Overkill

I am concerned about the state of the economy as it applies to all things but in particular as it applies to all living things that are sold to make a living. Think horses.

My sources tell me that the Keeneland November Sales have been a huge disappointment and many, many yearlings have not been sold, not only because they have not met their reserves but because there were no buyers. Now these yearlings are the property of the breeders who depend on their sale to make a living. This also applies to the bloodstock agents (middle men) who earn a commission on their sales. No horses sold. No commissions. No earnings. And living breathing horses that need to be fed, groomed, cared for. You know that drill.

So what happens to these horses? Some find their way into private hands. Some end up in less prestigious sales. Some never find homes--and then what? These are yearlings that have not been broken so in theory they could be trained to be pleasure horses BUT these are yearlings that have been bred to race. And what happens if they don't because they can't?

I don't know the answer but I am concerned about their fate.

In theory this might be a great big wake-up call to an industry that has been over breeding for years (read greed). It just might be that rude awakening many have been predicting. But it concerns me that it is at the expense of living, breathing beings through no fault of their own.

Once again, when horses are viewed as commodities, the end result is not in their best interest. No one can rescue all these horses. Perhaps no one can find homes for all these horses. Perhaps the entire industry should declare a moratorium on new breeding until the results of past breedings have a reason to have been born.