Buy American

[Equilibrium]

I’ve made some of the same points as Alexandra but do have to correct one thing. 3.6 is just a shade under 1.10m. 1 meter is 3.2feet. It’s not exactly 90 cm’s. Not trying to be rude. I’m the opposite of everyone in Europe. Meters and celcius mean diddly to me so I have to convert. Still after 10 years. My weather apps are all set to F otherwise I really don’t get it! Stupid I know.

Also, it’s wonderful that so many breeders take time with their youngstock but having a website touting so and SO’s methods or that your horses are tarp proof isn’t going to get serious buyers. All that is nice but it really is beside the point and it has no bearing on sales for performance. An odd person maybe, but most no. And from a jumper standpoint, you don’t ever walk on tarps in my book. You can jump, but not walk on them. Ask yourself this, do any of the top horses in the world from the 3 big sports and the hunters have they been brought up this way? I’d say 99% haven’t but yet they still win. If endurance and western pleasure is your thing then great. Not saying don’t do it but a website filled with that kind of stuff really isn’t what you want to market for.

The horses in Europe being bought by Americans are bred and raised with performance goals. From the time they hit the ground they are the product of breeding for a purpose. They are presented in this way.

Terri

[Sakura_Hill_Farm]

@Equilibrium;5861484

…And look at people like Sakura Hill. I love them. Everything is professional and horses bred and raised for performance. They are trying to make it easier for all breeders in the States with the same goals.

Terri

Thank you, Terri, for your kind compliment. We are lucky to have started with good performance and performance-producing bloodlines, a good location near major competition circuits and that always-necessary “village” of competent and dedicated professionals and assistants. That, coupled with the energy and innovative approach of the under 25 set (Monica) and the time and patience of the Golden Years set (Michele and Makoto), have helped us in our endeavors during this difficult time of reset and readjustment in the economy of the industry as well as globally and nationally.

Thanks again, Terri.

[alexandra]

Thanks terri, but also 1,10 is Not a huge deal and with a few times in a chute one can get a decent video/ jump as far as my experience goes.
My rider friend has about 6 horses to ride everyday.
All of them no matter what breed, age, purpose will do free jumping every fortnight in Winter. And coming from there and all the horses she takes on and that go again I am sure now that 1m 1,2m is something EVERY horse can do in a decent way. Some need a bit more time of practicing (try to jump Lauries Crusador offspring… ) and some are immediately up to it and good. One can tell the difference fast and a decent jumper sale video can be put together after one or two training sessions. But I have to admit you need decent material, two jumps plus poles for an oxer and two additional poles to tie rope plastic band to for the chute as such. And you need two people having an idea what they do !!!

[alexandra]

[QUOTE=Cumbria Farm;5858708]

Hey Julia-- I have a Totilas foal coming next year out of a multiple award winning mare, one the best SPS Hanoverian mares in the world!!! [/QUOTE]
Congrats on having Fenjala. You may want to rework your homepage though

It is Verden with two "e"s
It is Schillerslage
It is Ratje-Niebuhr-Schau
And
Louis-Wiegels-Schau

And just out of curiosity and to understand more: what is the criteria to make her one of the best Hanoverian SPS mares in the world ?

[Equilibrium]

Yes, Alexandra you are right, 1.10 really isn’t a big deal for a 2yo to just pop over. You won’t be able to tell everything about the horse but you will see enough depending on what you’re looking for. Provided you know what you’re looking for. And weeks of practice and training are not needed. I’ve had zero problems setting up a little jump up to 1 meter with any of my horses. Don’t have an indoor or a chute really. And that’s out of TB mares! LOL! They have all been willing, not disasters, and had a bit of craic. And it’s no more work than what they’ve been getting up to outside lately. The tomfoolery and happiness meter is at an all time high. But having said that, mine might loose jump a total of 3 or 4 times before I ride. If I was selling then maybe the vids need to be current within 3 months. No I wouldn’t make a current video everytime someone calls. Buyers is that’s something that’s ok with you keeping in mind we don’t want the legs jumped off youngsters before real work starts?

Terri

[Equilibrium]

SHF, you have great elements like you say but you listen to what people want from websites, advertising, essentially what buyers would like to see on a buying trip. It’s all a part of buying.

Have to say one of my favorite candid shots I’ve seen on Facebook was one Monica took of your husband with one of the horses. He was being nuzzled and was in laughter. It was so cute! Not that that is anything to do with selling but that was just a cool pic! Loved it!

