How to prevent so many being slaughtered....

Clinton Anderson paid 28k for a stallion with amazing bloodlines..... as soon as he got him, he gelded him.

He said the horse made a good stallion but a great gelding. He also said that although the horse had fabulous bloodlines, he saw no need to breed him because there is already too many horses. He also said that he believes only horses that are the top of their breed should be bred.

I agree.

That's really good. ;) Too many horses are being bred with bad bloodlines.

Something that was once said to me "Why breed and hope that you get what you want, instead of just buying a foal that's exactly what you want".

Quit breeding. Why breed and hope you get what it is you want, when you can buy exactly what you want.

I agree and disagree with you.
I think that's its riducles that people are breeding a mare right after she has a foal on her foal heat.
And breeding them over and over so that they have at least 8 foals there whole life.
But I wouldnt blame backyard breeding for the whole problem.
Im not trying to sound rude or anyting. But im really sick of hearing, only top dollar horses should be allowed to have a foal.
IF that was true, then I wouldnt have my mare. And I wouldnt have a horse at all. Im not going to pay 1200 dollars for a horse that I just want to ride. And im not experinced enough to take one from the shelter that has been treated god knows how.
But I do plan on breeding my untop dollar super star horse. And I plan on teaching the foal, to ride and to jump. I do not plan on going into shows.
Or selling her, or abanding her.
Why is it ok for top dollar horses to take the risk of all the stuff pregnacny comes with, but its not ok for just a trail horse to.
Yes I know there are to many horses. But that also has to do with no one buying them right now because they can't affored to care for them. And to the fact that horse slaughter has been shut down in the US. So now there are to many. Even horses, not just foals. Untraned, untamed horses, that wont be fed and will die. Isntead it should be done humanly. Just because some people don't like the fact that a hrose is slaughter for food doesnt mean that we don't need it. And yes hores can do more things then other animals. But I don't think that means they have to suffer because someone can't feed them.
And another thing that bugs me is how people think oh its fine for top dollar horses to breed. But since they want foals out of them they take a regular horse breed them at the same time. So we have a top dollar male and female breeding and a regular male and femal breeding. So they will have foals together. That way when the top dollar foal is born, and the regular foal is born they can kill the regular foal so that the top dollar foal can nurse of his mom, while they rebreed the top dollar foal. Yea that seems real right. Just because its a top dollar foal!

Personally, I am tired of everyone blaming the "backyard breeder". What about the BIG breeders who breed hundreds of horses looking for "The One"!? I am a small time breeder. I breed 2-4 horses per year. (I have cut back) I generally have a waiting list for my babies. I have a rep in my community for breeding correct, level headed foals who are easily trained, but are affordable. I have yet to find ANY of my babies who arent with their original owner. Yet you'll have me believe that it is MY fault horses are going to slaughter? Sorry. I don't think so. I think that there are many factors and overbreeding is only one of them.

Look at the racing industry. Thousands of foals are born looking for the next Derby winner. Or the PMU horses. Where a foal is only a byproduct from collecting pregnant mare urine.

Another factor IMO in all the idiots out there who think they can train horses and because they can't they ruin horses. (both mentally and physicaly) Then theres those who train too early and ruin a horse due to overuse on a young horses body.

Yes, there will always be idiots who breed a terrible mare to a worse stallion. But just screaming at them to "JUST STOP BREEDING" will get you nowhere. I know I wouldn't listen to you. Call me a horrible person, but I don't think that only high dollar horses should be bred. If that was the case, most of you wouldn't be owning one. It would turn back to being a sport only for "Kings". Personally, I'm glad I have mine.

There is an evaluation system for Icelandic horses. Of course it's not legally binding, they still can't stop substandard horses from being bred but I think it does help. It allows breeding horses to be compared easily and it's useful for buying a horse too. If you're a member of a breed organization why not suggest they implement a grading system?

I so appreciate you starting this thread, I think any ideas are welcome that will end the excess of horses. I have a nice mare, but will never breed her for this reason. The same as all my rescue dogs are fixed. We are killing far too many innocent animals all due to human ignorance.

The high stud fee stallions are not always the best stallions nor are the highest priced mares always the best. The highest priced yearlings or 2 year olds sometimes are flops and the offspring of the less famous turn out better. The Green Monkey sold for $16 million dollars and never won a race. After doing lots of research I believe that you should not judge a stallion by his stud fee or a horse by their purchase price. Some people with lots of money do not know a good horse and there are things wrong with some horses like fragile bones which can only be seen by using a bone density scan just like they do for people who may have osteosporosis. According to AP thousands of race horses have been euthanized with fractures. The filly Eight Belles who was euthanized after the Kentucky Derby with 2 fractures was sired by a horse who fractured his leg and was retired to stud and his stud fee is $150,000.

I support the idea of a stallion grading system. I'm not saying that every male horse should be subjected to a test and then gelded if they don't pass. However, I believe that if a stallion could have some kind of grading done that certifies him with his breed registry or whatever, that could be added to his 'resume' and I believe that, over time, with increased education of the masses on this subject, such a certification would become a major factor in the potential breeders choice of stallion. I don't think it's right that a horse should be allowed to be registered just because his parents are. There are so many horses out there that the owner slaps on the registry initials on his sale/stud ad, and that gives the novice buyer/back yard breeder some falsified idea of grandeur for this horse.

You may think that this will drive the price up on horses. I kind of think that if you don't have the money to be able to save enough over a matter of months, then you probably don't have the money to support the horse for the rest of his life. Think about it. Let's say you're able to save $200 per month. After 5 months, you could buy a $1000 horse. If you're not able to put aside $150-$200 per month, what makes you think you're going to be able to afford a horse month-to-month?

I think one issue is the lack of knowledge for most novice horse owners. They may think, oh I've got a mare that I can't ride because of (injury/lack of training/etc.). I know! I'll breed her. So they look at ads find a stallion in the colour/breed they like, see the little $200-$500 price tag of this 'inferior' stallion and think, I can afford that much! Or "That's way cheaper than buying an adult horse!" And then nevermind the added costs of a pregnant mare for 11 months, or the added costs of a foal that they have to maintain for 2-3 years before they can even think about starting to train them to ride.

However, I think the bigger issue is those huge breeders that pump out foal after foal. There is no way that those foals are going to have the training they need to make them viable pleasure riding animals. It's just not possible for those breeders to give each individual foal the time. And then those foals don't sell because they aren't as well trained as the foal in the next pen over at the auction.

Anyway, that was long, and I'm not sure I really added to much to the argument but I felt the need to express my opinion. Thanks for reading if you managed to get through it.