BearHill AB

Idag har vi haft besök av Lars Lindvall för lite fina fötter.

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💭 EVERYONE IS SELLING THE DREAM—BUT WHO IS TALKING ABOUT THE REALITY?

I may not agree 100% with everything that was said, and I absolutely believe certain responses took the conversation too far. But underneath the personalities and emotions, there is a legitimate industry discussion worth having. I believe there is a place for everyone at the table—from the largest, highest-dollar programs to the smallest breeders trying to build something meaningful with limited resources. The reality, however, is that many of the biggest programs operate with a revolving door of clientele. Only a small percentage of those clients will remain long-term or have the financial resources to continuously play at that level. Many will invest heavily for one or two breeding seasons, realize how difficult it is to make their money back, and quietly step away. That doesn’t necessarily mean they failed. Sometimes that is simply part of the learning process.

But we also need to be honest about what is being sold. Everyone is selling the dream: breed to the fashionable stallion, buy the expensive mare, produce the next superstar, and watch the money roll in. The reality is much different.

There is a seemingly endless number of Metallic Cat and Stevie Rey Von offspring, Gunner-bred horses, Dash For Cash-bred horses, and Frenchmans Guy offspring. Depending on which part of the Western performance horse industry you’re involved in, the names may change—but the saturation is still there. Every discipline has its handful of dominant stallions and bloodlines that seem to appear in nearly every pedigree. There are countless beautifully bred horses by the hottest stallions and out of the industry’s most accomplished, highest-producing mares, yet only a very, very small percentage of them will become genuinely successful.

This ties directly back to my previous stallion post: opportunity enhances the possibility of success, but it does not guarantee it. Big-name stallions are more likely to be bred to the industry’s top mares. Their offspring are more likely to be owned by people with substantial financial resources, placed with leading trainers, nominated into major programs, and given every possible opportunity to succeed. Smaller stallions rarely receive that same quality or quantity of opportunity.

When a stallion covers hundreds—or even thousands—of mares, the numbers alone make it more likely that he will sire winners. That does not diminish those successful horses, but total winners and success rate are not the same thing. We need to ask: How many mares did he cover? What caliber of mares were they? How many offspring actually reached the show pen? What percentage became successful—not simply how many? Opportunity creates visibility, and visibility often gets mistaken for genetic superiority.

Siring winners on a smaller scale can actually be more difficult. A smaller stallion may cover fewer mares and may not ever receive the industry’s best mares, and will definitely have fewer offspring placed into elite training and show programs. He has fewer chances to sire that standout horse in the first place. A stallion siring several successful horses from a limited number of foals may be telling us something important—but those horses can easily be overlooked because the total numbers aren’t as flashy.

A pedigree can create opportunity, but it cannot guarantee talent, soundness, trainability, marketability, or success. It certainly cannot guarantee profitability. That is why there should still be room for different programs, different budgets, different bloodlines, and different definitions of success. The industry does not need everyone breeding the same mares to the same handful of stallions while chasing the same dream. There is room at the table for everyone, but we should be honest about the price of the seat, the opportunities certain horses receive, and the odds of actually winning the game—let alone actually breaking even.

So, when evaluating a stallion, are you looking at the number of winners—or the percentage of successful offspring compared with the opportunities he was actually given?

Pictured is Cyphers Dun On Fire reach out to Langdon Farms for breeding inquiries he’s the total package 🦄💓

Malte ville rida Smilla ikväll men mamman glömde ta kort 🙈 men vi fick iaf en nästan bild på Smilla och Hannah Rylander. Jag som tänkte de var kul men ny telefon men jag har nog lite att jobba på med fotograferingen. De var bättre förr med min gamla systemkamera, kanske måste damma av den igen 😄

Mercan var mest bara dräktig och trött idag, gräs var mest intressant 😅 så vi plockade lite stenar och kikade på Melinda och Hannah Rylander istället 😄

Ledig plats i veckan Boden-Hudiksvall 🙋‍♀️

Morgonträning med svidon, knott och mygg i massor 😅.

Älskade Star och älskade Lena Wiberg jobbar på så himla fint 😍
Nu har Star inte bara blivit stor i storleken utan på riktigt 🥰