i may get shot down for this!!

We had our last foal 4 years ago as people just weren't buying. We breed proper, full up, quality shetlands designed for the ridden job with temprements to die for. Unfortunately people want cheap, ready made ponies for their darling daughter to just hop on and off they go. We have the stallion, we have the mares, we have the time but due to there being too many idiots about we neither have the space nor desire to breed more. We still have the 2 5yo's and the 4yo because I refuse to sell them for less than they are worth or as Christmas/Birthday presents. I will break the 2 fillies to ride this year so they can go on and do a job - hopefully! - and the gelding will be broken to drive as he didn't turn out as chunky as expected.

In the meantime my broodmares are being ridden and shown and the stallion lives the life of luxury! They never meet and they won't meet again unless there is a market for their progeny.
 
York's g... I don't see how that would be possible. You'd have to license the ones out now provided there was some way of tracking them all. Then people would buy foals on the promise of gelding and they'd simply disappear or a geldings passport used etc.
I honestly don't see a way of doing so.

I also think that this runs in nearly every breed of animal. Cats and dogs are over run. Reptiles. Etc
I also think there are far worse cases amongst farming animals. Intensive pig farming is horrendous but legal...

I don't see it as something that will be a priority at any point. Personally I agree with you though. I also think some people need licensing for kids.....
 
Right ok, you all are thinking in sporthorse terms. You want to go to the TB legislation and start telling them about approvals? And what exactly would your criteria be across the board for various breeds that compete in different disciplines? Do you want to make an Arab jump a course of fences for the warmbloods? Do you want the warmbloods to do endurance. What about happy hackers? Tell me how you decide a mare must meet approval to make a happy hacker? The cobs. What approval process do you want to take place for them? How much hair?

So while I know you all think approvals will solve all issues there will be no one approval that encompasses all that people want to ride. You only want strict approvals for people that already try and think about what they're doing. Being the most correct does not guarantee soundness. Being the prettiest does not guarantee they're not a pyscho. And let's see if you take away all horses that broke down while racing, the ones that are conformational disasters, the ones that can't breathe well, the ones that never proved themselves on the track, well then you just shot 80% of the TB's out there.

I have all mares and one gelding. One MAY be bred at a latter date when she has more performance. I personally don't like geldings much. Just because I have mares they are not treated as potential baby making machines. So don't put me in that category thank you.

Like I said, I can't stand bad breeding. I had foal mills. I hate breeding to breed. But I also can't stand people that buy horses they think they can ride, people who won't take time to deal with small issues turning into bigger issues, ruining a horse before they even really get started. But it's ok to sell what you ruined and blame all breeders. It's more than breeding. It's a whole big thing.

More responsibility from everyone, no?

Terri
 
I agree with you EI - everyone needs to buck up and stop blaming everyone else for all the problems. It's always so easy to blame someone else rather than actually look closer to home.
 
Approvals and licensing will not solve the issue of overbreeding. I have two "rescues" here which have the finest breeding in Spain; bought by idiots with lots of money and no idea of how to keep, handle or ride a horse (especially not hotblooded Spanish stallions). The problem is an economic and aspirational one; too many people buying horses; too many people deciding it would be fun to be a breeder; too mnany people getting a horse and not being able to ride one side of it.
 
Hmmmm people can have kids at the drop of a hat with no experience care or money so sadly it's no different with animals unless u adopt or foster from a rescue agency. I reckon this is the way forward for all the aforementioned! Yep. Contentious.
 
I agree with you OP, but do not know how to stop all this breeding. I do not agree with a licence, not that that would stop it anyhow:(
 
Springy said:
Horse license to own a horse.....?
Click to expand...

I can only see that this would worsen the problem- you'd have people just dumping their animals like they did when they made it legal to keep some more exotic animals.

Short term I agree the meat man and hunt kennels should be allowed to take some of the burden from the charities.

Maybe a licence to breed maybe easier to police???
 
Maybe a license to sell more than 2 horses per year including foals would be better than a breeding one if they are not allowed to sell then no one would breed huge numbers the smaller numbers may or may not be breed replacements.
Rare breeds could be raised slightly to ensure a good gene pool but as these are only of use if registered they would be easy to trace.
 
Of course it is essential to have a monitoring system which of course would cost money
Dog breeders are supposed to be licensed for more than 4 litters per year but I dont know how well that is monitored. Councils are responsible for checking up and issuing the license
Maybe the same system could work for foals who knows
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
Right ok, you all are thinking in sporthorse terms. You want to go to the TB legislation and start telling them about approvals? And what exactly would your criteria be across the board for various breeds that compete in different disciplines? Do you want to make an Arab jump a course of fences for the warmbloods? Do you want the warmbloods to do endurance. What about happy hackers? Tell me how you decide a mare must meet approval to make a happy hacker? The cobs. What approval process do you want to take place for them? How much hair?

So while I know you all think approvals will solve all issues there will be no one approval that encompasses all that people want to ride. You only want strict approvals for people that already try and think about what they're doing. Being the most correct does not guarantee soundness. Being the prettiest does not guarantee they're not a pyscho. And let's see if you take away all horses that broke down while racing, the ones that are conformational disasters, the ones that can't breathe well, the ones that never proved themselves on the track, well then you just shot 80% of the TB's out there.

I have all mares and one gelding. One MAY be bred at a latter date when she has more performance. I personally don't like geldings much. Just because I have mares they are not treated as potential baby making machines. So don't put me in that category thank you.

Like I said, I can't stand bad breeding. I had foal mills. I hate breeding to breed. But I also can't stand people that buy horses they think they can ride, people who won't take time to deal with small issues turning into bigger issues, ruining a horse before they even really get started. But it's ok to sell what you ruined and blame all breeders. It's more than breeding. It's a whole big thing.

More responsibility from everyone, no?

Terri
Click to expand...

^^Agreed^^
 
Actually the largest demand is for 'learners pony/horse'....probably a fugly but with that calm unflappable temperament. Everyone who rides should start with a horse like this!! The top of the pyramid is the Olympic horse, and everyone aspires to breed that one!!! But the bottom line is that fewer and fewer people are even sitting on a horse once!! So the demand just isn't there......perhaps the problem is that there are too many humans and not enough other animals!!
 
We can't even stop the spread of strangles because of the two bit dealers and breeders and the bottom feeders who don't see the need for quarrantine and hygiene. The chances of convincing the likes of clwyd that he shouldn't leave a colt entire and running with mares are slim. It isn't the quality horse breeders that's the problem, and it's not so much the people who will nod and agree when reading an article urging people not to breed indiscriminately and then provide a list of excuses as to why their mare/stallion is different, it's the farmers of dartmoor hill ponies who won't keep entires and mares seperate, whoever had the bright idea of chucking shetlands out with them so that now we have a dartmoor hill pony 'type' not breed (the breed is bred privately) and Mr Smith who keeps an entire because he barely noticed it was entire with a few mares that turns into a field of 50 of a type nobody has a use for, and next time he visits he notices a few more until he barely notices the extras, until one day he realises he can't cope with all these horses so abandons them. It's Mr Smith who is causing 80% of the problems at the moment, and he doesn't read HHO forum. :(
 
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