Merely fulfilling the current market is not enough for a product like ours that develops over time and often from outside the square.
Most successful industries look to grow their product and diversify their markets and risks. Those that take high risks get high rewards.
So why are we moving in the opposite direction?
And why are we treating many “hobby” breeders as donors to our overall industry, letting them take the loss, year after year, of finding and developing the product that will take us into the future?
Would any other viable industry work this way? Are many breeders falling into a local Trade Aid category? Or is there a role for an R&D development fund that supports breeders who are willing to risk their personal investment in finding new and exciting directions?
Well, I’m asking the questions at least.
I will look into this in more detail before the Breeders Assn forum in Auckland in March. Hopefully this will help stimulate some good debate about core issues.
“Floating ideas – some people say it is just hot air in a balloon. But if you are drowning in a river, that balloon might be worth grasping.”
(quote from Bee Pears lol)
b4breeding 
Hit the nail on the head well done, well done Bee keep pushing and give us all some hope
Thanks Steve. Hang in there!
My view is that the ultimate aim of a breeder is to improve his or her bloodlines by crossing sires across their mares that bring back good blood or that nick up positive traits.
I have put a Dragons Lair mare (the dam of Vengeance) in foal this year to Lislea, a stallion that has not stood in NZ for some 6-7 years but did leave some tough types and since going back to North America has left a lot of good winners. Why you may ask – the breeding cross with World Class puts the resultant foal in the top 1-2% of breeding genetics. The rest is then up to good rearing and feeding and then having a trainer who understands the breed and gets the best out of the foal (this is the hardest part of the whole equation).
We are going to race this foal with the end goal being for him or her to race in the NZ Cup in the future. Lofty dreams but you gotta have goals if you want to be a successful breeder.