Terri

[back_in_the_saddle]

[QUOTE=smm20;5861467]
But you have to admit that a trip to Europe can be very fun and very special. I don’t know if US breeders can compete with that.[/QUOTE]

I have to disagree with this. While Europe is certainly more exotic that stayiing in the US, there are many great places to see and enjoy in the US. On one of our ventures we went to Oregon. This location was not an easy place to get to. It required about a 3-4? hour drive from San Fran but it was such a nice trip. We stopped at Luchetti Ranch and saw their horses on the way to the final destinaion and wow… such nice people and horses. And the coast line coming back was gorgeous.

Now the trip to Kansas 4 hour drive from denver, 4 hour drive from amarillo, 4 hour drive from Wichita… that one I could have done without. :yes::yes::yes: jBut it was an adventure so I can’t say it was all bad. I didn’t know all the old Western movies/tv shows were based from places in Kansas an we saw the covered wagon tire ruts along the Oregon trail. So you do learn something on these somewhat unfortuanate trips. LOL But again, they are trips to see a handfull (if that) of horses so when you go you need to be sure the horse is one you really need to see and may could get serious about.

As to me singling out Rolling Stone Farm. Someone posted a post and then deleted regarding this part of my previous post. I was referring to the sales portion. Sellers don’t need a huge operation in order to have basic pictures, a video, a price based on quality, and a brief description posted on the website. Some other farms have good sales sites as well but from my experience looking in the past, this was not the case I’d say on 85% of the websites I looked at.

[okggo]

Very interesting thread…I personally would not chastise someone for wanting to purchase in Germany, Ireland, US, England, or where ever they found their dream horse. Lets face it, the reason we have Irish horses in the US, or Dutch Warmbloods, or or or - is b/c people imported, or use frozen, etc. It’s trade, it can and does work both ways, and it’s what gives people opportunities. Why limit ourselves (well, it sounds more like some want to limit everyone else but not themselves).

Regarding requests for videos, the thing I struggle with are detecting ‘serious’ in the day of one line messages. If I get an e-mail where someone takes the time to say who they are, what they are looking for, give contact information, asks questions, etc I will take it very serious. But it seems like all I’ve been getting lately are “Your horse is cute, do you have a video.” or “Is she still available?” and they don’t even bother to put a name signature on it. I respond, and may link the video I do have, but I’m going to put about as much effort into my response as they do in their inquiry - very very little. Has anyone had a sale actually come from a one-liner e-mail? As an interested buyer would you not take the time to sound like you were actually interested? I read those and think it’s likely someone curious, or bored, or a scammer.

[not_again]

For the sake of marketing and timeliness we have all videos on Youtube and maintain an active presence on Facebook and update our website at least once a week. That being said, I recently had a complaint of " not enough video" on a particular horse. The one is question has ten videos from foal inspection through current performance successes. But to please a potential buyer we will add another… just the way things are today.

[fordtraktor]

[QUOTE=Bent Hickory;5860596]
Candidly, if someone told me that they had been looking for a horse for more than a year, I wouldn’t bother sending a video either.[/QUOTE]

Candidly, I’ve been looking for a horse for the last 20 years, Bent Hickory, and I’ve bought a whole bunch of them. If the right one at the right price walks by at any given time I purchase it. I don’t see why being on the market should rule a buyer out.

Don’t assume you know everything about a buyer because of some offhand remark they make on the Internet.

If you are “sending a video” you are way behind the times. Youtube takes 10 seconds to email a link, and is free.

But not again, you are very patient! 10 videos is more than enough unless they are 10 second clips of Poopsie eating grass!

[Perfect_Pony]

@okggo;5861708

Regarding requests for videos, the thing I struggle with are detecting ‘serious’ in the day of one line messages.

I confess towards the end of my shopping I probably sent out very short emails. When you see a website with a picture of a foal and the horse is now two years old all I really want to know up front is “is the horse still available, and do you have any pictures/video of it NOW?”

Truth be told, if I ever shop again I will do it very differently than I did last time. 1. I wont even bother with emails, I will pick of the phone and call sellers with horses I am serious about (unless there is no phone # for some reason) 2. I wont bother shopping in CA at all and will budget for a long shopping vacation back east and see if things really are better back there

[Jewels09]

Why is it okay for breeders to shop in Europe and buy their horses from overseas but it isn’t okay for everyone else?

[horsetales]

[QUOTE=okggo;5861708]
Has anyone had a sale actually come from a one-liner e-mail? As an interested buyer would you not take the time to sound like you were actually interested? I read those and think it’s likely someone curious, or bored, or a scammer.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes its not that person, but they want it for a friend who is shopping. I had a friend who had that type of request. They took the link, forwarded it to a friend in the market who was a serious buyer and went on to make contact with the seller.

