Well, different people look for different things, depending on what is important to them. Conformation, performance in competition, soundness, pedigree, disposition, fertility, and mothering skills. These would be the first things that a breeder may be interested in. If in the following years, the foal she has already produced does well in competition, this may make your mare more valuable as a broodmare for someone. Unfortunately, several of the traits I mentioned above are sometimes not regarded as valuable as “I” think they should be… fertility and mothering skills. Vets and drugs and artificial insemination get involved in the first one, and a requirement for nurse mares gets involved in the second one, each a “fix” for issues in these areas, which only makes them worse in future generations. But as I say, everyone has their own ideas about what is and is not important. My aversion to AI perplexes some people, but I figure that if a mare can’t be quiet and accepting of live cover, and if a stallion can’t learn how to be polite and safe to breed live cover, these are not horses that I, personally, want to procreate. Just as I feel that mares that can not catch pregnant, can not successfully carry a foal without human intervention and drugs, can not foal successfully with minimal human help, or who kick or reject their own foals, or don’t have good milk, or don’t look after their own foals well, are not mares that I think should be being used as broodmares. But these are only MY opinions, and not everyone shares these opinions. The damage that AI has done in other species is epic. There is something to be said for “natural” selection, and “natural” cover. It’s a culling system. JMHO.
