What is the reality of breeding horses?
Rant or Rave?
What do you rant about? What do your rave about?
If you answer these two questions, you may be able to uncover why you decided to breed horses (or not).
Do you have feedback on the horses you breed? What do your buyers rave or rant about? Ranting might be about what other breeders are doing (or not doing) which leads to awful advertising, or poor training or neglectful homes for horses. And if you’re bothered by this, do you think there are others bothered in the same way?
If you knew this, as a breeder, would you try to do the opposite? Would you try to do the best you can do, whether it be in advertising, training them or finding homes for your horses?
Of course!
You want to do it right! You want to succeed, and not be one of those which people rant about. You want to be someone who is committed to doing the right thing, both for your horses and your clients. You will gain great pleasure from seeing the results of both, and you will always find a ready market for your horses.
So we have polarization. We connect with those deeply who share our own interests or raves, but we actually have deeper connections with those who share our rants. “I feel the same way too.” We don’t want to be part of the things that make us uncomfortable, or dislike - we differentiate. That is human nature.
In The Thinking Horse Breeder, I have not shied away from telling readers how it really is in the horse breeding world. In knowing the way it must not be, in knowing what really matters to keep and breed horses, in knowing what matters to your buyers, you will become part of an “elite” group of people who will know where they are headed, who will succeed at what they are doing, because they are taking the right actions, to differentiate themselves, to be successful.
We will speak boldly about our key values, or what makes a responsible breeder. We become thinkers, problem-solvers, action-takers to light the way and mentors, by example. We become fully empowered to express ourselves, (in a polite way) no matter what, to stand up for what is right (peaceful protest) and have the back of others doing the same (open support).
There are so many unwanted horses out there, and I have been criticized for writing a book which encourages more breeding of horses. Not so, because those who have read it will know that I only encourage thinking breeders, and responsible breeding practices. This is why my book is different from other books on horse breeding. The reality is, no-one wants more unwanted horses, in either the off-the-track scenario or the general equestrian scene. There is an oversupply of poor quality, unsound or un-educated horses. There always has been. But good quality, well trained, sound animals will always have a home. They always do. This is reality!
Don’t make the mistake of being one of those breeders who is not in the “right” group.
I write about these things so you can stay on track, and take action, knowing where you are headed because you “get it.” You must be willing to go deep into your commitment, your study, your practices, your understanding of horses. Connect deeply with your purpose and make sure your goals are in alignment with that. Become empowered!
Good horses and good clients fire us up. It’s an ongoing process to gain absolute clarity in this. Perhaps you feel stuck. Unleash your purpose, and if you have already unleashed it, connect deeper with it. The Thinking Horse Breeder should help you with that breakthrough you need to go to the next level.
You don’t need a high IQ. It is not rocket science. Anyone can be a successful horse breeder, and I know you can be too following the principles in this book. You just need commitment (passion), and action (no excuses). What inspires you?
I challenge you to share here in the comments, reply to this email, or write on social media something about your “why.” Why do you do what you do? You may be surprised at the impact it has simply because you have put it “out there”. I would love to hear your results. Good luck.