Broodmares

[SampleMM]

I have a theory that most people do not sell their good broodmares which is why I bought young fillies.

So my question is.....do you ever sell your best mares or are most of your mares for sale because they don't produce what you like?

I'm looking forward to hearing your responses.

 

[MyBarakah]

Hi!

Well..... I know personally I have sold some of my good stuff and have a mare currently for sale that I LOVE..... she's gorgeous and what I was wanting for my breeding program (one that can produce a halter & performance foals)...... but I am so FAR behind on doctor bills and just WAY behind on my regular monthly bills that I have no choice but to move some so I can get caught up and so as hard as it is....... sometimes you have to let the good ones go! I too feel like by letting the "good ones" go that they will be easier to sell verses something I don't like....

 

[Minimor]

Well, I'm not a good one to ask because I don't like to sell much of anything. I have to say that no, I won't sell my best broodmares--and by "best" I mean "best for me". I have sold a couple that didn't work for me--not because of the quality they produced, but because they needed to be bred to a smaller stallion than what we were using here.

Here's what I found when we were buying broodmares though: I was also of the opinion that most people aren't likely to be selling their best broodmares. However....what is best for them may not be what would be best for me--and some of the mares that don't work for them may work very well for me. For instance, one breeder was selling off all her over division mares. So, I bought two of them, because I liked the mares, I liked their breeding, and I wanted over division mares. Indeed, they both produced well for us.

In another case, a breeder had bought this particular mare for resale. I really liked the mare--she's nothing fantastic, but there was something about her...turns out that she produces lovely foals (I consider her to be our best broodmare)--she's been bred to several different stallions & each time she has produced a quality foal. To this day I don't think the person I bought her from likes that mare, but she's a mare that we won't part with. She's got beautiful movement, produces quality foals and is an outstanding mom.

I have bought other mares that the seller had a personality conflict with. That was no reflection on the mares' quality of produce record, just simply that their personalities didn't blend well with those of their owners--and so they were willing to sell the mares reasonable just so they didn't have to deal with them any more. I can get along with just about any of them, and the mares haven't been a problem to me.

And of course sometimes a particular breeder just doesn't have the right stallion to make the right cross on a particular mare--in that situation the mare isn't a good producer for that breeder, and so they put it up for sale. Someone else--you, me--may come along & buy that mare & take her home & breed her to another stallion, and get a wonderful foal from that mare.

So, while I do believe that breeders tend to not sell their best broodmares, I also believe that some of the mares those breeders are selling are well worth buying!

 

[Kitty]

Interesting question.

I have sold some of my best both mares and stallions.

I sold a mare whose son just went 2x National, 1x Reserve National Champion and 2x Top Ten this year. She was was a 2x Reserve National Champion.

And most people would think I was crazy. BUT I have her son and a daughter. Every year I get better and better fillies and to keep advancing in the direction I hope to go I offer some of my best mares and I retain their best foals. So the person buying them isn't getting junk but a great mare that produced great for me BUT I have so many fillies I want to retain that unfortunately I have to offer someone.

And sometimes a breeding program changes like mine did and I have mares that crossed great on one stallion but I know won't cross on another and give me the look I want.

So I don't believe everyone retains their best mares. Things change and situations happen and if a person is in the right place at the right time and it was meant to happen you can get that oh my goodness horse you always wanted. I know it has happened to me

 

[Katiean]

I am not into selling my mares. With that said, I would buy an older mare from someone that was selling out. Other than that I think I would stick to young fillies.

 

[Magic]

Every year I get better and better fillies and to keep advancing in the direction I hope to go I offer some of my best mares and I retain their best foals. So the person buying them isn't getting junk but a great mare that produced great for me BUT I have so many fillies I want to retain that unfortunately I have to offer someone.

I agree with this, I've done the same.

I've kept a lot of fillies over the years.

I've also given up very nice mares that I just didn't "click" with, as Minimor said. Some mares are forever, no matter what, and some I've sold when I thought I never would, but things changed. I think that a lot of "best" mares are sold by a lot of people.

 

[REO]

I keep falling in love with my fillies, and as I keep-keeping them, we get crowded. Then I have to chose to let go mares or fillies, as we can't keep them all (though my hubby swears I do!) LOL

 

[Miniv]

I've sold what I used to consider were some of my "best", but it was because my (our) breeding program was changing away from what they were producing.

 

[afoulk]

Yes, I sell my best. I think it is important to sell what a buyer wants. I don't always advertise my best horses as I may not really want to sell them but if someone comes here or inquires and there is not a reason that I cannot sell the horse then I will put a price on it.

Arlene

 

[Getitia]

We offer some of not just our best mares but some of our very best producers each year - for example: mares who have won Grand at the highest levels of competition as well as mares who have produced Grand champion offspring as well as mares who are recognized as "Superior Dams" HOF . Like others have mentioned, we too have a limited number of horses that we wish to maintain - and as young mares are retained or added to our breeding program, then a mare needs to be offered for sale in her place. Each year it is very difficult to determine who to offer as in some cases we are on the 4th and 5th generation of our program and we consider our mares the core of our program. In fact I anguish over having to make out the list each year.

 

[Erica]

I've been in the same situation the past few years having to offer some of my best as well, like Getitia said, most of them being HOF/Superior Dams as well as National Champion producers.

I have a certain number of horses I like to keep, as well as a certain number of mares as I only choose to have 10-15 foals a year. So in keeping a few of their daughters or a son there comes a time when the "factory" is offered for sale. I'm in the situation now, and like Getitia said it really is a dilema, deciding which ways to go, in putting together the sales list. I have been putting one together and on it has several of my best proven broodmares in foal for 2010, and I can only hope that their fillies I have retained will be as great producers as their dams.

 

[JWC sr.]

When Hurricane Ike came thru and we were not able to move all the horses like we had in previous hurricanes, we realized we had to cut the herd down in size.

Cindy went thru the herd and had a really hard time when it came to mares that had produced so well for us in the past, but in order to maximize what they brought on the market and also to make sure that the babies that came from the mares we sold had a good chance of being better than average (as they were bred to our herd stallions) she has sold and is still selling mares we never thought we would part with. Many have produced national and world champions for us in the past.

That coupled with the fact that we wanted to keep young fillies and 2 year olds that were of our own breeding did make it difficult but hopefully it will work out for the best if and when we get another Hurricane. Which is just a matter of when, not if. LOL

So to answer your question directly, yes we have sold some of our best brood mares.

 

[Riverdance]

One can often pick up a fine broodmare from a top breeder. One who has produced winning foals. The only problem is, the mares are older. Many farms will sell their 12 year old and older mares who have been producing well for them, just because they are getting older.

I do not consider a 12 year old, old. I have bought an 18 year old who has produced multiple AMHA World Grand Champions. The prices are better and chances are you can get a couple of more foals from them if not several.

Also, farms that are reducing their herds may sell some of their mares that they thought they would never sell. And, others have quality mares that just do not connect as well with their stallions. It does not mean they are not good mares, just not good for their stallions.

 

[Kendra]

Yes. We're to the point where pretty much all our mares are either proven producers of very nice foals, or young mares who we are looking forward to raising very nice foals. But we still want to downsize, so we have been offering (and will continue to offer until we sell another 8-10 mares) our best broodmares. Now our very best broodmare, she's the only one who is on a permanent "keeper" list, and she'll be 19 in the spring.