Newbies WAKE UP

[Riverrose28]

To Magic, you said it all, Amen! I didn't breed any mares this year either, too many out there, The mares need a break, I need a break, time to reevaluate. Amen!

 

[splash's mom]

Guess What?

I'm a newbie to miniatures only a couple years under my belt,( although I have had big horses all my life) and the first mini I got was,are you ready for it... a STALLION, why you ask? because there are a ton of them out there and nobody want's them or they just want a different "Better Stud". Do you know what I did with him? Sent him to the trainers and got him trained to drive, guess what's happening in a couple of weeks? he's getting gelded!!!! He was a quite well mannered boy but he is still going to be a gelding and God willing I will have him till the day he dies. I just bought him a friend, and you know what? another STALLION, who will also be trained to drive and gelded. Okay all sarcasm aside. I have a question. Why are'nt more of these horses being sold as Geldings?( I realize money is involved) but if you're breeding and it's not something you are going to keep at least geld. Wouldnt that help a little? I will tell you that when I bought my guy I heard through the grapevine a comment from a reputable breeder in my area that said " Oh God why did she get a stud? We don't need anymore back yard breeders" What I have to say to that is " Who said I was planning to breed him" It didnt give me a warm fuzzy feeling about joining any mini clubs in my area. Just my two cents worth.

 

[barnbum]

Good for you, splash's mom! Thank you! After our six foals, I had my stallion gelded because if I felt there were too many minis in the world, selling him as a stallion would not be walking the talk. My only colt born here, the last foal and a keeper, was also gelded.

 

[ruffian]

Guess What?

I'm a newbie to miniatures only a couple years under my belt,( although I have had big horses all my life) and the first mini I got was,are you ready for it... a STALLION, why you ask? because there are a ton of them out there and nobody want's them or they just want a different "Better Stud". Do you know what I did with him? Sent him to the trainers and got him trained to drive, guess what's happening in a couple of weeks? he's getting gelded!!!! He was a quite well mannered boy but he is still going to be a gelding and God willing I will have him till the day he dies. I just bought him a friend, and you know what? another STALLION, who will also be trained to drive and gelded. Okay all sarcasm aside. I have a question. Why are'nt more of these horses being sold as Geldings?( I realize money is involved) but if you're breeding and it's not something you are going to keep at least geld. Wouldnt that help a little? I will tell you that when I bought my guy I heard through the grapevine a comment from a reputable breeder in my area that said " Oh God why did she get a stud? We don't need anymore back yard breeders" What I have to say to that is " Who said I was planning to breed him" It didnt give me a warm fuzzy feeling about joining any mini clubs in my area. Just my two cents worth.

Good for you! There are lots of folks who get a stallion, and the first thought is to get a mare and start making some money. I agree there needs to be more folks realizing what is stallion material, and what is gelding material. I went from 8 stallions to 1 mature and 1 jr. and if Jr doesn't work out like I expect him to, he'll be a gelding too.

It's too bad you got a bad taste from the mini club. Most are excellent places to get information and make friends.

 

[lucky seven]

I am not into showing and don't need papers to drive or just to take for a walk. I prefer geldings. I would like another mni and my farrier told me to look for a free one as there are too many horses needing homes. I have owned my mini for less than a year and would never breed.

 

[Taylor Richelle]

"I find some of these posts rather upsetting. From the view of a person who loves their miniatures, and can accept that they could be a "business" I really dislike hearing about pony "puppy-mills" - irregardless of WHO it is. Making a busniess out of your farm does NOT mean breeding 10, 20, 30, 100 foals a year! "

 

"I look at my horse and see a horse. Not an OVEN!

I'll happily keep a mare if I like her for who she is, not what she can give me.

And if she can't foal, that's okay too - to me."

You sound like me, not that I breed or anything...I have a gelding that was my first mini, he was gelded late so he's pretty thick and is more of the "older" styled mini and he's never been what you would call "in-shape"

Yet despite all that he has the best personality you could ask for in a mini. I wouldn't care if he was blue I still love him no matter what he looks like or if he could make me money. Same goes for my other gelding and my stud. They are my babies and I would never look at my animals with dollar signs. I am not pointing fingers or bashing anyone. Those of you who breed are doing a great job, I enjoy seeing your foals. Keep Posting!

