The High Costs of Stallions
by Pat Wolfe
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat Wolfe [mailto:pwolfe@istar.ca]
Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2002 9:23 PM
To: Fjord Digest
Subject: High cost of stallions
This message is from: Pat Wolfe <pwolfe@istar.ca>
THE HIGH COST OF STALLIONS
At just about every gathering of horse people, you can find a discussion
taking place somewhere concerning the high cost of breeding fees these
days and the unhealthy focus stallion owners have on blue ribbons.
Since I'm one of the stallion owners charging the fees and vying for
ribbons, I want to describe life on the other side of the fence.
Simply put, mare owners often don't recognize how much it costs to
import a stallion and then to realize that stallion's championship
potential. And without excellent stallions and mares, our breed will
not improve.
Over the past 16 years, I have imported four stallions from Europe: four
month old Hostar from Holland, two year old Marnix from Holland, three
year old Felix from Norway and three year old Prydarson (Sonny) from
Norway. All had high scores for conformation in their respective
countries. Later, in North America, every one of these stallions earned
an overall Grand Championship in halter and a Championship in driving.
Why did I go to Europe for stallions? I wanted to bring new bloodlines
into North America. I wanted to start with approved animals.
To get an idea of the costs involved, take Prydarson (Sonny), my most
recent import. He arrived on my farm a year ago to the tune of
$22,000. $8,000 was Sonny's price in Norway. Trucking him to Germany
cost $2000. The flight to Canada was $8,000 which included a brokerage
fee of $2000. Then the government fees and permits, import fees, vet
checks and quarantine fees took up the remaining $4,000.
Over and above these costs were the expenses of my trip to Norway, and
the salary for someone to teach my log building school while I was
away. That was another $3,000. When Sonny arrived in Canada, I had a
lot of money invested in this horse, as yet unproven in North America.
Every stallion owner has then to get out and make a name for his or her
horse.
With Sonny I was able to achieve my championship goal in just one
year. That doesn't always happen. The trip overseas puts a big
stress on horses and they all adapt differently. The trip from Norway
is a particularly long and gruelling one. The stallion arrives to
different ways of dealing with horses, a new language and new foods.
And then there is his ability to learn. Every horse is different and
you have no way of knowing in advance how long your newly imported
animal will take to settle in.
Other "special to stallion" fees you face are insurance fees. After all
your time and money, it's wise to consider insuring him, especially as
stallions seem to get into more mischief than other horses. $1500 a
year seems a middle of the road fee, although you will be surprised at
what it doesn't cover. If you're not a trainer yourself, there's the
cost of outside help, as well. And then, most important is promoting
your new find. Advertising costs are a must. The Fjord Herald charges
$165 a page and that's four times a year. You have all of the
photography and printing of hand outs to purchase. Making up a web site
for your stallion is another cost.
Meantime, you have all the regular bills to cover. Vet bills, farrier
bills and the feed costs will set you back $3,000 a year. A horse you
plan to show in the ring and to mare owners for prospective breedings
must be in good form at all times.
Shows are expensive to attend, especially if it takes in three or four
days and if you have to cross the border as I do. This year I attended
five shows and one evaluation. Two shows and one evaluation were in the
United States. To attend the Woodstock, Vermont show, for example, from
farm to the show and back home again cost me $2,000 to take Sonny. This
included show fees, gas, rooms, meals and someone to look after the farm
while I was away.
The Morrisville, New York Evaluation fees and related expenses were also
$2,000. I entered five different tests with Sonny and came home with
four blue ribbons, one red, a silver medallion and one gold medallion.
Each ribbon cost around $300. In conformation Sonny scored 87 points.
That makes him the high point stallion in the NFHR evaluation system and
well worth the outlay! However, this doesn't always happen so fast. It
can take years for the stallion to get enough exposure to make up for
the dollars spent to bring him home.
So when you hear the mare owners commenting on the high costs of
breeding fees and the intense interest in blue ribbons among the
stallion owners, give a thought to the high cost of stallion owning.
Sonny's breeding fee will be $1000 for 2003 but it will take a long time
to make up for this first year's investment. I feel strongly, however,
that bringing new bloodlines to North America will improve our chosen
breed.
I would like to make a few comments on what a blue ribbon means for a
breeder, but I will leave that for another post.
Pat from Ottawa Canada where the leaves are falling every day and there
is ice on the water pails in the morning.
