Indiscriminate breeding musings

Show me a stud that produces an animal suitable as an all rounder family type horse.

I would say JG who posts on here did but she has cut back for various reasons, in part because people wanting a good allround type will rarely pay a sensible price that truly covers the production costs, if a breeder of native ponies cannot make it viable what hope has someone breeding bigger more expensive to produce got, in reality these half bred 16 handers should sell for 5-10k as ridden away 4-5 year olds with a few extra k added for each year they are having education put in but the average family home will not often pay that money which is why no studs are purposely breeding them.
 
I just dont believe there are sufficient good amateur riders out there to do these Horses justice . They are bred for performance, with little thought to temperament . I also believe that the definition of good amateur riders has changed , as has the term novice rider.
Too many genuine novice riders are picking these horses up as they end up cheap and end up over horsed .
There is no harm in being a novice , just get the right horse for your ability. Sadly too many people over estimate it. I for one am guilty of it , however I’ve learnt by my mistakes and gone back to riding a true quality all rounder . We really do need someone to step into JGs shoes and carry on breeding these types .
 
I've owned some horses in the past that I bought from a dealer, and they were good horses and I was able to have fun with them, but when it came to selling them it was hard, as they were too much for a lot of people, yet those able to ride them were probably looking for something a lot better/younger/more potential. In the end one went to a hunting home (good luck with that!) and another found a home with a rider who was down grading from big competition horses.

The dealer in question said that it was easy to sell a plod, but much harder to sell a nice competition horse, and they did have some as in their prime they were hunting, point to pointing, eventing and show jumping but basically everything was for sale.
 
The rescues tend to be full of poorly bred coloured cobs, as are the markets, so it would suggest that the issue with over breeding is specifically with those horses.

The Billy stud etc do produce a lot of horses, but they have bills to pay (staff, feed, overheads) so they do consider what and how many they are breeding and will reduce stock if the market is not there. They do also consider what mare they are putting to what stallion and what the produce will be, its far from indiscriminate.

The type that you tend to find at the RSPCA and on the rescue sites are those that are often bred indiscriminately (as per OP) where colts cover fillies that they share fields/tethered areas with, regardless of their relationship to each other and without regard as to what the offspring might be. Quite often the fillies are barely mature. The stallion runs out with the mares, there is no vet involved, little care and maintenance (and often they are tethered or fly grazed so no rent paid either and few overheads). When its as cheap as that, selling them at market for meat money actually brings a profit. When there is no market or the grazing runs out then they are dumped and the rescues are left to pick up the pieces. Or they go for so little money people buy them but are then unable to keep them (or get bored before the animal gets to riding age).

The big studs don't breed indiscriminately but there will be some that slip through the cracks, but those are not the ones that are taking up the space and money at the rescue centres.
 
Asha said:
I just dont believe there are sufficient good amateur riders out there to do these Horses justice . They are bred for performance, with little thought to temperament . I also believe that the definition of good amateur riders has changed , as has the term novice rider.
Too many genuine novice riders are picking these horses up as they end up cheap and end up over horsed .
There is no harm in being a novice , just get the right horse for your ability. Sadly too many people over estimate it. I for one am guilty of it , however I’ve learnt by my mistakes and gone back to riding a true quality all rounder . We really do need someone to step into JGs shoes and carry on breeding these types .
Click to expand...
You've got to have the right stallion, unlimited grazing and a bottomless purse!
 
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