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Great thread. We've been needing one of these!

Couple of thoughts -

1. For those that dislike the BIG farms or disreputable breeders that breed too many and take to auction, etc., Why patronize them? If I don't like a breeder's practices, I won't enable them by buying their horses. That's like buying a dog from a puppy mill then complaining about puppy mills. There's one of those types in Southern Oregon, you couldn't give me a horse from her ranch, and I actively tell people looking in that area to avoid anything she's remotely associated with - wonky, bad paperwork, just awful. The random 'nice' horses are ruined by her practices.

2. Don't the breeders on here have some responsibility for enabling the 'newbies' to start breeding if they're selling them wonky stallions and/or mares as breeding quality? Or telling them you'll make $$ breeding. (I'm not saying LB people do, but breeders in general) The people that do breed and sell, do you offer to mentor/advise people that buy from you? Do you follow up? I know I do try to educate everyone that comes out here, I didn't get that 'mentor' help when I started, and I'm perfectly willing to help others, often with alot of 'don't do what I did' scenarios.

3. IMHO. Breeders - and I don't care if it's one or fifty you're putting on the ground. It all adds up. I took nine Minis back last year (rescues basically), that I felt responsible for. I had only bred one of them, but I had previously owned the others and sold them to the homes they needed out of. Did I need to do that, no. But in good conscious, I couldn't have left them there.

I know my favorite Mini here that would be the last to ever leave me, I don't breed her, as I tried her twice, very sweet, smart foals, totally people oriented. No OMG conformation issues, but just not good enough, IMHO for her to continue breeding. Still love her, but no more genetic contributions from her as far as I'm concerned. Her two sisters on the other hand have had some awesome foals.

 

[wwminis]

Great thread. We've been needing one of these!

Couple of thoughts -

1. For those that dislike the BIG farms or disreputable breeders that breed too many and take to auction, etc., Why patronize them? If I don't like a breeder's practices, I won't enable them by buying their horses. That's like buying a dog from a puppy mill then complaining about puppy mills. There's one of those types in Southern Oregon, you couldn't give me a horse from her ranch, and I actively tell people looking in that area to avoid anything she's remotely associated with - wonky, bad paperwork, just awful. The random 'nice' horses are ruined by her practices.

2. Don't the breeders on here have some responsibility for enabling the 'newbies' to start breeding if they're selling them wonky stallions and/or mares as breeding quality? Or telling them you'll make $$ breeding. (I'm not saying LB people do, but breeders in general) The people that do breed and sell, do you offer to mentor/advise people that buy from you? Do you follow up? I know I do try to educate everyone that comes out here, I didn't get that 'mentor' help when I started, and I'm perfectly willing to help others, often with alot of 'don't do what I did' scenarios.

3. IMHO. Breeders - and I don't care if it's one or fifty you're putting on the ground. It all adds up. I took nine Minis back last year (rescues basically), that I felt responsible for. I had only bred one of them, but I had previously owned the others and sold them to the homes they needed out of. Did I need to do that, no. But in good conscious, I couldn't have left them there.

I know my favorite Mini here that would be the last to ever leave me, I don't breed her, as I tried her twice, very sweet, smart foals, totally people oriented. No OMG conformation issues, but just not good enough, IMHO for her to continue breeding. Still love her, but no more genetic contributions from her as far as I'm concerned. Her two sisters on the other hand have had some awesome foals.

Well said Michelle,

We also took back 9 horses last year! Took back an entire heard from one farm (5) very nice horses that weren't being taken care of properly! I know several breeders out there that are just in the breeding business for money!

So those are the ones we will never buy from!

Bill

 

[Magic]

I've taken back a couple of horses lately too, one of my breeding and one that I had gotten just a few years ago but I feel responsible for. I also am taking care of another one (for free) that I'd sold since the owner has been unemployed for quite some time but he'd like to keep the horse if at all possible, but he can't afford to keep boarding where he was.

