When shopping for a new Mini

[CJMM6]

When I offer a foal for sale the foal is imprinted, trained to lead, trained to stand tied, on a worming

schedule, daily vitamins, given their 4 way shots, coggins if necessary and had current farrier care.

And the foals are registered, not on application.

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I feel confident that when my little foals leave here they have the best start possible.

I was just curious how important all of this prepreation was to you.

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I might ad that the horses & foals I bought did not have this preperation. But I bought them anyway.

 

[Sandee]

I, for one, applaud you for looking after your stock so well. I can't say that it would make me buy a foal just because they had been treated so well but if it were a choice between two equal horses, I would want the one that has been handled and taken care of.

The two I purchased were handled and had been worked with to a limited extent. I believe that it shows in the way they react toward people. It's also good to know that they don't come with a whole set of health problems.

 

[nootka]

It is quite important to me, depending ont he age of the foal.

I am these days, far more likely to want a horse that I know has had good care from before conception than one who's just been given a minimum of anything.

My foal needs good nutrition from the time of and prior to conception. Well-cared for mares and stallions are the start. Care about conformation is highly important and when the baby arrives, all those extras the owner does really helps sell.

If it were a four month old, I would not be as upset about no halter training, though mine are well trained by that age. I would be gradually more upset as a foal reached yearling age and hadn't been handled, let alone wormed or vaccinated/trimmed. The hoof trims are a biggie for me as I know that can badly affect their growth and straightness if it is neglected, as is worming.

Liz M.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I would prefer to buy one that had all that care and training. I would want the horse to have been handled and loved on. Its not any fun to buy a horse and find out that its terrified of people. Been there!

My babies lead and stand, have been on a every 6 week worming schedule as well as hoof trimming, and have had their vaccinations. They like people and like being handled.

 

[Marty]

The only horses I purchased that was handled before they arrived was my Merry Beth and Glory. They already knew their stuff from the get go and it showed.

All my other horses were not handled or trained for nothing. Mostly completely freaked out.

It made for one heck of a bonding experience too.

 

[eagles ring farm]

I'm not sure if it would change my decision about a purchase one way or the other.

But we do with all our foals

they are handled daily, tie, lead ,have regular worming and hoof care, clipped, any shots due, a trailer ride with mom, and we spend what time we can introducing them to different things on a walk without mom some quality human time which they enjoy. They are very people friendly so far .We do all we can to help them off into their new home. We keep mares and foals in a field we have to walk them in and out of so our foals are halter broke pretty fast out of necessity as all our horses are stalled at night. Also register in applicable registries and PQ & DNA when applies

But we only have a few foals a year so time wise we can do it.

 

[disneyhorse]

I honestly like the "wild out of the pasture" horses. MUCH more fun and challenging! I have a situation where my horses are haltered, groomed, led, and tied almost daily so they come around really fast here. I like 'em hot, much better for showing.

For someone looking for a pet or a kids/beginners horse, the "bells and whistles" so you call it (regular handling) is a necessity and should help you sell much better.

Andrea

 

[Bess Kelly]

When you register your foals, do you have DNA with PQ done at that time? That is a real important feature to ME. Also, I look at the condition of all animals when I go to a farm. I want to see animals with correct weight and glossy coats. Then, I ask about the vaccines, etc. Most of the time, if they are fed right, they are also receiving the rest.

The older I get, the less I want to wrestle a foal :bgrin , so the haltering, leading and so on are very nice to have been done. That said, I would consider one who was at least friendly and approachable, even if they had not already been taught to properly walk, trot, etc., but, rather just halter and lead.

 

[Minimor]

Our home raised foals are all well handled, but that doesn't mean I insist on the same when I'm buying. I've bought wild foals before & will do it again. When we were into the Morgans we pretty much always got foals that were halter broke--only two were unhandled, unhalter broke & wild--and yeah, they were a challenge, especially the colt who could jump like a deer & wasn't about to be cornered to be caught...in comparison, the wild little Mini colts are a breeze!

I do want any foal I buy to be registered, not just on application, and if I were buying an AMHA horse I would insist that the foal be registered, DNA'd & PQ'd before I'd buy it.

 

[Jill]

I want the foal to bt UTD on shots and deworming. Handling, leading is great but if it's the right horse, THAT is the deciding factor, not the polish I can put on it myself.

 

[River1018]

I couldn't have said it better than disney horse.

Wild horses don't bother me a bit and I can look beyond th dirt and fur and the skin and bones. .

 

[MSRminis]

It is a big factor for me. I have three little kids and my free time is limited. Right now I have my hands full so I look for a horse that is used to being handled. If it is not halter broke and leads at the LEAST I am not interested. At least THIS ponint in my life-Maybe it will be different later. I too will not buy a horse that is not ALREADY registered. No "Applications" for me-Been there done that nightmare no thanks. A bred mare I insist on a copy of the stallions papers showing him current, a stallion certificate, and a copy or a stallion report signed so I can send it in if needed. My kids work with our foals everyday so ours too are handled, haltered, lead, and basically kid proof before they leave here too.

