Protecting Big Star’s Olympic legacy: a guide to foal insurance

For many the leap from the Olympics to foal insurance is not an obvious one. Yet the games made certain horses household names. Valegro and Big Star and their riders, Charlotte Dujardin and Nick Skelton cemented their status as sporting greats. These were their second Olympic gold medals, having won previously at London 2012. Their names will forever be associated with gold medals, but, without putting too fine a point on it, the Olympic legacy of these fantastic horses differs in one vital respect: Valegro is a gelding, Big Star is a stallion.

We wait to hear what Carl Hester and Charlotte will do with the mighty Valegro, but Big Star’s future looks more certain. As a double gold medal winning stallion, the 13-year-old will go to stud. And who wouldn’t want a Big Star foal? Nick Skelton said of him; “He is an absolutely amazing horse. He has all the right attributes and he is the best horse I am ever likely to have.”

Until now, it has been possible to buy frozen semen for £3,000 including VAT, but it seems certain that his stud fee will rise for 2017. With large sums of money likely to be involved, Big Star foals will represent a significant investment for potential breeders. They will be looking into the fine print of equine insurance policies to ensure that at least the financial side of their investment is protected. For many the value of these foals is such that they will be looking to insure the foal in vitro and this is possible once the mare has been scanned in foal at 60 days.

The sum insured would be the price of the semen plus the costs of getting the mare in foal. This insurance runs through until after the foal is born, meaning that foal insurance is in place from day zero. In some cases, a mare may still be competing herself and an embryo transfer may be considered the best option. It is also possible to insure these embryos.

Post-natal, a foal insurance policy can be taken out when the foal is 24 hours old as long as it is certified healthy by a vet. Compared to ante-natal insurance the sum insured is likely to be significantly higher as a live healthy foal will have a premium value. Once Big Star progeny appear on the scene this value may become even higher, depending on their relatives’ performances. It is also possible to insure a foal at 30 days old which may be useful if there were any early difficulties which prevented a vet from certifying it healthy within its first 24 hours.

The equestrian world will be waiting with baited breath to see how these foals turn out. Whatever the outcome, Big Star’s Olympic legacy is likely to add significant value to the world’s show jumping stock.