Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SniperSB23
Lot of good points. I don't think mares should have to wait until 5 or 6 but I don't think it would be a terrible idea to force stallions to. I still think the best idea is to limit books by age. A 3yo can only cover 20 mares, 4yo can only cover 60, 5yos and up can cover 100. That way you aren't forcing injured horses to wait but at the same time there is less incentive to retire a sound 3yo.
|
I can't help but think that the high insurance premiums will likely nip that in the bud though. I shudder to think what might happen to some horses in lieu of waiting out that retirement to stud, provided they don't get sold to the unregulated Japanese or Saudi markets. Possibly even hidden deals to the Aussies in exchange for them being sold back later. I'm sure they'll get creative and even more sure we'll lose perfectly good prospects that shouldn't be punished because counterparts are unsound. The people breeding and selling these animals should be more responsible, there's no way of getting around that. I wouldn't be opposed to getting rid of the grotesque 150-200 mare books. It's economically unsound, nevermind irresponsible to the horses.