How many stallions are currently standing?
A.: For 2009 there 821 stallions standing in Australia compared with 867 in 2008; 878 in 2007; and 938 in 2006. Q.: How many of those are shuttle stallions? A.: For 2009 out of the 821 stallions standing 46 were shuttle stallions and they are anticipated to have covered 20 per cent of the mares. Q.: How do these numbers compare with previous years? A.: Shuttle stallions averaged 63 for the nine seasons leading up to 2006. Equine influenza reduced this to 32 in 2007 and the numbers haven’t quite made it back with 45 in 2008 and 2009’s 46. Q.: Are the numbers of individual breeders continuing to decline? A.: Sadly, the answer is yes. But the more worrying aspect is whether the foal crops continue to decline. We actually do need more than 18,000 foals each season irrespective of how many breeders it takes to produce this many. This is about the number of needed foals to service the racing industry. Q.: Can you see a remedy for this? A.: The barriers to entry into the Australian thoroughbr
