1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 January Voice RS | Page 76
What prompted this discussion was a series of com
plaints to various breeders that mares were not being
cared for while maintained for service. Many mare
owners stated that their stock was being returned in
a run-down condition and was not properly fed. This
prompted many stallion owners to ask themselves,
"What should we charge to assure a mare owner that
his fine stock will receive the best attention while in
our care?*' The answer was not too hard to find when
they got right down to the dollars and cents of caring
for mares and colts during breeding season. With this
in mind, several Middle Tennessee breeders, and, I
might add, a lot of out-of-state breeders also, have
arrived at what they feel is a reasonable amount for
such care. Their suggested figures are as follows:
Mare on pasture - SI.00 per day; Mare and colt on
pasture - S1.50 per day; Mare on feed in stall or in
pasture - S50.00 per month; and Mare and colt on
feed in stall or in pasture - $60.00 per month. They
also felt that breeders should follow a policy that has
proven popular in other breeds with regard to pay
ment of stud fees. The suggestion was to collect one-
half of the stud fee when the mare is serviced and the
balance when she is declared in foal. This proposal
has been widely accepted by many breeders, large
and small, as can be seen by their promotion in this
issue.
Breeding is a Fifty-Fifty Proposition
“Talk Abut
GRASS DON’T COST MUCH . . . BUT
Some interesting observations have been brought to
our attention recently regarding the cost for main
taining broodmares and mares with colts during breed
ing season. The specific situation under discussion was
"'exactly hove much does it cost, for a stud farm to
maintain mares and colts while they are on the prem
ises for service?'*' Your editor was amazed at the prob
lems of the stud barns with regard to this subject.
It had always been our impression that maintaining
a mare on a pasture was relatively easy and cost the
stud farm little or nothing to keep up. We also feit
that if a. Little grain and hay was thrown out occasion
ally it would be sufficient to keep a mare in good
shape and wouldn't cost much. Neither of these as
sump