HOW many of you, as breeders, take the time to record or calculate expenditures on an enterprise basis, never mind on an individual mare/foal/three-year-old basis? When asked to identify average costs representative even just of production of the foal, it actually isn’t so easy.

Costs of production are highly variable between enterprises, animals, breeding seasons and breeding methods used. Variant stud fees; the need to acquire professional assistance in sales preparation or not; perhaps even land, building or machinery rental fees or loans on same may impact some enterprises and not others.

Mare depreciation, registration fees, sale entry fees, commission and veterinary costs are also widely variable. Whether natural covering, artificial insemination (and choice of semen – fresh, chilled or frozen); or embryo transfer is used, or one of the newer suite of technologies such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), ovum pick-up (OPU), or freezing of embryos, can have significant bearing on the variations in costs. On an enterprise basis, other costs such as running cost of vehicles; equipment; repairs and infrastructure investment; phone, heat, electricity and potentially even wages may need to be considered.

Knowledge is power

The saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ originating in Thomas Gray’s poem ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College’ (1742) comes to mind. ‘Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise’. Face it, you were better off not knowing that, weren’t you? But, generally speaking ‘ignorance’ is a not a good state of mind and ‘Knowledge is Power’.

Knowledge is provided by information; information leads to education, education breeds wisdom, and wisdom is liberation.

If we apply this to the topic of what are the costs (and returns or otherwise) of breeding horses, even though there might be initial pain in the knowledge for many, knowledge can offer the education and wisdom to perhaps alter decision-making.

The result may be to amend the breeding goal and change approach in terms of method of breeding/choice of stallion for an individual mare, or as may be warranted the option to cull/replace a mare in the enterprise.

If you don’t know your costs to begin with you are operating in an abyss, though at some level of consciousness there is likely to be an acknowledgement that profit is not being realised. In the words of Albert Einstein, ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’ and ‘the measure of intelligence is the ability to change’.

Table 1: husbandary of mare

Keep account

I encourage breeders to keep account of individual costs of production with a view to reviewing profitability at time of sale and potentially influencing decision-making regarding individual mares.

The majority of breeders are in the business of selling either foals or three-year-olds. This article focuses on the foal. Based on minimal recommended husbandry interventions (feed, bedding, veterinary etc) and assuming reasonable mare fertility, Teagasc estimates the average basal cost of producing a foal for auction to be in the region of €1,500 to €2,250. But, there are many variables and the end cost can be considerably higher.

The estimate encompasses the basic costs associated with managing the mare during her pregnancy and managing the foal but does not take into account the items mentioned above such as stallion stud fees, mare depreciation, and barren years. There will be variations within enterprises in the suggested costs below.

Non-reproductive clinical issues can also arise with either or both mare and foal.

Table 2: reproduction

Mares are individuals. The mare with optimal fertility will cost considerably less to breed than the mare with sub-optimal fertility requiring additional supportive treatment and potentially bred over multiple cycles. With frozen semen, the requirement to inseminate within six hours of ovulation increases the requirement for scanning pre-insemination and with the added complexity of variances in semen quality or compatibility with individual mares, and the much lower pregnancy rate, the costs tend to not remain at the lower end of the parameters possible. Only the very best genetic merit mares with optimum fertility (younger mares ideally) should be considered for frozen semen breeding to warrant the expenditures involved.

Stud fees

Stud fees are another highly variable input cost. Prices range from as little as €200 to as much as €3,000 with many sitting in the range €500 - €1,500. Terms and conditions of semen purchased are very important to consider. Buying semen per dose is high risk. The preference is to purchase pregnancy deals permitting unlimited attempts for one named mare in one breeding season.

With the growing use of A.I., mares are tending to be managed at home or at a veterinary practice, in many cases without incurring livery charges. However the cost of livery is another possible addition for some which can vary from as little as €6 per day to €15 a day, variant between maiden/barren mares and those with foals at foot. In some cases, mares are being shipped abroad to be bred, though these will tend to be the ones that warrant that investment on genetic merit.

Additional to the cost of semen will be semen shipping costs and health papers. Regarding frozen semen, some farms will charge a fee to hire and return the shipping container while others require the customer to provide the container and pay a fee for liquid nitrogen, or purchase a non-returnable container with liquid nitrogen.

Table3 foal to weanling

Embryo transfer

Embryo transfer veterinary costs for a pregnancy are estimated at €1,400 for a flush, transfer and pregnancy. However, there are additional costs of husbandry and synchronisation of recipient mares (multiple mares required) so the base cost of €1,400 is only the starting point. Synchronisation may cost as much as €200.

The embryo transfer recovery rate may be 100% for pregnant mares at seven-eight days, however pregnancy rates at this stage is dependant on semen choice – natural cover (80% recovery); chilled semen (65%), frozen (40%). Flushing a mare that is not pregnant does not yield an embryo but will still cost €300 per cycle.

Often the mares that are chosen for embryo transfer tend to be already with more than the desired number of years on the clock from a reproductive soundness/fertility perspective which challenges the control of costs.

In some cases, breeders are paying a rental fee for recipient mares which may include the preparation of the recipient, follicle controls, embryo transfer, follow-up care, pregnancy scanning and husbandry up to 60 days gestation.

In other cases, the fee covers up to 28-day heartbeat scan. In some instances there is a deposit fee built in to the cost which is returned when the mare comes home after foaling. Whether the hire cost is dependant on pregnancy or not is another variable in the packages offered. A rough guide to the cost of recipient hire is €2,500.

While there is increasing compliance with registration rules, a growing number of animals are being registered with non-pedigree identity documents only, for the purpose of complying with the law.

However, these identity documents do not require DNA verification and should these animals subsequently breed, their progeny in turn may not be eligible for studbook passports.

While ID documents are sufficient to meet the legal requirements, once an animal is registered with unrecorded pedigree its value is diminished. Information is also lost to the studbook for subsequent generations bred from these animals as the links cannot be maintained with DNA verification of each generation.

Table 4: combined cost

Conclusion

Costs of production are exceptionally variable both between enterprises, and individual mares. If you aren’t recording costs, you can’t be accurate in speculating on profitability at the time of sale. Without clear accounting decision making is not grounded in fact. It is critical the individual mare warrants the expenditures generated, particularly when engaging with more complex repro techniques. There continue to be mares bred using frozen semen which would be better served using fresh/chilled semen and also perhaps adapting the breeding goal. A more commercial approach to decision making is prudent. Basic husbandry inputs should, under no circumstances, be curtailed to accommodate other expenditures.