Eskdale Thoroughbreds is devoted to the production of what we hope will be high-class National Hunt (Jumps) racehorses from a band of up to 20 broodmares selected on the basis of their racing ability, produce records and pedigrees. This website talks about the mares, their produce, their successes to date and our hopes for future successes.
It tends not to cover absolutely all of the disappointments, since in breeding racehorses there are inevitably far more of these than successes; and pages of reports beginning with ‘sadly’ or ‘however’ or ‘unfortunately’ would prove somewhat dispiriting to us and not particularly encouraging to potential buyers of our produce.
However, anyone thinking of getting into breeding can expect rather more ‘downs’ than ‘ups’, and the same applies to those buying their produce; but the good days can be very good and erase memories of the less good. When you do encounter tales of our disappointing days, please try to remember this!
Our objective in breeding thoroughbreds is simply to maximise the chances of producing good horses by careful selection of mares and stallions and by optimising those factors of upbringing that are under our control. This website explains how we try to do this.
For those with time to spare, under the Memories tab it also tells the more personal stories – the good, the bad and the ugly – behind some of the mares we have bought and the foals they have produced. Reading about some of the quirks of breeding might prove helpful to some and reassuring to others.
Alternatively, it might make people forget all about trying to breed racehorses!