Would you buy a good horse's sibling?

[LackOfAdhesiveDucks]

I’m another one who did.

I fell in love with a mare who my trainer had in for training. At the time, I had another horse and the mare was way out of my price range anyway. A couple of years later her younger brother by several years came up for sale as a yearling and after going to visit him I bought him.

Best decision I’ve ever made. Although he is still young (but now going under saddle) he is everything I’d hoped he’d be and more. In fact, he’s even nicer than the mare I originally fell in love with. I would not have bought him sight unseen but as a yearling it wasn’t as though I could ride him to see what he was like. I liked his movement and personality so I went ahead knowing I would sell if he didn’t turn out like I hoped. Fortunately, it couldn’t have turned out better!

[AMWookey]

We bought my husband’s horse unseen (and based off a trally terrible sale ad) because he shared 3 out of 4 grandparents with our coaches super star horse that we adored. My husband was also fairly inexperienced and the horse was a green TB who was race trained and never made it to the track. Kind eye, and careful feet in the little video we did see, sold it for us.

Then I found a mare by the same stallion at a rescue. Off we went to see her, and the barn owner clipped a lead line on her the moment we laid eyes on her. Her body score was atrocious, she was covered in rain rot and looked more like a yearling then a 4 yr old. Within 2 months of my BO bringing her home, she was only under saddle half a dozen times, my gelding passed from colic (not the TB we had just bought) and when the dust settled, my husband bought me the mare because I adored her, and had a feeling based on the other two, that she would also be athletic and wonderful with a good brain.

She proved us right, so when we found another mare by the same stallion, my BO bought her sight unseen too. So we have 4 now at the farm. All different, but all similar, and incredibly loved.

[westie55]

I have owned brothers that were entirely different personalities and different rides. They were broken and raised by the same people, so it wasn’t a nurture difference. They were both good horses in their own right, but you wouldn’t know they were brothers. Being a sibling is NOT a reason to buy a horse (especially sight unseen) IMO. However, if you know and trust the seller’s word to be accurate, that may be. When I am looking for my next horse the first call I will make will be to the woman who leased me my current gelding. She did a phenomenal job pairing us and was extremely honest about his talents, quirks, and limitations. That goes farther for me than genetics. If this horse weren’t a sibling, would you still be interested in it? Don’t let that cloud your judgment or your evaluation.

[GoneAway]

I would absolutely consider another Thoroughbred by Tenpins, based on my late OTTB and the other Tenpins horses I’ve seen. Just seem to have good minds and hearts. Not sure I’d ever do sight unseen though, would absolutely want to see the horse in person and see if we were a good match.

[Twisting]

@Nickelodian

Where in Texas?

Why the pressure to buy her now? Like findeight said, why can’t you wait until you’re back in the states?

I buy mine sight unseen all the time. But I’m willing to deal with what they bring. You sound a little more burned than that and emotionally tied is adding to the mix.

San Antonio area.

I am holding off for now. I had decided some time ago that I wanted to use the time I was in the mainland to learn how to drive a cart, and this would throw those plans off. I’ll be back in Hawaii in 2022.

I am a bit burned by site unseen, it’a basically the only way to buy horses when you live in Hawaii, unless you like making multiple trips to the mainland. The gelding I bought site unseen and he was the perfect horse for me. Athletic and a great work ethic but laid back and level headed enough to be happy hanging out when work got too busy. The ones I had after that were nice enough, just not the right fit. One needed far more regular work to stay sane than I could give her, she pushes cattle on Maui now. The other wanted to live a far more laid back life than I did and got sour when asked to actually work. He now packs tourists on trail rides on a huge ranch on the Big Island. Both new owners adore the horses that didn’t work out for me, I just want to find my perfect horse again.

At least Texas has plenty to choose from. Thanks for helping me see both sides. You are the best COTH, no matter what they sat about you.

