Does the studbook operate a mare inspection tour?
No. The Continental Studbook has developed a more convenient process for health and quality verification of breeding stock by leveraging your own vet, the ease and detail of digital photographs and the North American show system. Like foal inspections, a mare approval tour is very expensive and difficult to execute well in North America. Any registry would need at least 200-300 inspection sites to reduce travel time below a few hours for all breeders; therefore, many potential breeders are perpetually shut out of the breeding process. Also, transportation costs have proven to be very volatile and expensive. This model of breeding stock approval works very well in Europe, but it is economically unsustainable in North America. These realities are coupled with frequent inconsistency in judging and difficulty in finding qualified unbiased judges willing to travel on a tour; therefore, the Continental Studbook chose to develop a better process appropriate for North America.
