   Stud
  I just started reading this book called Stud. While most of you here aren''t interested in general, the numbers are pretty astounding.Retired racehorses make some serious cash. Storm Cat, at the time of the writing, was the highest paid. He earns $500,000 to impregnate a mare. In one year he made 37 million dollars. In 1999 and 2000, his babies sold for an average 1.68 million dollars each. He''s eighteen years old, and only in mid career with regard to what he does for a living. Storm Cat''s libido is strong enough, and it isn''t necessary to keep him close to the endless parade of mares to keep him interested. He engages twice a day in what he is employed to do for three and half months each year.  
  Wow! I wish I could get paid 500000 for sex.  ;  man, and i waste my time programming computers...it wouldn''t be so bad if he wasn''t paid so much more than me...oh well, at least i have opposable thumbs!  ;  This thread is probably just asking for it.  "Stud" "sex" and horses in the lounge.  tsk.Joking aside, from my understanding, the horses that demand the really high prices to breed are very few and far between.  A lot of them end up not being worth the money that''s put into them (breeding and care) on a purely financial viewpoint.  Although it''s sad if that''s all that one is raising a horse for.For Mother GameDev!;quote:Original post by pwd   Joking aside, from my understanding, the horses that demand the really high prices to breed are very few and far between.    This is true. It is the real stars that make for interesting discussion. And in this case, Storm Cat (and his children) are pretty successful at what they do.quote:Original post by pwd   A lot of them end up not being worth the money that's put into them (breeding and care) on a purely financial viewpoint.    Well, yeah, but I would venture to say that Storm Cat is earning his keep, and even a little spare change to boot.quote:Original post by pwd   Although it's sad if that's all that one is raising a horse for.    Well, it's not what I want a horse for. But then again, if I had a horse that was earning me a cool million per day, I'd go with the flow. Storm Cat gets pampered, but he is also overly protected. We wouldn't want him to hurt himself, would we? The sandpit he has to roll around in has a solid fence around it instead of slats, just in case when he gets up, a leg wouldn't be under the slat which would cause him to injure it. Also, the fire sensor, alarm and prevention equipment around his stall is more sophisticated than any equipment protecting Van Goghs.Storm Cat (at the time of the writing) had sired 715 children.I actually think horse racing is abusive. Only the best of the best go on to stand at stud. I was visiting a large equestrian center on Saturday, and I was talking to a girl who was turning out her big and beautiful thoroughbred. As it turned out, he was a retired racehorse, and likely destined to be put to sleep at the age of five, but for him being adopted or whatever the reason he came into being owned by this girl. Quite likely, he was just another has been unsuccessful racehorse, and yet he was full of power, beauty and vigor, all in all, a fine horse to be proud of.[edited by - bishop_pass on September 24, 2002 3:43:03 AM];quote:Original post by bishop_pass  He earns $500,000 to impregnate a mare.  I wonder how much Shadowfax would make...;quote:Original post by CWizard  I wonder how much Shadowfax would make...  Proababy more than 500,000 quatloos a pop;  I read a scifi short story years ago about this exact same thing. The abreviated version:  One of a horsebreeders mares gave birth to an "evolved" horse, just by pure chance-genetics.  The way the author described it the baby horse was like a greyhound, it was that "next step" in racing horses.  The story was about the effect this horse had on racing.  It was eventually banned after it won everything and then the owners got rich by selling its sperm. (I can''t remember the name of the story or the author though...)  ;  Why is it ok for horses to be paid for sex but it''s not ok for me to be paid for sex?  ;  Well, you could, but afterwards you''d have to run on all fours around a dirt track with a short man strapped to your back whacking your behind with a stick.Still, we are talking about sex.  That''s a hard one to call.  