Cornbread Thinks: Breed ’em all…

Good mares will put the chassis and drivetrain on the ground, the stud is the power and shiny part. They must complement each other. It’s fun to go to the herd on a first foal crop baby, that is, if it’s any good. I often see the same rules broken in breeding as in purchasing. “I can’t afford a $3,000 breeding fee, so I went to a grandson for $500.” That difference is about two months training or a major event entry fee. Poor odds. Spend early. Spend smart.

A $25,000 breeding fee stud will not automatically produce an eight-times better baby either. He may well be the worst possible cross on your mare. Strive for a balance. Seek professional help. I need to say this again. Don’t ask them to do your thinking. Ask them to help you do your own thinking. Ask them why they like, not what.

For every Seabiscuit story, there are a thousand “Don’t want to talk about it”s and a million excuses… got hurt, trainer was stupid, bad cows or never the same after the aliens brought her back. You know what a trainer wants in a horse? The same thing any teacher wants in any student – trainability, intelligence and a desire to learn and please. Malleable. They want all that other stuff, too – cowy, athletic, geometry, etc. – but that stuff is useless when they are stupid or hardheaded. Again, you are wasting everyone’s time, and you aren’t learning if you don’t ask why.

You have to be ruthless in culling. The money tied up in a bad decision is plenty bad, but it pales next to the emotional beating, wasted time and distraction that comes with them. Making good time going the wrong direction most nearly always won’t get you where you want to be. Sell them to somebody that thinks they are smarter than everyone. Give them away. Put them in a sale. Hint: Do not go to the sale.

One of my “filters” is I can be wrong. As a matter of fact, I’m wrong a lot. If I didn’t have Buttermilk for back up, I would have lost this writing gig a long time ago. I hate to be wrong. The good thing about that is I work real hard to prevent it. Knowing you can be wrong means you know whom to hold responsible. You can actually improve your record on being wrong.

Cornbread Thinks: Ignorance and stupidity are only separated by awareness.