Alice and Hannah
That neat idea I had eight years and thousands of dollars ago is only now paying off with what I originally set out to produce: My next show hunter. | Photo: Alexandra Beckstett

While I was interviewing theriogenologists Drs. Ben Espy (DVM, Dipl. ACT) and Ryan Ferris (DVM, Dipl. ACT) for the Responsible Breeders feature, several of their tell-it-how-it-is statements hit close to home. Their overarching message was along the lines of, “Please don’t breed your mare if she’s not going to contribute anything positive to the equine industry.” Ironic, considering breeding exams and broodmare care are these practitioners’ bread and butter.

Even so, they’ve likely seen enough drained bank accounts, disappointed owners, and unwanted offspring to justify their advice. Heck, I wish someone had convinced me not to breed my retired Brandenburg hunter, Alice, eight years ago. I went down that road not once, but twice.

The first endeavor was laughable, now that I think back on it. Alice, although beautiful and well-bred, was bull-headed and tough to ride, with a chronically late lead change. Her baby-daddy-to-be was a local aging dressage stallion that I picked for sentimental reasons–he was a half-sibling to one of the most successful hunters I’d ever shown

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.