Herd Dispersals

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SampleMM

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
1,969
Reaction score
89
Location
Corry, PA
Why are so many farms getting out of miniature horses?

Is it the economy?

Is the miniature market overly saturated?

I really don't know but would like to hear other people's opinions and thoughts. Thank you!
 
I don't really know either, but I would think the both - the economy, and not being able to sell.

I you breed 'em - be prepared to keep 'em.
 
It is both! I have seen it in other breeds over the years as well. People jump in, think they're going to make a barrel of money, the economy softens, and wham, you have instant glutting of the market. The horse market in general is 6 months behind the real world, and takes at least 6 months longer to pull out of a soft economy (or recession). If you are serious, hang in there, hold onto your horses, and if they are of decent quality, they will be valuable again in the future. I know we also need to sell some, but then again, we are still buying some here and there!
 
A lot of the "dispersals" you see are not always getting out of anything, some people are just changing the direction they are headed with their program.
 
Just watch the news one night and you'll find out quickly.

People have lost their jobs. Its caused them to deplete their life time of savings, run up their credit cards, and loose the family homes.

I know way too many people that were sitting pretty on top of the world for many years, in great jobs with nice homes and nice vehicles, and its all come crashing down around them.

Horses are a luxury. When people are struggling just to pay the light bill and buy food, the last thing they need to worry about is having the upkeep of a horse, mini or otherwise. They are selling horses to help pay the bills and stop shelling out for horse care.

The other thing is that many people didn't watch the horse market or didn't care and over bred horses and still continue to overbreed. Now there is such a surplus of both mini and big horses, its a war of the dollar out there, who's got the best bang for the buck? Well, seems to me everyone does. Whatever you want to pay, you'll find it. If everyone would stop breeding for a couple of years and let the market and economy settle down, I think we'd have a chance again. But until everyone, and I mean everyone quits pumping out horses that are being sold from thousands to $100 bucks at a local auction, I don't see how the horse market will ever stablize. When National Champions are sold for a song, that makes me ill.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As already pointed out, some get into it half heartedly, others is a constant "dispersal" just to get your attention, others are older farms whos older owners want to enjoy their golden years. I must say, I spent quite a long time looking over this site before I became a member and I have also been a member for awhile, you see the patterns, don't despair, there are new farms making their way onto the radar, it doesn't happen overnight. It's the farms that are passionate, professional and handle themselves with integrity, honesty and are in it for the long run that will last
 
Do you think the sluggish economy will effect large and small breeding operations the same?
 
You also have to look at the farms. They could be farms that have been in business for years and years but because if health issues, family issues and general life issues, they find a situation that can no longer handle owning a farm. I know in my situation right now, I don't really want to have over 7 horses, so that means some are always for sale. So there are alot of reasons for dispersals that have nothing to do with the economy.
 
Honestly having been in this industry for many years now I can say I do not see a much larger portion of dispersals or partial disperals now then usual. It happens every year for a multidue of reasons
 
As Mary Lou said in her post the folks that are marketing thru ads here at LB and other venues continue to do business and at least get by in these tough times.
default_aktion033.gif


The mini market is still out there and people are still selling their animals on a daily basis, but it takes a lot of horse to command so of the prices of several years ago. I personally know of over 30 horses that have sold this year in excess of 10,000.00 ea. Each of them were knock out animals and will hopefully do well for the new owners.
default_yes.gif


But with that said yes I agree with the other posters that horses are a luxury that we do not have to have. And a lot of folks have cut back to minimize the effect of the economy on them. I know even in our real business we have cut expenses and actually have become a leaner and better company because of it.
default_wink.png


I know we are using this time of reduced sales and prices to direct our breeding program in exactly the direction we want. The best part of that is that right now your dollar spent will go a much longer way in purchasing a truly well bred or spectacular individual. We have bought several at prices that we would not been able to touch them at several years ago.
default_wub.png


So bottom line for us anyway is to stay the course, work towards our goals and weather this financial storm. It will pass and we are seeing signs of it waning already with renewed interest from overseas and here at home from new folks getting into it. This industry truly has a very unique product in the miniature horse and I personally see great things in all or our futures.
default_saludando.gif
default_aktion033.gif
default_yes.gif


One side note is that as a few of our friends that have been in the mini business for years have gotten older and some have cut way back or been forced to completely stop working with the horses due to health and/or deaths. We sat down with our family and had a discussion of what would happen to our herd if something happens to us from a health standpoint. Not a fun topic, but it was very enlightening what came out of it and we now have a plan to handle that eventuality which is a positive.
default_wacko.png
 
Why are so many farms getting out of miniature horses?
Is it the economy?

