ITBA and ITBA Next Generation held a highly successful Breeding Seminar on the eve of the Goffs February Sale on Tuesday 6th February. The panel, hosted by Kevin Blake, entertained and informed over 200 in attendance as they talked about all things breeding.
The panel opened with a scenario of purchasing a mare, and it was Dermot Cantillon who was first called on to talk about his vast experience of what he looks for when buying breeding mares. Helena Burns followed with advice for breeding from older mares and Matt Coleman shared his experiences of purchasing on a budget. Barry Mahon and Cathal Beale rounded up the opening segment by looking at breeding your mares and different stallion options.
Overall the evening included tips and tricks, with plenty of laughs from the audience. The panel spoke about the realities involved with breeding, including costs involved with getting your mare in foal and keeping a mare and foal, what it takes to get an agent to look at your stock at a sale, the health of the industry and where we can see ourselves in the years to come.
The attendees engaged the panel with plenty of questions, asking about advice for prospective breeders, looking at ratings of mares, breeding from proven or unproven stallions, breeding from unraced, raced or blacktype mares, and breeding from mares with wind issues.
A recording of the event will is available to watch back HERE. Coming up next in the Education Programme, ITBA will shortly announce the ‘Ask The Expert’ Series which will take place online during March, April and May and gives attendees the opportunity to hear from different experts on a range of topics.