Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-07-04
PRICES OF STATIONS.
Why the Decline Is Good Thing
For Horse breeders

For Horse Breeders.
Some people affect to see in the
prices paid at the FasigTipton sale
for the DAILY ana Spier stations evil
dcnce that the breeding of trotters and
PAGERS f~ racing purposes is not like
ly to become II much more lucrative
business than it is now. They say that
with times as good as they are now,
commercially speaking, Bow Bells,
Prodigal, Ponce de Leon, Adbell and
Directum ought severally to have
brought twice as much as they actual
~ did. We cannot agree with these
people, says The Breeders Gazette. 1t
is true that the stations named did not
bring very large prices-that is, COM
pared with prices that have been paid
for stations of the highest class in
years now long gone by-but the very
fact that they did not bring any more
money proves. to us at least, that the
business is in a very healthy and
healthful condition. The men who paid
all sorts of sums from $4,000 for trot-
ting bred stations in the days of the
boom never realized any profit on their
investments, and some stations after
the bubble was pricked were sold for
fewer hundreds than thousands had
been paid for them. The business has
been placed on a commercial basis.
That is why these stations named did
not bring more money.
1t has been said by more than one
well posted breeder with plenty of ex-
tn f1f hnitnrr
listened to that a mare owner cannot
afford to pay more than 500 for the
services of horse. Some go so far as
to place $50 as the extreme limit of the
stallion fee a breeder can afford to pay.
Every one knows that it takes around
six years time to get roadster or bug
gy horse on the market in shape to sell
at his full value. 1t costs a good deal
to feed him, to break and manner him
and to sell him. When to all this is add
ed the service fee. the keep of his dam
for at least a couple of years and the
other incidental expenses, it will be
seen that quite a good price must be
obtained for him to make ends meet,
let alone profit. How many foals are
actually paid for to the owners of these
great stations each season? Mr.. T. w.
Lawson paid $4,000 for. Ponce de Leon.
Figuring in the insurance on the horses
life or a sinking fund TO become large
enough to replace him in given mum
Der of years according to the views of
the owner, the keep and all the other
expenses, what is the net profit de
rived at the end of a service season
from such a horse? There is no means
of telling unless the owner actually
places the figures before the public but
it will be some years before the horse
has won his purchase price back and
paid all his current expenses besides.
How many foals does n horse of this
caliber bcget annually? Not many. The
owner is paid in the majority of in
stances for only those foals the horse
actually begets, for if he charges by
the season he has as rule to give Il re
turn privilege. and the returns become
greater and greater year by year, nat
urally cutting down the ability of the
stallion to serve fresh Mares
So, then, so far from being an indica-
ton Of impending trouble, we think
that the prices paid for the stations
mentioned betollen that breeders are
now operating with their eyes open
and their ears atuned to the teachings
of the times. If breeders cannot afford
to pay more than 500 at the most for
the services of a stallion, they will not
pay more, and at that sort of fee it
takes long time to get $4,000 back,
the most promising of sires, young and
sound. When it comes to buying q
horse for advertising purposes, that is
quite another story, for then the desire
is not to make money directly from the
services of the horse, but from the
added fame ana notoriety he may
bring to the concern or Individual that
purchases him.