Benefits of having a walk in stallion

[Toast]

I was just wondering, what the benefits are of keeping a colt entire, to eventually stand at a stud that wasnt my own?
I understand that the stud would take a cut of the profit made, but how much should i expect them to take?
x

 

[JanetGeorge]

You're assuming there'd be a profit! Not many stallions actually make a profit if you take all the costs into account. For an unknown stallion with no track record then any stud in their right mind would charge livery of at least £100 a week PLUS a share of the stud fee.

My stallion stands at £350 (with concessions to pure-bred mares) and gets 10-15 outside mares a year (which is a reasonable average for his breed.) If I didn't have my own mares, I'd lose money on him.

His costs:

Livery - a nominal £100 pw.£5,200
Routine vaccinations, tests and swabbing - £150
Farrier - £350

And that's if he has no illness/accidents!

To get a stud to stand a stallion on your behalf without charging you for the privelege, he has to be rather special in both breeding and performance.

 

[KenRehill]

There are about three people in the UK who actually make money by owning stallions. The rest think they do, but that's because they use "horsey" accounting as opposed to real world accounting. If they used real world accounting, they have heart failure.

So to answer the question; it wouldn't matter how much they took, you'd never see a profit anyway.

 

[Springs]

It depends on what the yongster has done or is likly to do in the future. Has he been graded or assessed for future potential?

We had the same issue with our youngster, get him cut or leave him intire. But we have been told not to get him cut as he is an excellent breeding prospect as well as having the raw tallent to go further.

We keep him at home, and he is one of the walk in stallions at Stallion AI (Twemlows) which is just up the road from us. There was an up front fee for testing etc but there is no on going fee for livery from the stud as if some one wnts to use him we just run him up there and bring him back the same day.

Luckly we are not in it for the profit so you need to look long and hard at what you do, and is he any good.

 

[SAMgirl]

lol @ Ken
[ QUOTE ]
"horsey" accounting

[/ QUOTE ]
Ye know too much...

 

[henryhorn]

I think to make a profit you need to stand at least five stallions and make money on the keep side of things, otherwise it doesn't add up financially.
We used to stand our old stallion but never took into account the costs of keeping and competing him, as he was my husnad's horse and he would have been paying for that even with a gelding.
For those of us with one stallion who we keep for our own horses it has to be considered a luxury, not a money making scheme..

 

[almorton]

i agree! our boy will be a jumper first, stallion second, his job is to go out there and leave the poles up. the only way he will probably pay for himself is by me paying my entries as horses are my hobby as well as job!! when / if he is graded / proven / etc, stud fees will be a nice addition hopefully to his winnings!
although its nice to look at the advantages, some disadvantages are:
vet every year for jabs / swabs etc
appropriate staff required 7 days a week, pref 2 people on per shift just in case!
if you are transporting semen etc, organising shipping / shipping costs / extender costs / costs when equitainers go missing etc - will the stud sort them for you?
is the stud good enough to give your stallion a good name?
can you cope with having to fetch your stallion to stud at 3 hours notice as mare is due to go out any second and needs AI?!
if he doesnt make the grade, getting him cut.
advantages - money isnt everything and think how proud you will be when his stock are out winning young horse classes and doing your advertising for you (hopefully!)