Using The Marsh Tacky Model

We have four Marsh Tacky's in our horse lot. (Here is a picture of Andrew's, wonderful stallion, Mingo.) These horses were expensive, none were trained to saddle, all are extraordinary creatures. I must rate them among the best horses that I have ever encountered.

For nearly a decade we have been working to preserve and promote their cousins to the north, the nearly extinct Banker horses of Corolla and Shackleford. In doing so, I have made a fundamental error that most of those who breed Marsh Tackys do not make. I am not a businessman. I have placed colts at little or no charge from our breeding program because they were going to great homes.

I have never charged enough for any of these horses. That has hurt the effort to preserve them. Americans equate the value of a horse with its sales price. It is a belief that baffles me, but it runs deep in our culture. Ironically, the very best horses that I produced I gave away at no price at all.

With our foals to be born this year we are going to follow the Marsh Tacky model of pricing (which is in line with what Paso Fino breeders did years ago) and sell the foals for very significant money. We also will be keeping several and training them to saddle when old enough and then will be charging an amount in excess of what one would pay for a well trained Quarter horse.

The fundamental point for breeders of rare horses to keep in mind is that America pays very big money for bottled water instead of drinking that cheap liquid that runs out of the tap.

I recognize that I am not a horse dealer. I am a horse evangelist and all of my preaching will not be enough to save these horses. It will take dealers and businessmen to save them. I do not bring that strength to the table.