Less about lineage but still about breeding, lines, etc. I am slowly decreasing the size of my broodmare band and hoping to be a little more strict. Out of curiosity, how do you decide who to keep and who to let go? No more than 2 daughters by the same stud? Must have 70% OTB? Black type? Whoever you fell in love with while racing them? And what about the horses who bombed but their lines are good?
The #1 piece of advice that has stuck with me over the years is a comment Shanthi once made, which was along the lines of, āif Iām no longer excited to breed a mare, I sell her.ā This has been useful, but Iām curious if anyone else has expectations for their broodmare band members.
I think I have a difference between what I think my broodmare criteria should be and what I actually do as Iām a terrible hoarder and I really struggle to let go of mares that have been part of the team for a long time.
Ideally I like them to be stakes level, MSP or better if possible (for unranked/maiden mares). Having said that, some of my best ranked mares at the moment have no stakes placings - I think one of my Platinum mareās record is āwinner, mult. placedā for example.
In the past I havenāt been too fussy about having multiple mares by the same stallion although I might have to review that as more of the fillies by my resident studs start to retire to broodmares. I tend to ācollectā mares from damlines that I like - again I probably need to review that as I start getting too many closely related descendants (especially if theyāre fillies).
Haha, same here!
I like mine to have at least Champion title, and I wanted them to be Allowance level or better on all distances and surfaces (and at least try steeplechase). I used to want them to run at least 30 races injury-free, but Iām not so strict about that now. I do want them to be relatively consistent.
Iām more willing to retire a mare than sell her, if her offspring doesnāt run well. Next year Iām planning to retire seven, and sell three after foaling.
My problem is that every time I start a ācriteriaā I get a SW/consistent allowance horse out of a well-bred but dud-running mare. Doesnāt do much to encourage me to weed my herd. Also Iāve sold off some ādudā mares that go on to produce shining stars.
@rainee Oh good, itās not just me! Iāve sold off several mares who went on to become gold or platinum rated once their babies got older. A lot of them were from decent lines but hadnāt been stellar on the track - at my earliest stage, thoughts went like this: āWell, she didnāt start racing until 5 so maybe she could have been great at 2/3/4?ā - even from created lines.
Nowadays, I try to cull my herd based on specific traits I want to breed for: peak @ 3, classic distances, flat runner. If the mare herself hasnāt performed in those areas, maybe a 1/2 sibling or dam did well, or maybe she set a speed record or two in that category. But then there are always exceptions - favorites get to stay. Now that more of my mares/mare candidates are related, Iām starting to decide which ones to cull from particular lines - typically based on sires and/or performance. Sometimes itās too hard to choose, so I keep both/all. Also, Iām not great at culling, so maybe disregard everything Iāve said thus far.
Usually once Iāve had a chance to race a mareās offspring and they donāt do well in the first couple years, I tend to sell them and/or her (especially if Iāve gotten a couple fillies from her by then).
I usually require my mares to be stakes level (of some sort) to retire them to my broodmare band. Iāll make exceptions if theyāre the only filly I own from a nice mare, or they raced late, or I can somehow otherwise talk myself into wanting their babies
Once theyāre dropping foals I usually evaluate once theyāre on their 3rd/4th racing foalā¦by then the oldest should have a mostly-established racing career, and the second oldest is on their second season so I can get a sense of whether theyāre throwing nice babies or crap. I try not to keep Bronze level mares in my band unless - again - I can talk myself into it. Since I have so many mares/foals, though, Iām usually trying to talk myself into keeping mares rather than talking myself into not keeping them. This has led me to sell some that have turned into really nice producers, but I find that bothers me less than selling racers that blossom in another barn (I suppose because I figure I might not have chosen to cross mare X with stud Y, so superfoal Z wouldnāt have existed, vs not thinking to try foal Z on turf to realise heās a superstar).
This is all very interesting and quite helpful! While it didnāt help me to absolutely cut a number of mares based on any one criteria (because I will also make exceptions to keep what-ifās and favorites) it definitely helped me select several mares to let go of next summer. Once they foal. Because I want the baby, haha.
Ultimate goal is trying to get under 90 mares but as certain favorites near retirement from the track, wellā¦
