Thoughts on breeding - interested in peoples varying opinion

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Yeah, sometimes you just never get to find out why. Even with an autopsy, you sometimes hear that the vets can't find any obvious reason.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Kaleena]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Yeah, sometimes you just never get to find out why. Even with an autopsy, you sometimes hear that the vets can't find any obvious reason.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Exactly. Maybe if I had wanted to try breeding her again I would have persued an autopsy but since I really hadn't planned on breeding her in the first place (I just jumped at the chance of a free breeding to an awesome stallion) I opted not too. Such is life I suppose!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[TrueColours]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT face="Arial Narrow"#ed_cl#We are very fortunate in that what we are breeding, we are selling easily.#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT face="Arial Narrow"#ed_cl#Friends of mine just went to a local auction a month or so ago and came back with a couple of weanlings - look to be maybe appendix's or something similar - for the grand total of $40.00 and $50.00 respectively ... #ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/cry.gif"#ed_cl# #ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#How damned sad that after paying someone a stud fee (or - even if its your own stallion, youve gotta pay to keep him so breeding your mare has to cost SOMETHING!) and keeping the mare for 11 months and then the foal for several months, you get $40.00 and $50.00 for the foal, and if there werent buyers for them, the kill pen was awaiting them anyhow ...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I am also in the forwarding and logistics business and the market in Japan is alive and VERY well for young horseflesh (and I DONT mean for riding either!), so much so that they do not want it butchered, "on the hoof", but live weanlings and yearlings are what they desire over there and they charter 747Freighters several times per year with a payload of 90,000 kgs per flight (and think - with weanlings/yearlings in the area of 200-400 kgs - max - per animal) you are looking at approximately 300 animals per flight going over there for someone's dinner.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Whoever doesnt buy up these weanlings for $50.00, are held to be sold to the Japanese for a flight that is pending in a month or so down the road#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#It is damned sad in my opinion, that these types of horse continue to be bred and there is NO viable market for them and NO one wants the numbers that are being produced and then people point fingers at the ones eating the horseflesh and say its cruel and it has to stop.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#Who in their right minds would continue to breed these animals with the losses they are obviously incurring???#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#It doesnt take a genius to figure out if there are no more $50.00 weanlings out there then guess what - the Japanese will be going without and may well look to another food source instead ...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#