I'm looking forward to shifting my focus to showing for a while, instead of breeding. Promote miniatures, expand the pool of miniature horse buyers, and enjoy the horses that are already here.

 

[SampleMM]

I think it's sad when a horse is viewed as a paycheck or that having a foal is a way to justify a mare's keep. I suppose that's why when I started my quest to purchase the best miniature buckskins that I could find and afford........I didn't care that they weren't bred. I knew there would not be a foal born right away to try and recoup my money rather there was a challenge for me to purchase, raise and then show the quality of my miniatures. I am very much looking forward to seeing what "Hawk" produces but It will be a couple of mares and I will wait and see what the outcome is. I wouldn't want to breed him to a mass number of mares until I see what he produces. What I'm trying to say and it may not be coming across very well, but you have to have well thought out plans. What would I do if I bred my stallion to twenty mares and most were of pet quality? There are more than enough pet quality minis out there. I'd rather keep my numbers small and no, I will never recoup my money but that's okay. It doesn't make me love, or enjoy these wonderful little horses any less.

 

[Candi]

While we didn't breed her - we did purchase her and her foal - then sell her... Bought her back this winter - she wasn't doing well there. *Generally* we'll take back a horse if it doesn't work out... not always but most of the time.

Good business. Good for the horses.

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

still a very interesting thread that keeps me coming back for updates. I like the spin off one also on the training as well. all very good points in both.

Based on some statements made in these posts, I'd like to offer some insight at what actually goes on here.

we have 80 horses here, so no, we are definitely NOT breeding all our mares. We are breeding what we can handle as far as the stall capacity, sleepless nights, numbers of cameras etc. And even with that, not all settle so we're left with even less babies than we planned for (or bred). We started out with small numbers and have increased over the years as our experience and knowledge increased. we certainly don't know everything and learn every single day and experience new scenarios with these horses every day too. One is never overloaded on knowledge and skill and first hand experience is the best teacher in my opinion. Thank god for all our mentors out there that continue to be our supporters with advice and suggestions and tips of the trade.

We do not get bent out of shape when a mare turns up open, and she's not discarded or cared for any less. We do love our horses and find great pleasure in them. those that know us personally and have visited and touched our horses, know that we do truly handle each and every one of them daily, multiple times. They are well mannered and love attention - including our spoiled boys. I will add though that we've bought from wonderful people that also handled and cared for the horses so they came to us level headed and well mannered (one of the traits we look for is disposition and temperament). Couple that might have been less reluctant to bond with humans and aggrevated us when it took all 4 of us to corner them to catch them ...... they are the biggest spoiled brats right now and in your back pocket. Patience and love and gentleness does that to earn their trust.

We've given mares a year off - and if a few don't settle that breeding season then technically they ARE getting a year off until they are bred the following year. We pull stallions and stop breeding at a certain time. we don't leave mares endlessly until they get bred. If they are open, oh well, they try again next year. We also look at age, and condition, and maturity and hip measurements and size etc before we decide whether or not to breed. We have held mares off an additional year or two sometimes for their own good. I wanted to state we are discriminating breeders but didn't take time to look it up by definition to be called out on it. LOL but we do put alot of thought into our breeding pairs - not only what I mentioned above but size, color, heads, legs, things that compliment eachother in hopes of producing a foal with the best features of both parents. isn't that what all breeders do? Do we always get it right? nope. But we learn for the next time. nature is a funny thing and you can't rely on things not to surprise you.

There are two mares that we determined will never be bred based on their size. they are staying here as the grandbabies adore them. They too are of the temperaments that our young grandchildren can handle so they stay - even though they won't breed for us. so the statements about baby makers and ovens and keeping a mare only if she turns a buck isn't really appropriate on our farm - I'm sorry if something said earlier made one think that. My earlier post was in total, the entire program, not just one horse. The whole program should make some income to offset expenses - yep you're darn tootin it should - or we wouldn't be paying for and caring for 80 of them and working ourselves to death.