Is the miniature market overly saturated?

I really don't know but would like to hear other people's opinions and thoughts. Thank you!

As a small player in the reining horse industry I can say the big horse industry is just as affected. With people pulling multiple embryos from one mediocre mare(s) and the past years of over-inflated prices, it has crushed the large horse industry as well. We have seen a drastic decrease in the breeding industry. mainly affected are those breeding stallions who are not in the top producing category and the people seemed to only breed their best mares. A LOT of mares were not bred this year. Reports are that embryo transfers were less than half of what they have been. I think this will all have a positive affect in a couple years when the economy recovers and the numbers of top performance horse prospects available are less. If breeders listen to the supply & demand (in all breeds) than the horse industry will recover. Even in these tough economic times I have still seen great horses sell for big dollars. A lot of people with money, still have a lot of money and will still spend. It seems to be the middle of the road horses that are having the toughest time being sold as the people buying those types of horses have been affected by the economy and are just not buying. And if you are looking for those types of horses the market is wide open with many to choose from.
 
Honestly having been in this industry for many years now I can say I do not see a much larger portion of dispersals or partial disperals now then usual. It happens every year for a multidue of reasons
Pretty much. Every year about this time you seem to see a handful of herd dispersals.

I kind of joke to myself if a farm has been around more then 5 years, it's here to stay.

My personal pet theory is that a lot of folks get into the breed, buy up a lot of horses, maybe buy 1-2 headliner show horses and then around that 5th year realize just how much $$$ they're in the hole and how they'll just have to keep writing the checks... and they've probably had some bad foalings, some disappointing foals, some arguments, some deals gone sour... all the heartbreak and hassles with probably very little to show for it but bills, bills, bills.

To be honest, considering the carnage in the economic sector, I'm surprised we're not seeing a lot more. I see a lot of horses for sale, and I see a lot of really amazing "give away" prices, but I'm surprised there aren't more dispersals. It gives me a little hope, although I'm kind of holding my breath from next fall. That should really tell the tale.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree with everyone else...i am currently working on selling 30 of our 50 minis. Its not because we can't afford them, its because of me being in college with 19 credits, my grandmother still getting over pneumonia (was in the hospital for 2 months and still has one lung with fluid after a year), and my grandpa just had a heart attack and was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

When stuff like that happens, there is no choice. My grandparents love the minis and are heartbroken that we have to sell so many, but it's life. Now the hard part--getting the website updated and finding really great homes!
 
For a lot of reasons, I just received this last week.........

Dear horsey folks: I was in Pleasant Hill (OR) Feed store yesterday and met a woman with a problem. She has health issues and her husband was just diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. They raise and show registered, papered mini horses. They need to downsize, quickly, because he is going in for surgery in two weeks and she can't take care of the horses by herself. She said they'd "gift" the horses to good homes. These horses are up to 165 pounds, no more than 34 inches tall, need stalls and pasture, and are mares and geldings. Five stallions will be gelded soon. One stallion is Northwest champion in color, he's silver dapple.

If anyone is interested in the info you can PM me. I sure wish I had time & room for more!
 
There is always a market for a quality horse, no matter what breed. As for the average or poor quality horse especially, they have become a dime a dozen.

There are many "dispersal" sales and auctions every year. Yet, those farms are still on the radar a few years down the line. It is used in many cases to bring buyers out thinking they are getting a coveted broodmare or stallion at a good price. If one goes onto the Stud Book On Line, one would find out that these coveted broodmares where never owned by the seller, till that year . They where mares that where bought for a song at some sale somewhere and bred to their stallion and then re-sold.

As for the stallions, often they are no longer being used by the seller or are no longer producing (perhaps they are shooting blanks).

One should be very careful when buying from a dispersal sale.

