and stallion...and heaven knows, I'll NEVER recoup the cost of my > barn, sheds, fences, etc! I've done it so far for the joy of the foals, and > for the love of the breed, and no way can I ever expect a penny for the > many, many hours I've invested. > > Hello, my name is Karen, and I'm an Icelandic Horse-aholic... This is my > passion, m addiction, but even I have my limits on how much money I'll lose > in the name of breeding horses...:)
Amen to that! However, I do feel that good foals should be priced to take the cost for mares, stallions and overhead into consideration. No one, not even those of us who can, will continue breeding if it involves continuous huge losses of money. That's just not being realistic. In the past, (with a few exceptions) I have charged $ 3000 for 8-month-old (that is normal weaning time for me) - 12-month-old colts and $ 4,000 for fillies of the same age. But even then, I don't break even most of the time. For me, the joy of watching foals being born and growing up (it's better than watching television) balances a reasonable loss. My other excuse is the sharing part. I know that happiness will come to those who buy Icelandics - most of the time. I have seen time and again how Icelandics have caused life style changes in families, pulling families closer together, going out into nature more and also perpetuating and spreading of Icelandics making people happy. Anneliese
