Where to find the small breeders?

[eventerchick517]

Hi all,

Today I had to make the heartbreaking decision that my current mare will just not hold up to the work I’d like her to do, so she will be being retired to my mother’s pasture unless I find the perfect home for her.

This means I’m going to be looking for another horse in the near future, and since I got a bit burned with this one(previous owners worked her too hard as a growing baby and trashed her hocks), I’m going to be looking for something either unstarted or VERY green broke.

However, I don’t have the budget for a top of the line youngster, think more <10k. So I’m thinking I might be better off looking for a smaller breeder rather than the big names.

Where do I find breeders like this? I’ve been doing some googling but that hasn’t quite turned up what I’m looking for. Any suggestions?

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

Your best bet is word of mouth. Go to some shows in your area and put out the word. People always know people who have horses for sale. You also have to do a lot of digging. If you go on a sales site and find some nice warmbloods for sale, go digging on their personal websites to find what else they’ve got available. Also, FB pages are always a good place to look.

[MoSwanson]

Just my opinion, but I think you are more likely to get a better deal from a large breeder who lives in the real world and who has to sell horses to keep in business. Small breeders sometimes have unrealistic prices on their horses and sometimes have unrealistic self evaluations of their horses.

[NJRider]

I have been searching for a similar horse (my budget is about double) and even with that it is a Herculean task to find a breeder that is motivated to sell to where they offer all the information you need (a clear video, photos, answering all questions). You have to dig in and inquire about maybe 25 or more horses to find one that responds with information for you to make a decision to move forward. And then they start changing the price or other factors…I seemed to hit the jackpot with these “eccentric” types. That being said, with your budget, they are out there. I would check out Warmbloods for sale.com. I recall a few in WI that were credible breeders that had some in that price range and criteria.

[VirginiaBred]

You need to be more specific about what you want (i.e dressage youngster? Eventing? Hunter?) and then you will probably get more direction.

[MysticOakRanch]

[QUOTE=MoSwanson;7824998]
Just my opinion, but I think you are more likely to get a better deal from a large breeder who lives in the real world and who has to sell horses to keep in business. Small breeders sometimes have unrealistic prices on their horses and sometimes have unrealistic self evaluations of their horses.[/QUOTE]

I think that can be said of ALL types of breeders - small or large, some are very realistic, and others are not.

Many large breeders have really high prices on their horses, but with the “brand name recognition” they can buy with a lot of advertising, they get those higher prices. Many smaller breeders don’t have the advertising budget, and as a result, their prices may be MORE affordable.

OP, you should try attending some of the area inspections if you are looking for young stock - and ask around. Look at your local riding group ads - your GMO if you are a dressage rider, whatever other local groups exist for hunters, jumpers, etc. And ask area trainers. Put the word out - the small breeders are out there, but again, without big ad budgets, they often go through word of mouth.

[pcwertb]

I often sell mine to friends of people who have one of my babies. I only breed one or two a year and sell mine between weanling and 5, depending on the horse. Most of my buyers are looking for a Connemara personality in a larger package, with better movement for the dressage…and often rode a purebred pony as a child or young adult. I have only sold one locally (Fl), the rest are spread out: Canada, Ca, Pa, In, Tx. Mine are probably priced too low, but eventers don’t often buy babies. For the first time this fall, I decided to advertise babies (2 and weanling) on a site additional to my own website (sport horse nation). I just posted the ad yesterday, so it will be interesting to see what the response is. There are deals out there.

[Blume_Farm]

Another factor might also be the rider. I know for myself, and other small breeders, that if a really good AA rider comes along that really wants to campaign a horse often the price is flexible. I think for any breeder, large or small, the best advertising is your horses out there competing and doing well. Large breeders have more offspring, in-house riders and a larger showing budget than most small breeders so it is easier to obtain those goals. If you are a competitive AA rider a small breeder might be willing to negotiate price if they feel you will go out there and “advertise” for them.

[stoicfish]

Don’t worry as much about the size of the breeder as opposed to finding the right horse. If you say what your are looking for, this forum might help you find it.