On the other hand, there are farms that are going out of business. Either they are getting too old, not making the money they thought they would make in the Miniature World or have decided that they want to move on to something else.

There are many farms who would buy Minis at a rather cheap price, then resell them for more money. The broker farms, who many have now gone under. So, they have a dispersal sale. Heck, they can no longer make the kind of money they used to.

There are the small farms who bought Minis to make a few bucks and have some fun, who did not have quality Minis and have figured out that selling a Mini for a few hundred dollars is not even going to cover the cost of getting that Mini to birth, let alone raise it for a while.

But there will always be farms out there who are striving to produce a quality Mini and are in it for the long haul. They may be cutting back in what they are producing, but are still producing to reach their goal.

Other farms keep producing 20, 30, 40 or 100 foals a year, just because they have been able to sell them in the past and are riding on their name for selling them in the future. (remember, not every foal a top farm produces is quality, many of those farms produce pets too) Then one day, they look out in their pastures and see 200 or more horses and realize they can no longer sell them or take care of them properly.

Unfortunately, this happens in all breeds and there is always an ebb and tide. Those who hang in there, continuing to strive to produce quality animals (though in a lesser amount for now), will come out the other end hopefully successful.
 
There are many "dispersal" sales and auctions every year. Yet, those farms are still on the radar a few years down the line. It is used in many cases to bring buyers out thinking they are getting a coveted broodmare or stallion at a good price. If one goes onto the Stud Book On Line, one would find out that these coveted broodmares where never owned by the seller, till that year . They where mares that where bought for a song at some sale somewhere and bred to their stallion and then re-sold.

Where would I find mini owner history?
 
There are many "dispersal" sales and auctions every year. Yet, those farms are still on the radar a few years down the line. It is used in many cases to bring buyers out thinking they are getting a coveted broodmare or stallion at a good price. If one goes onto the Stud Book On Line, one would find out that these coveted broodmares where never owned by the seller, till that year . They where mares that where bought for a song at some sale somewhere and bred to their stallion and then re-sold.

Where would I find mini owner history?

I look the horses up on AMHA Stud Book On Line. It tells you who the owner is at that time, but if you check to see what foals it has had, you will see that many times it has had no foals by the person selling the mare (their coveted broodmare) in foal to their stallion.

As for the stallions, you check to see how many foals it has had recently. I know of one stallion who was sold a year ago for $10,000 from our area who had no foals registered to it for a year or two. It started off with several foals and got less and less each year till it was sold with no record of any foals for at least a year. From what I can see, the buyer had no foals out of it this year. Another stallion was sold for $10,000 but had only 2 foals registered to it and it was about 8 years old. The following year it sold at a big auction for $4000 with only 1 new foal registered to it. I noticed him for sale again for $7500 with no more new foals registered to him. One always has to be careful what one buys.

There are stallions out there that have not been used much or at all that can produce, you should buy with a gurantee that the stallion can produce.

For $25, the AMHA Stud Book On Line is the best investment!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've often wondered how "groups" of minis end up at the "bad" auctions where they are sent to slaughter, do you think it's from some of these "herd dispersal sales" where they aren't able to sell them? I wish I could save them all
default_no.gif
 
Hi- Just wanted to put my 2 cents in here! 5 years is the average length of time for horse farms in any horse breed. So I don't put much weight on farms coming and going in that time period. As for us old timers
default_smile.png
We aren't going anywhere. The economy has had an impact for the first time in 30 years in the Thoroughbred market. And as John mentioned- we do have a luxury- but one us addicts can't live without! All will be okay and come out fine in the end. It is concentrating on quality that makes the difference. A good horse is easy to sell- at any price. It is the mediocre/pet quality that supply out numbers demand and therefore harder to sell.

I have actually seen quite a turnaround in the last few weeks. Things are looking better and brighter. The longer you live in doom and gloom thoughts, the sooner those thoughts become reality. Mom alwyas says- breed what YOU want to look at, not what someone else tells you is nice. That way- even when times are tough - you can walk out in your barn and feel good about what is surrounding you.

Just a little input- look at the ones who have been inthe business a long time and still promoting- there aren't many of them going anywhere- and if so- they probably have a very good reason.

Robin-LKF
 

Latest posts

Back
Top