Replying to Kristof M Singh:
Well said my dearThose of us who have worked with these horses know by experience that they deserve the time that nature has built into the whole birth process It is meant to protect the breed! Kris

Nature didn't intend horses to run in an oval pattern or on a fixed coursed.

Nature did not intend horses to be confined to boxes in a barn.

Nature did not intend humans to ride horses.

Nature did not intend horses to be bred in a protected enclosure.

Nature did not intend humans to select breeding partners for stallions.

Nature did not intend Bull Hancock and others to fly horses to Australia on a DC-3, and thankfully he did not.

Nature did not intend a lot of things that are part of the horse business, including humans profiting from them.

Thoroughbreds would provide only aesthetic value if humans did not overrule nature to make them into racehorses. Are there those among us that are qualified to determine which "unnatural" acts are acceptable and which are not? Also, who defines or knows what "nature" or God intended?

Replying to Peggy Vandervoort-Kumble:
I have been a Thoroughbred Breeder since 1961.. I have watched stallions who have served " double duty" and I have no doubts in my mind that is it unnatural and hard on the stallions. I have been in the Paddock taking pictures and 16 mm movies of Bold Ruler, Round Table, later Secretariat, you name them! After the breeding season the get much more calm and some even docile. They are happy and relaxed and I feel that, especially when stallion's books are so large anyway, when they used to be 36 then stretched to 40, I think NATURE MEANT THEM TO HAVE A SEASON OFF> Why else would mares need 11 months to gestate and foal. NATURE is right !

Well said my dear

Those of us who have worked with these horses know by experience that they deserve the time that nature has built into the whole birth process

It is meant to protect the breed!

Kris

Replying to Peggy Vandervoort-Kumble:
I have been a Thoroughbred Breeder since 1961.. I have watched stallions who have served " double duty" and I have no doubts in my mind that is it unnatural and hard on the stallions. I have been in the Paddock taking pictures and 16 mm movies of Bold Ruler, Round Table, later Secretariat, you name them! After the breeding season the get much more calm and some even docile. They are happy and relaxed and I feel that, especially when stallion's books are so large anyway, when they used to be 36 then stretched to 40, I think NATURE MEANT THEM TO HAVE A SEASON OFF> Why else would mares need 11 months to gestate and foal. NATURE is right !

Such a reasonable suggestion, but in this BUSINESS, it will never happen. Wish it would. I wish they would also give mares a year off, too. That would cut down on the tens of thousands of foals, so many of which don't make it in racing.

Replying to Nicky Randall:
Reply to Binky...Juddmonte have farms in USA. Obviously it is the owner's choice to keep his S\stallion where he wants. He bred him!!! I would imagine that the decision to keep him in England was thought through - it's not as if he know nothing about breeding the ultimate horse after all...

The issue was where he was shuttled, not whether he was based in NA or Europe. He cannot be two places at once regardless of farm locations. Would you send a European champion to NA when NA is coming to him?

Replying to Barbara Grimaldi:
A recent article indicated that so many mares in Europe cannot be bred to him because of their lineage, thereby limiting his book. That leads me to ask this question: if we send our great stallions like Bernardini, Street Cry, etc., to Australia to breed to Australian mares, why can't Frankel's owners bring him to America to breed for a year or so? Several American mares are flying over to him--but you have great mares here who would probably be fine mates for Frankel if the lineage is right: Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, so many more. Why is it OK for the USA to ship their stallions around the world but not OK for the European owners of Frankel?

Obviously, there are philosophical differences. It's about control. Your query is akin to asking the question, "Why was there a Revolutionary War?"

Juddmonte have farms in USA. Obviously it is the owner's choice to keep his S\stallion where he wants. He bred him!!! I would imagine that the decision to keep him in England was thought through - it's not as if he know nothing about breeding the ultimate horse after all...

Replying to binky mcfadden:
Barbara:I am interested in the article you mention. Even though there is a likelihood of inbreeding with so many top mares from Danehill and Galileo lines I was not aware that there were other concerns or an issue of Frankel's stud book filling. With a race record and pedigree like Frankel's many breeders initially pay little or no attention to nicks and inbreeding concerns, and go for the super yearling and/or look to create their own nick.Europe and NA are on the same calendar which makes stallion shuttle unrealistic. Australia breeding season is reversed. A Juddmonte does not have Australia farms. Frankel seems to have plenty of mares coming to him from Europe, Asia, and NA.

I read your commentary here about an hour ago and since then i've been backtracking to find the article I mentioned. I have not found it yet but will keep looking. I receive too many emails and have become adept using the delete key. Thank you for giving me further information on this topic!