AS many people within this industry are now aware, the size of the 2020 foal crop between Ireland and Britain is set to come in at 12,778 which represents a decrease on the 13,443 foals who were bred on both islands in 2019.

An interesting aspect to the 2020 figure was that the number of foals born in Ireland was recorded at 8,542 which is well below the height of the pre-recession era when 12,022 foals were born here in 2007. Similarly this year’s figure is still running some way ahead of the low point in production which came in at 6,884 in 2012.