One prediction I made was a major decline in quality of available stock due to qualified knowledgeable breeders jumping the sinking ship in mass. Leaving the clueless, hobbyist hoarder types being the only people left that think breeding horses might be a profitable venture. Unfortunately, I already see it happening in full force.
The well meaning but ill advised clamored to shut down the plants here and all it accomplished was to make the long hauling over the borders so far for slaughter bound horses that the kill buyers deduct the cost of shipping out of the price paid at the auction. For all practical purposes this has in turn crippled a viable and efficient outlet for undesirable, and/or low market value animals. Not only that, it did so without a single restriction on the breeders that are producing the thousands upon thousands of such animals in place beforehand. Dumb, dumb, dumb, move.
This in turn has greatly added to the phenomena of the super cheap or free horse which has itself literally exploded. Which I might add previously did not even exist. Horses have fallen from the status of an expensive novelty for the well to do, to that of a costly liability with little more bottom line value than a stray dog or cat. "hay burners" Whether anyone wants to believe it or not it affects us all, with the only possible exception being the horses at the very, very, top of the food chain. i.e. race horses
We will continue to suffer this situation until either #1- the Govt is forced to restrict who can breed, and how many,( keeping real supply in check with the real demand). Or... #2 Individual states re-open horse processing facilities to deal with the over-populations they have and people continue to produce. My state of Ar is one such state currently proposing legislation to do just that.
We as horse owners are going to have to decide which way we want it, because this mess is not going away without some real solutions being put into place. I'm very sorry to hear about another long time breeder folding up shop and another cutting down to bare bones. I myself gelded two of our three stallions and am selling the third.
Karen G www.princesscarriage.com
--- On Tue, 2/9/10, haflingerhorse@hotmail.com <haflingerhorse@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: haflingerhorse@hotmail.com <haflingerhorse@hotmail.com>
Subject: [haflingerfriends] Haflinger Breeders???
To: haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 2:30 PM
Hey everyone. In the past three days I have heard of two Haflinger breeders (they owned four or more mares) who are done with the Haflinger breed. One is completely finished, and the other is keeping a couple Haflingers but has purchased friesans. Even our farm, having 9 broodmares, and 6 foals last year, are now down to two foals coming and just two broodmares, we have sold or given away the others. Considering that only around 600 Haflinger foals were registered last year, as compared to at some points 2000 a year, it is to me, getting a bit scary. There aren't to many Haflinger breeders left only a handful that I know of who are still breeding. What is this breed to do? Do you think with the resulting 'shortage' of Haflingers that will be coming in the next 2-3 years, the prices will go back up? Or, are you afraid (as I am) that the breeders are getting out, but the backyard breeders will continue and the quality of the breed will suffer?
I pose this as a discussion only, I am not surprised with these breeders getting out, as we have drastically cut back from our highest number of Haflingers at 38, down to 10 Haflingers total. I am just a bit worried as to if the breeders are leaving, where it will leave our beloved Haflinger, and in who's hands?
Jacque in Ohio
Woodward Performance Haflingers
www.hfbhaflingers. com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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