[Satin_Filly]

So this is where, IME, breeding can be a complete crapshoot. I worked for a breeder and started several full siblings and a pair of twins. This breeder was fairly hands off their stock until it was time to start them under saddle, so think about nature vs nurture and take that for what it’s worth.
My observations are that full siblings’ similar qualities were more often physical in nature (movement, athleticism and build) whereas their dispositions tended to vary quite a bit. The twins I worked with could not have been more different.
That said, my experience with half siblings (mare side) has made me a believer that the mare has a huge impact on the mind of the foal. So I can’t explain why the full siblings I’ve worked with have different personalities yet I have started many half siblings and consistently see same mares producing foals by different stallions with similar mentalities. To mention a few…one mare’s foals were consistently stubborn, another mare’s foals were consistently known for being untrusting and a little extra feral acting, and another mare’s foals all had the most incredibly calm, cooperative and intelligent minds and were SO EASY.
You also have to consider the dominant traits that each parent consistently produces and throws. A stallion that REALLY stamps his get may supersede some of the mare’s dominant qualities.
Again these are just my observations from my own experience. Like other’s have said you’ll have to look at this horse as an individual and decide if you like her for who she is rather than how she compares to your heart horse (as hard as that will be). I would be asking a lot about the disposition of this horse before I bought it sight unseen, especially considering this is a mare vs the gelding you had before. You can easily decide whether you like it physically with pics and video.

[findeight]

@Twisting

San Antonio area.

I am holding off for now. I had decided some time ago that I wanted to use the time I was in the mainland to learn how to drive a cart, and this would throw those plans off. I’ll be back in Hawaii in 2022.

I am a bit burned by site unseen, it’a basically the only way to buy horses when you live in Hawaii, unless you like making multiple trips to the mainland. The gelding I bought site unseen and he was the perfect horse for me. Athletic and a great work ethic but laid back and level headed enough to be happy hanging out when work got too busy. The ones I had after that were nice enough, just not the right fit. One needed far more regular work to stay sane than I could give her, she pushes cattle on Maui now. The other wanted to live a far more laid back life than I did and got sour when asked to actually work. He now packs tourists on trail rides on a huge ranch on the Big Island. Both new owners adore the horses that didn’t work out for me, I just want to find my perfect horse again.

At least Texas has plenty to choose from. Thanks for helping me see both sides. You are the best COTH, no matter what they sat about you.

Wise choice. Not the unseen part as much as taking on a very Green horse and the considerable financial responsibility from the far side of the world for the rest of the year before ever laying eyes on her.

San Antonio is a target rich horse environment and most are sensibly priced. And broke. And you can be hands on from day one.

[Tigers_in_Texas]

If she’s still available when you move and you still want her, I personally don’t think you should be worried about the slightly green at 7 aspect. Like someone else said, it means she hasn’t had her legs jumped off her at a young an age (like SO MANY of the horses you see out there these days). Also it may be easier to get her fit than it would a 4 or 5 year old that’s still growing. And not sure what breed we are talking about here, but if it’s a warmblood, they tend to mature late, ESPECIALLY mares!

Example - My current mare was started lightly and ridden sporadically at ages 3/4, and has now been in regular work for almost a year and a half. She turned 6 this past May and although she is amazing, I am certain I will still describe her as “a bit green” next year when she is 7.

[greysfordays]

I think you are wise to wait. I just bought a 6 year old by Indoctro out of a 1.60m mare that was bred here in California. He has a great brain, totally workmanlike, great feet, is built like an absolute powerhouse,17h etc. They showed me pictures of him when he was 4 and he already looked like a mature horse.

They have a 4 year old full sibling mare so you know I was interested. Well she is a tiny dainty type, with awful feet, has quite a bit of attitude (but she’s 4 so who knows), very underdeveloped looking, doesn’t use herself nearly as well in the free jumps. I mean, just the polar opposite.

Breeding is SO hard, there are so many variables. This is a sample set of 1, so obviously not that useful, but the experience has made me realize buying a sibling can sometimes be more of an emotional than rational choice. I think there are enough horses out there that I would prefer to evaluate them all one by one, on their own merits.