Horse Shelter &

From the latest VBA Newsletter:

THE VBA NON BREEDING POLICY…

“The Victorian Brumby Association has a non breeding policy. What does this mean in simple terms? We don’t breed Brumbies or sell entire (ungelded) stallions or colts. Ever. Do we have foals born here? Often! Most mares who have been running wild with stallions will obviously be pregnant, in fact, pretty much any filly from age of around 18 months is likely to be in foal when they arrive here at our sanctuary.

Many of the Brumbies that we have here are absolute quality horses who, if we were breeders, we would totally agree are worthy of contributing to the Brumby gene pool. So why don’t we breed or sell stallions/ colts for breeding? There are two main reasons.

Firstly, there are nearly 500 Brumbies taken out of the Kosciuszko and Alpine National Parks in New South Wales and Victoria each year. We take in as many as we possibly can, but that is only 50 – 60, which leaves more than 400 being sent for slaughter each year. With those numbers dying, every foal that we deliberately breed and sell could be potentially taking away a home that a ‘wild bred’ Brumby could have gone to.
Secondly, there is the big debate about what a Brumby actually IS. We feel that a Brumby is a horse bred or born in the wild, as a result of natural selection. When people interfere and choose the ‘best’ stallion to breed with, we may be missing something. There are many amazing looking stallions in the wild who are bachelors and haven’t had a chance to contribute their genetics. In the wild, only the best of the best stallions will actually find and keep mares to breed with. Life in the wild is incredibly tough – Brumbies with poor feet or general conformation, those with highly strung temperaments or that are not truly sociable and live well in a herd, they just don’t survive to breed.

So we say with pride that ALL our Brumbies were bred in the best and toughest stud in the world. The Australian Alps have nurtured our Brumbies, refining their genetics and producing these amazing horses that we are thrilled to be able to have in our lives.

Next time you’re thinking of breeding a foal, why not think about rescuing one of our gorgeous young mares in foal or even buying a weanling Brumby foal.”

VBA Website

Thank you to the VBA for all of their wonderful work with, and for the Brumbies. Thank you also for taking this, (what seems completely logical from a welfare point of view), standpoint on breeding. We hope that, in time, other Brumby ‘welfare’ organisations may reconsider their ‘breeding programs’.