.....it is a similar correlation to be mirrored as to race horse ownership.....as many of these breeders were in fact race horse owners that perpetuated their ownership into the offspring of the mares that they sent to stud.... :oops:
Sad as this is it is no different from most other industries in South Africa where consolidation, mergers, acquisitions and liquidations are the order of the day given the sad state of our economy and mass ineptness in governance.
In the case of racing this demise has been perpetuated by a negative economic model for the sport which was bred out of desperation rather than desire.
Hoping that the lifting of our protocols will be the catalyst for a growth in breeding as our horses will be favored by overseas buyers from jurisdictions such as HK and Singapore.
Registered breeder numbers are not the most important measure.
The number of broodmares and hence number of foals produced has not dropped by much. A few years ago, farming activity was ring-fenced for tax purposes, and so many small breeders who previously could offset breeding losses against other income could no longer do so. I think that this has been a significant factor behind the reduction in numbers of the smaller owner-breeders.
Farming itself has become much more concentrated in the hands of large agri-businesses, and there were lots of smaller farmers who used to breed horses on the side that are now out of farming.
There are also breeders who don't bother to register in their own names, but keep a few mares under the name of a boarding stud.
The real tragedy over the past few years is the alarming drop in the profitability of breeding for the mid-sized commercial breeders. This is directly related to the fall off in smaller owners who made up the "middle market".
The following user(s) said Thank You: Sylvester, Pirhobeta
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