Would you rather buy?

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Riverdance

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One thing that I have noticed in the Miniature horse world, is that people seem to be afraid to buy an open mare. So, everyone who is selling a mare has to have it bred to sell it.

This puts an even greater strain on the Miniature market. I for one have several really nice mares for sale who either are not right for one of my stallions and I do not need them for the other stallions (which does not mean they are not right for yours) or are performance horses (which I am no longer breeding for), or are just one too many mares on my farm. This does not mean there is anything wrong with them, just that I am no longer breeding them. I would prefer to sell them open, or with a breeding to a stallion of your choice on my farm. I really would like to not just breed them hoping that they will sell. Because if they do not, there is an extra foal on my farm.

In the large horse world everyone does a soundness vet check before buying a horse (or at least they should). Why can not the Mini breeder do a breeding soundness check on a mare they are interested in buying?

I though it would be interesting to find out what your opinion was regarding this topic, as I am really thinking about offering my mares open for next year, or only bred if you want them to be. This way it would also keep the price down on some of the horses.

What is your opinion?
 
For me to buy a bred mare it would have to be bred to a top name stallion, if not I would rather bring her home and put her with my stallion. I have one now that was bought bred, and it is to a national stallion.
 
I agree, we've never had any luck selling an open mare. However, I did have one inquiry this past fall on a mare, but they decided not to take her because she was bred ... personally I was a little insulted for my stallion, but it turned out they just weren't interested in taking a chance on getting a pinto foal!

You do have an open mare on your sale page that I visit regularly ... if it wasn't for the distance ...
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An open mare for me, (unless it was bred to Buckeroo.) No, really I like young open mares, because it seems like it takes at least a year for me to get them worked into the herd and learn the pastures and gates. Once they have established there place in the bunch as a youngster and are comfortable they are likely to live forever and not have troubles. If you have a bred mare that is an outsider she gets treated like heck by the other old girls and they will chase her off and cause breeding trouble for the stallion.
 
From the looks of what is said and done on this forum and the sale board, it sure appears that Miiature Horses are the "breeding" breed and many people want the bred mare to have that precious foal. Just look at all the breeders wanting that filly fairy to come to their place ....why? I think it is because fillies are born to become someones breeding mare. Unlike so many of the larger breeds of horses where geldingsa are the demand for pleasure and work, miniatures are more in demand for breeding. It is understandable that people find minis a horse to make money with and most people want to make money.

Personally, I wouldn't breed a mare just to make it more marketable and it would be easy, as a seller to have a breeding soundness check done so a buyer would be more assured they are buying such. If anyone feels the market is already flooded, it is a good reason not to breed the mare. Mares should also be trained to do something besides have foals...such as drive. We have trained both mares and the boys to drive because it gives them a purpose for something besids breeding. If you feel the mares haven't been a good match for your stallions, it would be another reason not to breed them just to make them more marketable. JMHO Mary
 
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They are fearful of a open mare. Just because she is open there must be a problem with her. But they don't want to pay for a soundness exam. Not every mare is a every year mare. So they don't want that either. They want a foal every year. And there are few mares that will give you a foal every year. Some of my best producers haven't given me a foal every year. I don't expect them to. I wouldn't want to have a baby every year.

And they want instant return, although with the market how it is I don't know how instant that is.

Myself I would rather have a young maiden mare with the look I desire and wait. And I have SEVERAL times and I don't regret it abit. In fact I would have to say 3/4 of my mares I have waited on. I am getting a fantastic filly from Erica that I will be happy to show and bred later. And hopefully this filly will do extremely well for me this year in the showring.

I have lots of mares offered because of revamping and everyone seems to be leary of the open ones. I would hope most breeders would be honest if there was a problem with the mare. I am and honest almost to a fault and probably scare people off. But I would want to know any faults or problems before I buy so tell them all upfront.
 
It depends on what I wanted the mare for. If I'm planning on using her for breeding then I am hesitant to buy open. If I want her to show or just have fun with then I would think differently but frankly I would look for a gelding if I didn't plan to breed at some point. The reason I would hesitate to look at an open mare is in spite of a vet saying "there is no reason we can see why she won't settle" I have mares that are barren. I'm sure if I wanted to spend the money on more elaborate investigations we might discover a reason but we might not. So a breeding soundness check is not always worth the cost. At least bred I can be assured she is capable of getting pregnant altho there is no guarantee that she can carry full term. That said if she is bred it would need to be to a stud i considered appealing. As for breeding to the present owner's stallion when I purchased her, it would require the mare remain on the farm long enough to confirm she was bred, but I would consider that a bonus (assuming of course I liked the stallion) since it would give me the chance to diversify my gene pool and sometimes to get a foal from a stallion that I otherwise could not access either because of a high stud fee, distance or the simple fact that the owner does not stand him to outside mares.
 
Lots of factors to consider in this.

For someone just getting established in Miniatures, getting a bred mare can help them to diversify their bloodlines. I have bought two mares in foal to National/World Champion stallions. I was thrilled with the results of both. I have seen (and bought) mares bred to National/World Champions sell for less than the stud fee on that stallion.

