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Are there any professional horse breeders out there? Could you help?!?

I am planning on getting into breeding well-bred Anglo Arabs. It is something that I would like to do as a future career. I was wondering how you professional horse breeders got started, what made you decide what to breed, why did you decide to breed in the first place, how did you get more knowledge on what your breeding, ect? I want to know everything! Did you talk to professional breeders, get advise from them? Please, only people who have 'been there, done that' answer! Thank you! Also, if you know of any web sites or books, please let me know! Just to give you a little more info to go by, I will not be sending the horses to a trainer. I have broke horses in the past and can do it again! And also, I know the cost involved. I have raised horses for several years now. Thank you to those who have answered!

Public Comments

1. Here are some things to think about... determine that there is a market for the horses you are breeding. (My sis breeds sport horses and ended up moving the whole operation to an area where there are more shows and more customers. It was this or give up the farm. Very expensive move but proving to be worth it) are you going to keep a stallion on your property or use AI? Stallions require specialized knowledge and care. Are you up to safely breeding mares. Not easy work at all times. do you own your own place or will you need to board your horses out? Some breeding stations/farms offer mare care and foaling services. Kind of pricey. Great if you can do it at home. You'll need a barn with foaling stalls, a vet on call, paddocks for mares/foals and weaning etc. What are your goals? Lots of nice horses out there. How do you know which one really will stand out in a breeding program. No sense perpetuating mediocrity. Are you prepared to be at the farm 24/7? Good help can be hard to find. You will be tied to the farm. Prepared to make some hard decisions? Horses get sick and injured. Broodmares and foals are susceptible too. Sometimes you will have to make choices that will be based on economics and not just what is in your heart. Blessed Are The Broodmares is a great book. Don't expect to get wealthy. The costs are enormous and the returns can be slow to come in. Do your research. If you can apporach this as a business as well as a labour of love you can make it work.
2. i am not exactly what i would call a professional breeder but i do breed Arabians on a small scale so i will do my best to help you out,basicly my choice of horse was because i have always loved the breed,it definatly wasn't because everyone wants one around here and i thought i would become rich quick,most people in my area wrinkle thier nose at the idea of owning an arabian i live in Quarter horse country,Arabs can be high strung,one person horses with ideas of thier own and can sometimes be smarter than the average owner,but anyway i chose them by personal good experiences with the breed and by the fact they are magnificent animals to look at,i chose to breed because i was looking for a stay at home job and hobby and i love horses and wanted to better the breed and help their reputation around here,i did a lot of research on bloodlines on the internet,voraciously read every thing i could find on the breed,visited other Arab breeding farms and talked to them,most breeders do not mind helping out a fellow breeder,but there are those out there who would rather hurt you than help,a breeder who is perfectly willing to let you spend hours talking about and going over bloodlines is a great asset to you,a person willing to help set you up with a great starter breeding pair of horses is always nice too,but even if you just find yourself a nice mare or stud with the right bloodlines you have a good start,you can have your mare bred and keep the foal for future breeding stock,or if you have a stud you can stud your boy out for the time being until you can aquire a few good mares from his stud fees as far as web sites i just google everything,if you want to know about the breed type in your breed choice if you want to know how to establish a horse breeding facility type that in,the interenet is an incredible learning tool,hope this helped you out
3. The first answer gives you a lot of good advice. Also, are you capable of training your own colts, or will you have to send them to a trainer? This can really run up your costs. And since you will get an average of one really good colt to about 5 average ones, you have to be able to bear the cost that the average colts eat as much as a really good one. And will not bring as much money. We had four broodmares that we bred to top rated stallions. (two each year) It took us a couple of breedings to see what worked good on our mares. And then you have to wait and see how the foals turn out. Just because a foal is pretty, does not indicate that they will have brains or talent. And since horse prices has fallen, we have sold three of them, and just kept the oldest and best bred one. She is not bred, but still eating. Plus the fact, that stallions come and go in who is "hot and everybody wants one" to who is not so hot anymore. A stud who is winning will be good for about 2 years of breeding on his merits alone and then if his colt crop does nothing, the breeders will start going elsewhere. Hope this helps.
4. Ive raised and bred horses. Im sure if you have too, then you do realize the cost involved, and the greater cost of starting an actual buisness. I would do reasearch on ALL breeds, or at least some others similar to the ones your are planning on breeding, just so you can 'expand your view'. Meaning: that it is very easy to look at a breed, decide your going to breed it, when maybe something similar would be better suited for you. After doing that, I would check out or buy as many books on that breed you can find! One can never have too much info! Then, google champion breeders, or even a few small scale breeders to get advise from experts. After doing that, I would find a job,