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=fordtraktor;5861746]
Don’t assume you know everything about a buyer because of some offhand remark they make on the Internet.[/QUOTE]

I don’t claim to know everything about such buyers and really don’t need to know any more – I’m sure they’re all delightful people. But I will rely on such remarks (and every other interaction/comment) to assess how to best use my limited time.

@fordtraktor;5861746

If you are “sending a video” you are way behind the times. Youtube takes 10 seconds to email a link, and is free.

Thanks for the technology lesson.

[fordtraktor]

I just don’t understand all the hand-wringing about “limited time” when breeders insist on using stone-age, expensive technology that no one probably even owns anymore (do buyers have VHS players? I don’t…) when there is a cheap, fast solution available.

But no one seems to want solutions, they just want to complain about how everyone’s going to Europe. I’ve never bought a horse in Europe but it is starting to look tempting. The last couple sellers I contacted were so emotionally involved in their horses I never called back…so many preconditions they scared me away. I just wanted to buy a horse, found one with no strings attached.

[Home_Again_Farm]

I know that my own marketing this year has really gone downhill. The reason is that I have been thoroughly depressed after losing three wonderful foals and now am contemplating giving up breeding entirely. It kind of takes the wind out of one’s sails and makes me rather inclined to just raise what I have left and sell them once they are under saddle. That makes me less inclined to update videos and post recent pictures. Even updating my website has been something that I just can’t seem to get done. Sad, but true. Unbusinesslike, but human.

I guess what I am saying is that sometimes life gets in the way of efficiency. It really does not reflect on the horses’ quality, though.

As far as this thread goes, you will never hear me moaning about anyone buying in Europe. When I still had the passion and energy, I always said that it was my job to compete with anyone anywhere. I had to prove to buyers that my horses were worth seeing and worth buying. I have imported mares and I would never try to tell someone that it was okay for me to buy in Europe, but not okay for others. That is just ludicrous.

[Pennywell_Bay]

I think one successful trait of any breeder who is doing it as a busines, be it big or small scale, American or foreign, is contacts and, thus “marketing”.

The most successful are the ones who are out there, hand-shaking, going to shows even when they do not have one showing, introducing themselves, acting professionally etc. Returning phones calls, emails in a timely manner or having someone who is covering for them if they are away. Even if it a quick “so sorry- we can’t provide that at this time…” Overtime, some become popular names and thus, have to spend less “face time” selling themselves, and their animals.

At Warrenton, a stallion owner was introduced to me (as a mare owner) and shook my hand, talked to me about my mare, what I was looking for etc. That made an impression on me. I see some of the up-and-coming trainers/handlers doing the same thing. Marketing themselves in person, as well as online.

On the topic at hand “buy American”, well- I agree. To me, I see some people who love love love to say “I imported her/him” and then watch as a homebred goes in a wipes the ring w/ them. To some, perhaps it is about presumed “presitge” of the whole situation. shrug. I’ll keep my money in the states. I see enough really awesome animals at the inspections and HB shows. I guess I feel I do not have to go jetting to Europe to find my perfect horse, then again, I am lucky enough to have bred mine myself… =)

[Sakura_Hill_Farm]

@Equilibrium;5861546

SHF, you have great elements like you say but you listen to what people want from websites, advertising, essentially what buyers would like to see on a buying trip. It’s all a part of buying.

Have to say one of my favorite candid shots I’ve seen on Facebook was one Monica took of your husband with one of the horses. He was being nuzzled and was in laughter. It was so cute! Not that that is anything to do with selling but that was just a cool pic! Loved it!

Terri

Thanks again, Terri!

BTW, that is the yearling Sakura Hill Wyoming by Willemoes! He and the 85 yr. old Makoto believe that the “boys” must hang together. Needless to say, we are now marketing him as affectionate and ammie-friendly after seeing the photo!

[fordtraktor]

In all seriousness, I think there are many breeders that do a wonderful job of marketing their horses, including many of you. I love Sakura Hill’s site – if I win the lottery or sell a horse in the next few months I’m going to talk my husband into Ana Bella’s Calvados baby…there really is no need to go to Europe for nice horses for someone shopping for an unbroken youngster.

The problem of a going 4 and 5 year old is still there, our country’s young horse infrastructure is just not as good for developing babies. The young jumper, etc. programs are improving it but it is so darn expensive to bring along a baby here.

[SilverBalls]

YAWN~ :eek:

North America is the place to buy! Keep the money here!