We have a mare we bought as 2 yr old supposedly pregnant. Nope, no baby that year. No baby the next or the next or the next year. Did we get frustrated? oh heck yea we did. Did we offload her? heck no we didn't! She is finally in foal now and we are so excited to see what all this waiting is going to produce for us. And if its a filly - then heck yes we'll keep it as it took 4 years to get here! LOL So, based on some comments, one would think this mare has not earned her keep? well for her individually no, but hopefully a few mares whos foals sell will sell decent and offset her costs as well.

We have purchased from many farms - and have returned for repeat purchases from many farms. We've purchased from auctions - put on by known breeders and have always been very pleased. We have not gone to local auctions - we stick with the well known breeders who are offering via auction. All the horses we've purchased over the years are still here. At some point, as our homebred fillies mature we'll offer some of the first mares we started with for sale. But we never bought a horse with the sole intention of reselling to make a buck.

Someone mentioned we stick to our prices and don't run through auctions. Nope, we haven't thus far. We have just sold two of our 2008 foals - both colts are 2 yrs old this spring. Plenty of room and food and love here so keeping them wasn't an issue and yes, they've sold finally and I got what I wanted for them. Why didnt' I geld them? That's a hard decision to make because we offer discount to offset gelding fee if the buyer wishes to have them gelded. But for me to arbitrarily geld these colts, maybe geldings don't sell as good ? one colt is actually being gelded because the purchaser wished it - and we are having the gelding procedure done the weekend we deliver him - they can do the nurse maiding there. We often suggest that a colt can be gelded if they are looking for boys or want a girl from the start cuz they don't want a colt - we always throw out the idea of gelding. is my sole motive offering to geld them becuase I am I offering that to bring down the population of reproducing? NO. I'm hoping to make a sale (yes I see you cringe on that one). yes, we do lower our prices and advertise specials BUT I have a bottom line I will not go under. It kills me to see some of the prices on the sales lists - everyone blames the breeders for producing too many but I see those that sell for pet prices hurting the industry as people think that's all it takes to get a mini - - and they'll pay more than that for a labrador or great dane!.

i had a woman who was looking at a Buckeroo grandson here - very reasonably priced at the time - back and forth on the phone and emails and yes and no and yes and maybe - and she went and bought a horse somewhere else for 800 bucks (I saw it and won't criitique it other than it was no comparison). She wrote to me and told me all about it - all excited - and then actually said "while I will return to you in the future, I will have a much more strict budget as I know now the prices the economy is dictating". HOLY COW! because someone sold her a mini for 800 bucks, she thinks that's the going rate. Hmmmmm I wish she could see this fabulous yearling colt right now in my pasture cause she will be kicking herself this spring when he is advertised again. And yes, I did offer to negotiate but don't think for a minute I'm letting our babies go that cheap.

In our area it cost $300 PLUS $80 dollar farm call to geld. If I have multiple boys and spend 380 bucks to geld each one ........ now their price is gonna go up to offset my costs. Will geldings sell for that much more? hmmmmmmm I'll reduce the price to offset their costs in gelding if they so choose but not lay out of my pocket in advance and hope someone wants a gelding who's price I just increased to cover the gelding fee. I have enough pastures to keep my boys isolated from the females and our boys are so kind they run in groups of all ages together until breeding season. So space is not a requirement here and I don't need to offload in auctions or sell for 500 bucks because more foals are coming.

We did have a stallion trained to drive and were going to geld him because he was R only and too tall for our program, but he sold. So now the cart and harness sits collecting dust until we select another to train.

Long winded I know and I'm sorry. But there have been lots of good posts on here that I wanted to address.

Couple people mentioned us by name - thank you for the compliments, but please don't single us out as there are many breeders out there with much more experience than us and many more successful years of business. we are newbies for sure and luckily learning from the best in the business. We've made so many friends its incredible. There are folks that we talk to daily! those that we call when we need answers. Folks we've sold to are emailing and instant messaging and friends on FB daily - we keep lasting relationships with everyone - whether we were the purchaser or the seller. Yes we stay in contact but I must add that our sales are usually to other mini farms and not private individuals with their first mini ... so while we have been asked for advice sometimes, its not because they are beginners buying their first mini. I just realized we have lots of mini friends that are friends and converse with regularly that we neven did business with - it's just the connection and interest and passion of the mini that brings us together. Surely if they didn't like us, or didn't approve of our program or our ways .... they wouldn't continue talking to us - maybe we're just really nice and fun people? LOL

 

[chandab]

I also am taking care of another one (for free) that I'd sold since the owner has been unemployed for quite some time but he'd like to keep the horse if at all possible, but he can't afford to keep boarding where he was.