[Elouise]

-Look at Equine.com (pricing tends to be more realistic in general compared to warmbloods for sale’s website.)
-Go to Youtube and search under: 20XX______Inspection or Keuring. ( Fill in year and breed.) Eyeball the videos that come up and find out about the breeders and then find their websites and call them. Many people do not keep their websites totally updated.
-Go to the breed’s website for a list of breeders in the area.
-Google: warmblood breeders ______fill in your area
-And call the contacts you do make from doing the above. They may know of a horse down the street that might fit the bill. Talk to as many people as you can. With a lower ish price range, you are going to have to beat the bushes for horses, but they are out there.

Have fun looking!

[AKB]

Look at the website of the breed association to get the names and websites of breeders. For example, I like Irish Draughts and Irish Draught Sport Horses. The irishdraught.com site lists all of the breeders. See what they have available on their websites. We have bought 3 reasonably priced, well bred, youngsters from small breeders. The youngsters are now aged 6, 11, and 12. They grew up to be nice horses.

[eventerchick517]

Thanks for all of the replies and PMs! This has been really helpful!

I’m a young AA looking for a nice project to take to Prelim(maybe Intermediate), play around with some dressage, jumper shows, and maybe a bit of foxhunting in the future. I haven’t seriously competed in about 4 years due to my mare’s on and off soundness. But on a prior pony I was consistently competing at Novice, schooling Training/Prelim and about to make the move up to Training when he sold. I’m fairly experienced with young horses and really enjoy the training process. I also have access to several sets of WONDERFUL eyes on the ground that will be helping me during the purchasing/training process.

I won’t be seriously looking until sometime this summer, trying to get my mare sound really depleted my vet/emergency fund and I’m a bit short on spare cash. I’m not comfortable buying anything until I have had some time to save up.

I’d be looking for something between 2-5 years old, mare or gelding is fine, that will mature anywhere above 15h. I’m only 5’5" so I don’t need anything massively tall. If it is already broke I would really prefer it to be lightly backed and not started over fences. Unbroke is perfectly fine(and preferable really!). A good personality and sensible is a must! Sensitive is fine, as long as it is sane. I much prefer a forward ride to a kick along. No real breed bias, most anything is fine. A warmbloodxtb would be fantastic, but I wouldn’t object to a warmblood with a high % of blood either. I’m not totally against OTTBs, but I really worry about their soundness. I know many of them are fine, but I’m a bit gun shy right now.

[columbus]

A small or large breeder

We raise Irish Draughts and Irish Sport Horses crosses in Minnesota. We have about 8 foals this year. Last year we had about 12. All but one sold before Christmas. If they hadn’t sold we hang on and offer them later at those moments when they don’t look too silly and get their photos and videos and offer them again. We sell these foals in the 5-7K range. The only yearling we have left is at the top of the range and we expect he will sell pretty soon to someone who wants very tall, occasionally we have a sale horse come in from a mare owner as we stand stallions, and they come in to sell at an older age, we post them on the major sites. horseclick, Warmbloodsforsale, Dreamhorse etc with a selection of photos and a video or two. We try to promptly respond to requests for more video etc. We sell to people all over the world if you include the Friesians and crosses we also breed. Because this is a job and we breed a fair number of mares getting videos and pictures and being able to come visit to see horses in a short amount of time is possible. if we were a small operation…like I would be if I did this myself, it would be much harder to respond with the quality we do together. So there are advantages to work with larger operations. Next year we are expecting some nicely bred continental warmblood foals as we have added another partner. There are breeders who have decided to hang on to foals so they can get more later for started youngsters. Good Luck. PatO

[EventerAJ]

If you’re into TBs, don’t rule out the traditional TB auctions. There were some very good bargains to be had well within your price range at the recent OBS sale in Ocala. Kentucky sales generally have better pedigrees for higher $$, but regional sales (FL, LA, TX, MD) will offer better bargains for sport horse shoppers…and frequently the pedigrees are just as good or better for sport. Two-year-old in training sales are not a good buy as most are pushed way too hard, but the “mixed” or horses of all ages sales tend to have a little bit of everything…mares in foal, weaners, yearlings, just broke 2 y/os, and horses of racing age. It’s not unusual for the young horses to have a set of x-rays available for viewing in the repository.

The upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic mixed sale in Timmonium, MD may be something for you to check out if you’re interested. It does take a good eye and some knowledge of pedigrees is helpful.

