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call from a potential buyer for horses from Diamond Carl’ s family.” The Haras des Éclos, run by Laurence Gagneux, lives mainly from boarding, with around thirty mares belonging to mostly French absentee breeders.“ One of my clients, Mr Montauban, had warned me about this crisis that had been looming for several years, but I didn’ t want to believe it. I have never produced commercial horses for sales. My weakness is being too loyal to my bloodlines.” This loyalty enabled her to breed a Grand Steeple winner, by the now-exported stallion Diamond Boy, but not to break records in the sales ring. Damien Vagne, thirty-one, is associated with his father Bruno at the head of the excellent Allen breeding operation in Souvigny, in the Allier, where AQPS horses and Charolais cattle coexist.“ Four or five years ago, you could sell a nice foal out of an average mare. That’ s no longer the case today. So we have rehomed some broodmares into sport or leisure. Other mares with very good pedigrees, but of which we already have daughters or sisters, have been sold.” Nicolas Simon has taken over sole management of the Haras du Saz in Loire-Atlantique, having previously been associated with his father Roger-Yves. He covered only 60 % of his mares in 2025.“ We use our home stallions for the vast majority of them. Until 2023 I had always sold all the foals I sent to auction, but in 2024 and 2025 I had very poor sales. Even very good-looking yearlings no longer have a place in the ring without a very strong catalogue page. I have eighteen mares in foal this year, but I will only re-cover twelve or fifteen. What worries me most is that I meet many small breeders with one to three mares. Those who didn’ t sell their foals do not plan to re-cover this year. Yet these people are the base of the pyramid, and above all they are my clients.” The best ambassador of the Saz, a mixed flat and NH breeding operation, is currently Haïti Couleurs, recent winner of the Welsh Grand National( Gr. 1). This top-class horse is a son of the former home stallion Dragon Dancer. The Saz has always stood two or three stallions, generally recruited at the end of their racing careers, relying on in-house conviction and instinct rather than heavy promotion. A bet that has become almost impossible today, as standing stallions is increasingly difficult for small structures that lack the means to support them by sending large numbers of mares or buying their foals.“ 2026 will be a transition year. If I invest again in a stallion, it will not be alone but in partnership with other breeders. I will send more mares outside, choosing stallions priced between € 3,000 and € 10,000.”
Young Stallions in Danger The current crisis makes it difficult to launch any new stallion, especially if he does not combine a fabulous pedigree, an excellent racing career and an impeccable physique. There are fewer mares to cover, and the crisis may push breeders to opt for proven stallions or very commercial young ones rather than follow their true aspirations.“ In the past, buyers came to acquire the produce of a mare or a family; today they are looking for the progeny of a stallion. That forces us to be more selective,” notes Damien Vagne. And when a stallion covers 200 mares or more,“ he prevents one or two young stallions from breaking through,” says Pascal Noue, who stands eight stallions at the Haras de la Hêtraie, including the prolific Nirvana du Berlais, already sire of two Group 1 winners. The mentor of the famous and now retired Kapgarde adds:“ for a stallion to demonstrate his potential, he needs foals on the ground, so ideally he must cover at least 70 or 80 mares.” The stallion guide of the Fédération des Éleveurs du Galop listed 156 stallions in 2025; there are only 138 this year. Only around ten new sires have entered the French market. Many stud farms have limited price increases or even reduced fees to adapt to circumstances and remain competitive. The young Mare Australis, who began his career at La Hêtraie in 2023, has thus dropped from € 4,500 to € 4,000. At Haras d’ Étreham, Metropolitan, whose first foals are on the ground, saw his fee fall from
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