Horse Breeding’s Get Rich Quick Scheme - Recips&Mare Flipping Part 2
Here’s where we’re going to pick back up:
How this is acceptable year after year, to treat these mares like they are only a uterus and basic handling, grooming, vetting and farrier work means nothing while they’re consistently popping out foals valued $10k+ is disgusting. THESE MARES DESERVE BETTER. Being drugged, poked, prodded and impregnated year after year, passed around and brought back, only to be relocated again and again and again.
Just like I said a stallion is worth more than the potential income their semen can bring in, a mare is worth more than her uterus and the foal that uterus can house!
Our favorite Hancock mare, previously a recip for a breeding operation with over 100 mares
It takes 15-20 minutes to do a basic brush down on a horse: Hoof picking, curry comb, brushing off dirt and sweat, and running a brush through their mane and tails. Heck, you can do what I do and roach their manes- literally reduces wind knots, summer sweat, hiding ticks, etc. and takes 2 minutes while already in the stocks.
It takes 30-45 minutes to do a thorough grooming: which includes all of the above, plus detangling their mane/tail, hoof picking and conditioning their hooves, and doing a full body inspection to check for any inflammation/bites/scrapes/etc.
It takes about an hour if you include a quick bath, clipping or trimming manes/tails, and going above and beyond a normal grooming session and using leave-in products - detanglers, mane/tail glosses, hoof conditioners, etc. - braiding their mane/tails, using mane/tail bags, and more.
I spoke about paying high price tags on three broodmares from one mass breeder, all at $9,500 each. One was head shy, people shy, and hard to get your hands on in the first few months after we brought her home. One was so bad about her hooves and farrier work, we had to wait until she foaled out and have her not only drugged and managed by our vet, but it took four people 30 minutes after sedation to get her safely on the ground for our farrier to safely trim her hooves. And the third, was skinny, ribby, mane knotted and tail poorly bobbed with a huge not at the base of her tail. Later on in ownership we would find out she had undisclosed cushings, being one of the youngest cushings cases our vet has ever had.
These horses coming from someone who is a lowball, barter-happy breeder, which there’s nothing wrong with, I too love a good barter and trade deal BUT having been on the other side of those purchases (that were not in our favor) and watching the local auction prices, it got me thinking.
Broodmare/recip/mare flipping in the breeding world is where these mass breeders make a quick dollar. Imagine trading a recently broodmare sound only maiden mare, or picking up a broodmare sound only mare from the local livestock auction for $800-3,500. In today’s horse economy, that’s a steal. Then you use the mare as either a recipient mare (if she’s grade or hancock-bred, or you don’t like her papers) or actually breeding her if her papers aren’t half bad. You’re handy and don’t require a vet to ultrasound/inseminate/etc. and can do all the breeding work yourself, OR even better, and of less cost to you as her new owner, you have a pasture breeding program and can throw this new mare out into your stallion’s herd and wait for her to be accepted and bred.
Let’s stick to the $3,500 price point and pasture breeding scenario:
Mare cost: $3,500
Stud fee: $0
Feed: $0, they’re on pasture in lush grass requiring no additional feed
Breeding equipment: $0, this was already claimed as a tax write off for your business so ultrasound and chute fees don’t cost you, the owner, anything but your time, plus you don’t check them before flipping them
Listing price: $9,500 as an “exposed” mare
Profit: $6,000
Now let’s breakdown another scenario.
Let’s go with a grade, or poorly papered $800 auction mare bought by a recipient mare farm:
Mare cost: $800
Stud fee: $0 - your client has already paid for this directly to the stud/mare owner
Embryo fee: $0 - again, the client has already paid this directly
Recipient Mare Deposit: $1,350+, non-refundable
Feed: $20+ per day, paid for by the client
Breeding Fees: $500+ for each embryo flush, $250+ for each embryo transfer
Recipient Mare Fee: $4,350+, another $2,500+ in fees should the mare die, another $5,000+ should you choose to keep the recipient mare after weaning
Profit: Ridiculous, considering most of these recipient mare farms have 50+ mares, some advertising owning over 100+ recipient mares
And these are the facilities you’re taking mares home from that have not had dental work in years, or ever. Not had their feet trimmed in years, or ever. Not had a blood panel work up for dietary issues, EPM. lymes, etc. EVER. I’m not saying every recipient farm or every mass breeder fails to provide adequate care for these mares, but the unfortunate reality is that most do not have the time or resources to do the bare minimum.
I mentioned in part 1, I own 12 mares. Getting a farrier to come out and trim all 12 at once is impossible. Getting a farrier who is patient enough for some of these mares who we’d prefer not to drug and have our vet’s farrier manage, is even more difficult to find. And the entire horse industry knows how great farriers are at communication, so scheduling in advance is unheard of these days. Not only that, but 3/5/7/9 month vaccinations for all pregnant mares is not cheap. It’s $40/less per horse if you can do it yourself. So, the cost adds up, especially when you’re providing your mares with the bare minimum care. It’s even more expensive when you go above and beyond for you mare herd. BUT it’s literally the least they deserve. After countless hands and owners, pastures and stalls and states traveled to and through, I can’t fathom looking at any of my mares as “just a broodmare.” I’m attached to each and every one of them, I know their quirks, I know their personalities, I know that some like strawberries and apples, and others prefer Standlee’s Apple Berry Cookie Cubes, and I know where every mare’s favorite scratchy spot is.
I hate the idea of selling them, though we are moving and I know I can’t keep them all because I can’t move them all 15+ hours away. I don’t make decisions for my mares lightly and I don’t flip them for a quick dollar. More often than not, I am taking a loss to make sure they find an incredible home, and I will continue to do that while in the process of preparing to move. I’ve done that for every horse that’s come through my hands so far. What’s important to me at the end of the day, or in this case at the end of a sale, is the horse’s happiness.
One of six of our favorite “old ladies” a 19yo retired mare recently turned broodmare
These are the rantings of a “newer” breeder to the industry who hopes to see a positive change, and will continue to provide that positive change to her herd. Let’s be better, and do better, as an industry. It’s the least the horse deserves.
