Horse Gossip Thread

[welsummerchicks]

gelding doesn't guarantee an animal will be sexless. in fact, most geldings retain a lot of 'behavior'. that's actually more normal.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

There's a gelding at the property that breeds any mare that comes into season. Well, mounts and actually penetrates. No foals though. Does great with the other geldings in the herd too?

I agree with the perpetual mare in heat...there is one that has shown heat behaviors since July. Ridiculous. She'll come up and act all flirty, peeing, rump to the gate when Max is eating. He looks at her like "Dude...I'm eating."

 

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:
Ahh, finally something I can talk about. I've been lurking and gathering chicken information because I intend to breed my buckeyes in the spring. But horses! I went to Germany to purchase a warmblood.Thank you "welsummerchicks" for putting so aptly what I have a hard time explaining to some people. I have given up a lot to buy the horse I did and I don't regret it. I bought the big gates and the "breed". I don't show, but still take lessons regularly to become a better rider and to improve my horse. I have been called crazy because of the money I spent. But I drive around in my 160,000 mile car that is falling apart around me and my house will never be as good as the "Joneses", but when I look out my back door and see my big, beautiful, mannered guy, I know I did the right thing for me!

 

[welsummerchicks]

That's absolutely right. People give up things - sometimes a LOT of things, to have those horses.

Everyone's path doesn't have to be exactly the same. People who spend more don't love their horses any less or take less care of them, or ride them any different. And they don't choose an easy path. Those 'better' dressage horses have their own types of challenges. But oh boy, what a wonderful thing. If you ain't done it, don't knock it.

I feel like it's fine if people don't show - the challenge of improving themselves and advancing their horse is basically not really that different from competing anyhow. Most lessons with a good dressage teacher are far tougher than showing anyway. And if you're on a great horse, the horse AND the instructor are expecting perfection!

Fact is, though, if you go to a dressagey country, not only is it just fun to be in Dressage Central, but also, you usually wind up spending less on the buying process. You can look at a larger number of horses on one trip, all at the needed level of training, size and suitable type and temperament. Compared, shopping in the US is usually much more expensive - every trip is to go look at one horse, and many turn out to be dead ends - horses that are not what was advertised.

For someone who has a plan and a goal, especially in an FEI sport like dressage, s/he is going to work very, very hard, and needs a specific kind of horse. Different decisions make sense than for another type of rider, and time frame is a lot more important.

 

[mandelyn]

Well those are the horses that are worth it! When we were in Germany I saw some phenomenal horses there. Had the pleasure of helping break a Hanovarian filly off import lines, she was worth some money. Performed really well and scored well.

What gets me, is the price tag on the knock offs. Good horses will sell when they are talented. They have to be built for the job they are doing, have the movement and temperament, be the total package to bring in the big money. The rest... are worth what someone is willing to pay, and if the price is high for that particular animal, it will sit in a field indefinitely. And the longer it sits, the harder it is to get a decent amount of money.

I've seen people go clear to Florida from Connecticut, Kentucky to California, Europe to the US to spend big money on a horse. But it isn't just any horse people do that for.

Also seen people do it for a "cheap" horse because of how good of a deal it was. With the filly... no one was biting and she was advertised everywhere. She's still for sale, because there is nothing behind her breeding but breed names and she doesn't know how to do anything. Lot's of time and money would have to go into her. I can't buy a horse because I like it. It needs to have something to back up that price tag.

Course there was the $45,000 Eventer that crashed and burned and was given away for free because they had "loss of use" insurance on her. Great mare, now she putzes around soy bean fields. She'll never be worth that again, but in her day.. man. Talk about a wonderful horse! They said she could never be ridden again, but she actually came around with a year off and chiropractic care. Back then I didn't have the money to take her on (boarding, vet, ect) but the guy that ended up taking her sure is lucky now. That was 8 years ago, he never did breed her but instead let his young girls use her as a schooling horse.

The one horse I kick myself over... was over in Germany. She was very well bred, scored great at her inspection, but I didn't buy her because she was in foal. She was priced at 15000 euro, bred to a Cremallo Stud (one of those color breeders that exports most everything to the US) but the stud had a lot going for him. He scored awesome at his inspection, and was doing well in Dressage. Resulting foal was a Palamino stud colt that sold to Ireland for 45000 euro at 7 months old. Dang it! That was 4 years ago and I still kick myself over it.

 

[welsummerchicks]

There are definitely ones that are worth it.

It's often cheaper to buy them in Europe and pay for the shipping, rather than buy them here after they're imported and marked up.

There is a lot of risk in importing - not so much that so many get hurt in flight, that's down to quite a science. It's the adjustment to American footing and turnout, mostly.

 

[michickenwrangler]

WC

The point I was trying to make was that my friend doesn't care if she goes beyond First Level and she just wants to trail ride. She can find a lot of horses cheaper than $14,000 to do THAT on. The horse she rides now is a black and white tobiano APHA. Mare is a little more"thoroughbreddy" than most Paints and she got her from a girl who was trying to do western pleasure with her and the mare wouldn't jog slow enough. She trail rides and does First Level on a horse that she only paid $2000 for. She can find another horse with that potential for a lot less than a $14,000 Andalusian. However, she's enamored of the Andalusian breed and has her heart set on one.

Here's my friend's mare at a schooling show with my daughter riding her. That's me in the pic too.

Not a very flattering one of me I'll admit.

Our farrier went to an international clinic in Virginia a few years back with a lot of British farriers there too. He said that soft tissue injuries are more common here in the US with deeper footing versus bone and splint injuries in Europe with firmer footing.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Yup! paint that horse chestnut and he would look just like my tattooed and raced thoroughbred!(He won't jog either, unless it is that "I,m going into the starting gate jig!!

 

[mandelyn]

Quote:
Yup, I noticed that when over there. 3,000 euro for the horse, nice Oldenburg gelding going well around 6 years old. What was it to import... the flight was like $6,000 or was that quarantine too? I can't remember the quotes I got on it. Depends on gender and age for the quarantine. Also depends on how many horses are flying out, since they're typically 3 horse "pallets". So if only one horse is going, you still pay for the 3 slots. Or something like that.

You can break even on a good horse, or get a really good deal on an exceptional horse if you know what you're looking for and track down a small farm that isn't on the "ship to the US!" band wagon.

It's also funny when they have two prices, the in-country price and the export price. Which does not include shipping, health papers, passport, nothing, that's all extra. And no, it's not taking into account the exchange rate either.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
I've often told my friend that if she told someone that her Paint was actually a Pinto Sporthorse or American Warmblood, people would believe her. She did that at a small dressage show we were at and the woman that asked her went "Really?" and my friend had to quickly amend the fib saying, "She's really a Paint."

For a Paint, she does quite well in dressage and they're in the rankings for Midwest Dressage Association and the mare's actually been in Paint Horse Journal with Barbaria Reis schooling in in the photos (fall 2008 issues). They also go with me and my Arab-cross mare on our long conditioning rides and that mare keeps up. I keep trying to talk friend into taking her or letting me take her into a 25 mile CTR