[horsetales]

FB is a good source. If you look for an ISH to event, there are several Irish pages and an Irish for sale page. There are also ones that are regional or for event horses. As already suggested, breed/registry websites may have breeder lists. I know myself and some other smaller breeders use sites like Warmbloods for sale and equine.com

[Lucassb]

The advice you’ve gotten - word of mouth, cruise FB, the various sales sites etc. is what I’ve been told as well. But I’ll grant you it is a time consuming and difficult task.

I wish there was an easier way to find a nice US bred horse. I am in the market for a new prospect, as the 3 year old I really liked in Germany did not vet <sob.> I’ve got a pretty significant budget because I’m looking for what will likely be my last horse, (I keep my personal horses pretty much forever, and in 20 years I’ll be pushing 70…) so I want something really special.

I totally understand why the market functions the way it does here, but darn it, it’s pretty tough for a working amateur (as I know it is for the breeders as well.) I wish we had the access that the Europeans do; it is so convenient to be able to go over there for basically a long weekend and see a TON of really nice horses in one place!

[Kyzteke]

[QUOTE=MoSwanson;7824998]
Just my opinion, but I think you are more likely to get a better deal from a large breeder who lives in the real world and who has to sell horses to keep in business. Small breeders sometimes have unrealistic prices on their horses and sometimes have unrealistic self evaluations of their horses.[/QUOTE]

I would have to agree that the number of horses a breeder produces has no bearing in how they price their young stock OR their ability to accurately evaluate those horses. This depends more on the breeder’s experience in the horse industry and their level of horsemanship.

That being said, it can work the other way as well; an “big” breeder can offer deals on youngster sometimes too, so the number of foals a breeder turns out per season probably isn’t going to help you much.

I am a small breeder who does not “work” youngsters at all. They just grow up in fields in herd till they are started at age 3+. Of course they are handled, etc, but not lunged or anything else. I have no doubt there are a number of other breeders (large & small ) to do the same.

For your goals, there should be plenty of horses available when your time comes to buy. It might be more of a challenge to find a 2-3 yr old for <$10K, but again, if you are willing to look at TBx or such, it’s certainly not impossible.

Another idea might be to find the horse you want that is 2-3yrs old and a breeder who will let you make payments. I recently concluded a deal for a filly who was 2.5 yrs old when she was purchased, but the buyer could not afford the whole price ($15,000) at once, so she made payments for about 9 mos. The filly stayed with me, but it was no big deal because the filly wasn’t ready to be started anyway.

When the time comes, start searching FB, sales sites, etc. for something in your price range and then just ask lots of questions as to how the breeder manages their young stock.

Regarding OTTBs…I understand your concern for soundness, but if you get an “old warrior” type who has raced 40-60 times and retires sound, chances are they are tough dudes.

[NoDQhere]

I’ve found most small breeders to be more expensive than the larger breeders, but not as expensive as the breeders with the full page color ads in all the magazines. I would look for a breeder, who breeds horses to sell and needs to sell them. Midwest prices are going to be a lot less, and chances are good that the horses have been raised like horses, not hot house flowers.

[back_in_the_saddle]

I’ve never seen a big breeder with a started horse priced at <10k. I have seen smaller breeders priced lower due to them being a small breeder without name recognition and they needed to sell.

You need to sign up for every Facebook sales page there is. I’ve seen some listed that lay least on the cover look to be super nice horses for cheap. One elite mare was priced at 6k. Don’t know what the fine print said… (Rideable, same, etc… ) but there have been some deals listed.

[b]

I am a small breeder of KWPN-NA and GOV horses. I have my foals inspected and the fillies when they are 3 so that they can be approved as breeding stock. Going through the inspection process confirms for me the quality of the young horse. If I have an inspection champion then I know that I have a high quality young horse. I typically look through a number of internet sales websites and see the prices of other young horses of similar quality. I look for the highest and lowest prices and always set my price below the highest prices being asked because I want to sell my horses! Not all of my horses are inspection champions, although they are very nice horses, they are not ‘super models’. Those youngsters will go for very competitive prices as there are a lot more ‘average’ horses on the market and one of the few means I have to attract a buyer when there are so many horses to choose from is to make the price competitive. A large breeder with a much bigger facility may have the capacity to hang on to young horses for a longer period of time, until they can be proven under saddle. A small breeder with a small farm may be more motivated to move the young horses along. I suspect that most small breeders use the most popular sales websites along with Facebook. I certainly do.

Like me on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/HiltonHallSporthorses