Hunka, hunka burnin' love

I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, mare owners have wondered what would happen if they bred their girl. I have to admit I've wondered about that myself. Not seriously, of course. I'm NOT EVER, ever, ever breeding Gwen. I love her but she's not breeding quality. But in the land of make believe you can do whatever you want, like pair her with a thoroughbred stallion like this one standing oh so close by.

Pick Six

Isn't he a handsome gent? His L/S joint is perfect, he's fairly level balanced, and his front legs are slightly bucked- which could offset Gwen's calf knees. For a Dynaformer son, his cover fee of $2000 probably isn't that bad.

Or, since this really is just dreaming and never going to happen I might as well aim high. Like Quality Road high.

Quality Road

Not only is he eye-popping gorgeous, but I hear he's got a personality to match. My vet worked with Quality Road at the track and loves him to pieces, which says good things about him. His stud fee is $35K, I could swing that, right? Hahahahahaahhaha, moving on...

What about a warmblood?

Royal Prince

Compared to Quality Road, this hanoverian's cover fee is a steal at only $2200. He's got a super nice shoulder with a 90 degree angle and enough room to pull his scapula back to give him clearance over fences, not to mention a long humerus. I might get a jumper if I crossed him with my girl.

How about a warmblood with glitz and glamor- who lives about ten miles from where the Quarters were born?

Parcival

This KWPN is downright cheap at $1000 a cover. Between him and Gwen, I'd almost be guaranteed a copper chestnut with lots of white. I don't necessarily need the bling, but I'm a sucker for redheads.

You know, quarabs are generally thought of as a nice cross too. What about this arabian stallion?

Norphe

This is a racing stallion, apparently if you want an arabian with bone you should look into the racing lines, there's no flimsiness in this horse at all. He's $2000 a cover but he looks worth it, at least I think so.

Again, this is not going to happen, this is just stuff I daydream about when I'm bored at work and want to look at pretty horses. Rationally if I wanted to get a foal from one of these stallions I'd be much better off buying someone else's successful gamble than to try to breed my own mare. Especially one with legs like Gwen.

I decided to take a look at their get for sale, and guess what? Everything I could find from these boys started at $10K (This is Quality Road and Parcival's first year at stud, Quality Road's get might take millions at auction.). Most of us cannot afford to pay that much for a horse who could break down at any time. Think weddings: the more expensive the wedding the shorter the marriage lasts.

Which seems like the better deal at first glance? Two thousand a cover or $10K for an already existing horse? Looking at those numbers I can understand why some people would want to breed their own, despite the long range costs whether you get the foal you want or not. Personally, I'm not going to risk it. Maybe I'll start perusing the web for an OTA (off track arabian), the Quarters might be in need of a companion by the end of the year...