Forgot to add to Disney horse and River 1018 too bad you dont live closer I have a WILD mare I would deliver to you if you like challenges! Shes wilder than a BLM mustang!!

 

[RockRiverTiff]

We've had it both ways. For one, I always check the studbooks to make sure both the sire and dam on the foal are registered if the foal is coming on application (I did this for a friend in the past only to find that the foal's sire was revoked...that $50 seems trivial when you avoid trouble like that), so as long as everything is in order I don't mind sending the papers in myself--gives us the added bonus of helping to name the baby (with the breeder's farm name of course). But I would never buy a horse that doesn't have a valid, current Coggins and health papers. I've been shocked this year by how many people think it's optional.

I guess I don't mind getting a shaggy, "wild" horse if it's healthy and conformationally as promised, but for repeat business I'm going to go back to the people that put that extra effort in.

 

[CJMM6]

Hi Bess, we have 2 A & R mares, we have 6 R mares, our 2 stallions are double reg. Our A horses are DNA'd We don't PQ

our foals but they can be. We are very careful on wich stallion is with what mare.

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And Disney, yes I have bought the diamond in the rough and bonded & trained them to be good show horses. But I have some home raised horses that have the snort & spunk needed to win in the show ring.

They don't have to be 1/2 crazy to win.

Yep Marty, I know what you mean. They are a challange.

Our mares get daily vitamins & it shows in their coats & in their foals. I've been told that our 6 mo

old foals look like they are yearlings because they are so well rounded.

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[Buckskin gal]

I prefer the horse that has been handled by the breeder and it doesn't take a "wild" horse to do well in the ring. Ours are handled all the time from birth on up but they also have that "presence" that is needed for competion. One of the reasons I believe it is important for a foal to have the handling, as a baby, is we never know for sure if that horse will end up being all we hope it to be for showing...if it doesn't the horse will still be welcomed into a home that wants a friendly mini for other purposes. The "wild" type does not always make a nice horse for someone that wants a horse for something other than halter classes. JMHO Mary

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Forgetting what I as a buyer or seller want I do think it is VERY unfair to a foal to do no handling and then send it on a trailer on its merry way.(often times across country) not only unfair to the horse but to the hauler as well. YOu are setting this foal up for ulcers, undo stress and just all around more worry then it needs to have

I hear often not handling them makes them "hot" for showing.. well I dont see how that makes sense unless you never handle them .. once you start to halter, tie, groom them.. they do eventually become used to it and therefore IMO were not hot but scared- a well mannered horse who stands for grooming, tying and vet work can still be "hot" for me hot and illmannered or fearful dont mean one and the same a hot horse is one who loves to show loves to be in the ring and knows how and when to turn it on. again JMO

now that said some foals are more people orintated then others no matter how much time and attention you give and that is where having a seller who pays attention to the buyers needs comes in

 

[eagles ring farm]

We always take advantage of when our trailer is still hooked up from a show or hook it up if need be to take moms and foals for a ride just to let them have the experience first with mom

 

[miniwhinny]

It means the world to me health wise.

It's not the handling part...I can do that. BUT, if I see mares who obviously haven't had their manes brushed in their lives, long overgrown hooves, just pasture money making machines then I wouldn't look at a foal from that farm...period...no matter how cute or what the bloodlines are and certainly not an older horse from there. Because to me, if simple care is lacking then more than likely so is everything else...like worming, vitamins, salt licks, shots, etc.

It's been proven in everything from dogs to humans that early life care and that must include prenatal (and pre-prenatal) care is vitally important to the quality and length of life.

I don't want continuing vet bills from a horse who is constantly getting something wrong because their long term outlook was compromised because of bad early care or from a neglected mare.

I had a friend who purchased 2 full sizers last year. Both died within a month. They wer only 10 and 11. Both died from colic resulting from massive scarring made by having bad worms...the vet thought...in the first 2 years of life.

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Our horses live on pasture 24/7 so we do get a few rastafarian manes here, but our horses are on a regular deworm/trim/vaccine cycle and are fed quality feed with access to fresh water, mineral, white sale and selenium block at all times.

As a seller I want to offer what I want as a buyer. This means - a sraight legged (meaning regular trims), dewormed, A&R registered, DNA/PQ tested foal on a good nutritonal program.

Halter training is preferred, but I know our schedule and some of our foals only get halters on at their monthly trimming, so aren't always pocket pets. It really depends year to year. The only foal we had this year has not been handled much so thinks he's a wild child, but he's still in with his parents and they're both sensible and easy to handle, so I'm not concerned on him turning around as soon as he's weaned.

What you are doing is fabulous and it would be wonderful if more sellers were that responsible.

 

[CJMM6]

Just for the record, I understand that a farm raising 20 to 40 foals a year can't keep up on the halter training. But some of those large farms do keep up with good worming program, farrier care, and good feed.

: cjmm