The horse market is definately "buyer beware" if you don't personally know who you are buying from (and sometimes when you do know them). A mature, open mare may suggest problems. Breeding soundness exams can be expensive (not opposed to them, just a matter of fact).

I would buy a bred mare if I admired previous foals she had, especially from the same cross. If I buy an open mare, I prefer them to be young. However, I would not rule out a mature open mare if she had the characteristics I was looking for.
 
I have purchased 3 bred mares. But I prefer open ones. Those that I've bought bred I bought because I wanted the mare, NOT because I wanted the baby.

And...another note on this "trend" is that I've inquired about breeding to a couple of outside stallions that I like and I've gotten the "I'll have bred mares available..." line. I don't want YOUR mare, I want a foal from MY mare!!! :DOH!

I agree the whole "mentality" of owning this breed is just way outta whack in some ways.
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I don't have the answer, but I personally am just going to keep doing it the way I think it should be done and hope that others will agree.
 
I don't have a preference one way or the other really. If I'm going to buy a mare...I'm buying her for her...not for the foal she's carrying....if she happens to have a foal that is just a bonus for me. I have had people buy both from me as well...some wanted open...some were more interested in bred.

Tracy
 
open mostly. I especially don't like to buy a mare bred to have a January - March foals as its so cold. I much prefer May-June foals. And I prefer to breed to MY stallion unless their stallion is a really big deal.

Robin
 
I will only buy a mare bred if she is breeding age only. I have gotten a mare that was younger and brought her home to breed her to my own stallion. I feel buying a bred mare that I get my moneys worth not that I want the foal cause nine chances out of ten I sell the foal anyways. I also fear there could be a possible problem with the mare if the owner sells the mare open.
 
First off I buy for the mare herself; as that's what I'm buying. I am happy to buy a mare in foal, if it's to a stallion that I like, it's an added bonus package, it quite possibly could be a little new or different blood to add into my herd at a later date.........but will deter from the situation if she's bred to a stallion not suited for her or one that I personally don't care for, as that is a baby that I have to stress and worry about brining into the world and then finding a great home for a possible less than quality animal.

And Kitty I think the little girl is going to do you wonders, she can win big for you I think.
 
I only have one mare so not a ton of experience to go by. I did buy a bred mare and was mainly only looking for a bred mare because it was a way for me to bring different blood lines in. So in my mare selection I not only looked at the mare but who she was bred too as I was also hoping to include that foal into my very very small herd. I was very picky as to what I picked and my mare gave me a gorgeous little filly this week that I plan to show for several years and will probably train to drive after she has turned 3. And, because she is no way related to my stallion, I can have her has a brood mare later down the road if that is what I decide to do. That's the only reason for me, but an open mare is just as good as a bred mare. Some people just like the idea of a package deal and that, I think, is a big help when trying to sell a mare. Plus it is a guarentee that the mare is breedable. I personally would have no problem buying an open mare.
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Well i just recently bought a mare in foal to a stallion i think highly of (bred for 09'), but i have liked this mare for some time and been wanting to cross her to my stallion, being that she is in foal to a stallion that i like and has bloodlines and a nice producing record is just icing on the cake. It gives me the opportunity to bring in new lines, like others said.

As of right now i would rather buy mares open due to the fact i have a young jr stallion that i would like to put on a few mares. But, in the above ^^ situation, i had a chance to buy a mare i had my eye on for some time and get a foal by a stallion that i like very much as well.

I really have no preference between the two but i'd rather, for at the moment, they be open just for the fact i would like 1-2 foals by my stallion to show next year ..but if its the right mare it is worth waiting another year.
 
Absolutely depends on the mare, who she is bred to and why I am buying her. When we first got started we bought a number of mares in foal. Did not have our own program and were able to bring in some nice bloodlines. I've only bought a couple of mares in the last few years - one open from my neighbor, happened to be a mare I just really liked, and one of my own breeding that I bought back in foal to a nice stallion. If you want her for a broodmare and you have doubts, have a BSE done. Not that big a deal. Mares don't have to be in foal all the time to be sound & successful producers.

Jan
 
It really depends on whether I like who they're bred to! If it's something that would add a different/nice bloodline to my herd that's great....if not it's a "wasted" year waiting to breed her to my stallion. If a mare has been a proven producer I don't see a problem with her being open.....that said, I did buy a mare that was a 12 yo open maiden! She was a "bargain" part of a package deal and I really liked her.......she has ended up being a nice producer for me and is the sweetest mare on the place!
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I'm new to miniatures, but I am still hopelessly searching for that perfect mare (or filly) and I can say in all honestly, I am wanting to buy the mare. If I find a mare I like that is open, that's great. If I find one that is perfect and she is bred, that's great, too. I just want to find a freaking mare that fits my desires! (sorry if I sound frustrated...
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My point is, like many of the PPs, anyone that is buying for the foal is sitting at the gambling table since you never know what you'll get. If you buy for the mare, then you can't go wrong.
 

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