SubscribeGift a Sub
Enable cache 100

Featured Video: Do You Need to Breed?

Our Featured Video selections here on HorseChannel.com tend to skew towards the humorous, the absurd and the adorable. But this week, we’re featuring a more serious topic: overbreeding. British charity World Horse Welfare (WHW) recently released this short video as part of their “Do Your Need to Breed” campaign targeted at horse owners who might be thinking about breeding a foal.



How much harm can one or two additional foals do? According to WHW, small-scale or amateur breeders, those who breed between one and five foals, add twice as many horses to the equine population as large-scale breeders. And each one of those foals, even if kept in a loving home, displaces an existing horse from the pool of available homes. These statistics are based on United Kingdom numbers, but anyone who follows the news here in the U.S. knows that we’ve got the same problem on this side of the pond.



It’s something worth thinking about and passing along to your horse-owning friends who might be toying with the idea of breeding. And next week, we’ll be sure to get back to our regularly scheduled silliness.

See past Featured Videos >>

Like this video? Here are others you’ll love.



Horse Can’t Leave Reporter Alone
Doing the newscast right in front of the stall probably seemed like a cute idea at first.


The Girl and the Horse
A short film that captures what it’s like to rediscover a childhood love.


Orphan Foals Meet the Neighbors
A short clip of two foals interacting with new adult horses is a fascinating look at horse herd behaviors.

View Comments

  • Very good video! Make people think before they act and possibly ruin a ton of lives that they could be saving!

  • It is sad, especially since i visited a thoroughbred farm this year. really all they did was offer 11 stallions for breeding, and they said they got around 700 to 1100 mares each year! that's sad, most of those foals will probably make it to the track, but how many will be sea biscuit, man o' war, war admiral... and then the non champions will be upset, and the next years they'll try hard... and they'll have 20 horses and only 1 or 2 champions, if any.

  • Anyone who gets their mare pregnant is really just picking a poor horse, putting it out of the light, and telling it sorry charlie. now, is that what everyone wants?

  • Breeding should be left up to the big time breeders of the industry and back yard people need to think twice about it! Yes foals are cute, but they are a lot of work!

Recent Posts

Is My Horse Cold? – An Excerpt from Keeping Horses Outdoors by Iveta Jebáčková-Lažanská

Is your horse cold in the winter? The following excerpt from Keeping Horses Outdoors by Iveta Jebáčková-Lažanská helps answer that question…

14 mins ago

ASPCA Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week: Hali

Welcome to Horse Illustrated’s weekly installment of the Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week, offered in partnership with the…

1 day ago

Common Horse Training Mistakes

These four common horse training mistakes are easier to catch and correct when you’re aware of them. As a clinician,…

2 days ago

All About the American Warmblood

If you appreciate sport horses of many different breeding backgrounds, types and colors, the American Warmblood will unite you with…

4 days ago

Waste: ReImagined – ZahnTech Repurposes Waste for a Permanent Fencing Solution

LENNOX, S.D. — Every great innovation begins with a moment of clarity, and for ZahnTech's founder, Avery Zahn, it came…

7 days ago

Winter Equestrian Activities: How to Spend Your Time with Less Riding

If winter cuts down on your riding time, try exploring these winter equestrian activities to get your horse fix. You…

1 week ago