Stud Fees: Reduction? Stable? Increases?

[kimberley mine]

I hope you have a great Sky Mesa...and it delivers everything you hope for...BUT, I get a strong sense that his future is not particularly bright, and that more likely than not he'll disappoint like the overwhelming majority of stallions that BEGAN their stud careers at Three Chimneys (with the exception of Rahy).

Do you have any particular reason for not liking Sky Mesa--or is it just the farm he stands at that you're holding against him?

FOS has pointed out numerous times before the fact that Three Chimneys has a poor record for making new stallions. With the exception of Rahy, the majority of successful stallions there started elsewhere (Dynaformer, Wild Again, Seattle Slew, Exchange Rate, etc).

[LB]

I hope you have a great Sky Mesa...and it delivers everything you hope for...BUT, I get a strong sense that his future is not particularly bright, and that more likely than not he'll disappoint like the overwhelming majority of stallions that BEGAN their stud careers at Three Chimneys (with the exception of Rahy).

Do you have any particular reason for not liking Sky Mesa--or is it just the farm he stands at that you're holding against him?

FOS has pointed out numerous times before the fact that Three Chimneys has a poor record for making new stallions. With the exception of Rahy, the majority of successful stallions there started elsewhere (Dynaformer, Wild Again, Seattle Slew, Exchange Rate, etc).

I guess I would prefer to think of stallions as individuals with individual merits, faults, and potential, rather than seeing them as just another cog in a particular farm's breeding program.

[Dave C]

With the economic crunch, I hope that Three Chimneys hasn't jumped Sky Mesa's fee up too much for next year and shut out the types of mares that he has done well with lately. He and Point Given seem to have found the right niche of mares within the last couple of years. I would really like for both of them to continue to do well.

I hope that Smarty will have the same luck if his stud fee is reduced to a more realistic price. Starting off at $100,000 is just too much for a new stallion to live up to. Three Chimneys isn't helping their stallions by doing that.

I completely agree. Starting a stallion at a more modest fee provides him with a wider variety of types of mares providing a better chance that at least some of them will be compatible. Once breeders see a compatibility pattern they exploit it and can turn a stallion into a commercial success. Starting a stallion at a high stud fee restricts him to a small pool of generally very nice mares but not necessarily any that are a good physical or pedigree match to him, limiting his chance for success. JMHO

[Coaltown]

Point Given has had a very good year. Just because a stallion's stud fee is reduced over several years doesn't mean that they are not a successful stallion. Most breeders on this forum feel that stud fees are too high (they are right) yet when they come down they are quick to dismiss those stallions as failures. I view a successful stallion as one that produces good runners and Point Given has done that. His stud fee undoubtedly dropped because of his lack of commercial appeal. Pleasant Tap has never really been commercially successful but it is hard to argue with his progeny's accomplishments.

[kimberley mine]

Point Given has had a very good year. Just because a stallion's stud fee is reduced over several years doesn't mean that they are not a successful stallion. Most breeders on this forum feel that stud fees are too high (they are right) yet when they come down they are quick to dismiss those stallions as failures. I view a successful stallion as one that produces good runners and Point Given has done that. His stud fee undoubtedly dropped because of his lack of commercial appeal. Pleasant Tap has never really been commercially successful but it is hard to argue with his progeny's accomplishments.

Calling a horse a failure and calling a horse a commercial flop are not necessarily the same thing. Behrens was a failure. Gentlemen was a failure. Point Given was/is a useful horse who was started at way, way, way too high a fee, and lots of breeders took a huge loss on him.

It's hard to argue with hard-knocking, useful runners, but it's easy to argue that starting a horse out with nowhere to go but way, way, way down is not a good way to do business.

[bdw0617]

someone called forestry's stud fee reduction.. Finally a realistic stud fee for forestry. given the year he had this year I still think it's too high