That's awfully nice of you to help him out. Perhaps it would work to trade the horse's boarding for a little help/labor around the place (hay stacking in the summer, fence repair, etc).

 

[Relic]

whitetailsminis that was a great post very honest l would for sure look your way next time l want a Buckeroo bred anything..l love the fact you are not coming of as one of those people who seem to show one side of your face to the public while the other private side is often times the opposite..

 

[LaVern]

Very interesting posts. I haven't gotten to all of them yet.

I have to admit to being one of those that has added to the over population of minis. Not, that we raise huge numbers, but that we have put reproduction traits as top priority as far as what we breed for. When I first got into miniatures, and spent a fortune doing so, I was lucky if I got one dorky little live foal out of three. Now if I breed 25 mares I get 25 live unassisted live foals born. Now this used to be a good thing, I thought. I wanted to produce lines of mares that were good producing mothers and stallions that did their job in the pasture. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

We are cutting back by breeding mares every other or every third year now. I don't know if that will throw the mares off and make it harder to breed later should we want to. I know that I will have an awful time keeping weight off the open ones.

As far as being a newbie, I think we all are. Every time I come on the Forum I learn something new.

 

[ohmt]

i had a woman who was looking at a Buckeroo grandson here - very reasonably priced at the time - back and forth on the phone and emails and yes and no and yes and maybe - and she went and bought a horse somewhere else for 800 bucks (I saw it and won't criitique it other than it was no comparison). She wrote to me and told me all about it - all excited - and then actually said "while I will return to you in the future, I will have a much more strict budget as I know now the prices the economy is dictating". HOLY COW! because someone sold her a mini for 800 bucks, she thinks that's the going rate. Hmmmmm I wish she could see this fabulous yearling colt right now in my pasture cause she will be kicking herself this spring when he is advertised again. And yes, I did offer to negotiate but don't think for a minute I'm letting our babies go that cheap.

This is the big thing that bothers me too. It is fine to ask to negotiate or ask for a discount if they have to ship across the country, etc. But I get so many people out here who think every horse on the place is $300, it drives me crazy. Since we are having a hard time selling colts I offered a lady a colt for her kids to show this summer on a free lease. She came to get him and decided she wanted to purchase a filly instead(we didn't have any for sale at the time) and wanted to pay no more than $500. No way. Also had a VERY nice colt listed for sale and got a lady from Wyoming very interested and said she'd send a down payment, etc. Now I live in North Dakota, but have a friend coming in a month or two from Wyoming and offered to ask her if she might have room coming back. She said she could bring him for $200 since gas prices are supposed to skyrocket soon. The lady responded that $200 was way too much and she wouldn't pay that, especially in this economy. I know my friend would have gone lower, but I was so mind blown by how rude the response was that I told her good luck in her search. I'm still not quite sure how she planned on getting him to Wyoming for anything less than that? I'll keep the colt and bring him to some shows this summer instead, fine by me.

 

[bluerogue]

I'm not a big breeder by any means, nor have I bred every mare I owned every year. Did I start off breeding? Yes. I've been responsible for 10 foals so far. I still have my first born (the only filly). 7 of those 10 foals are still alive. I've made mistakes, and I learned from them. I never wanted to be a big breeder. I wanted to be a GOOD breeder.

I wanted to be known for producing pretty, good minded horses, that can be handled by the WHOLE family. So far, I think I've done pretty well with that goal (except for the well known part, which is okay with me). Most of my sales have been to pet homes. But just because their new families chose to keep them as pets doesn't mean they aren't capable of doing more. Just because they are pets doesn't mean I don't have any place being a breeder. I kind of resented when someone said if you produce pets, you shouldn't be breeding. I am proud of the horses I've bred, and I think their families are happy with them, and glad I bred them.

I have nice horses (in my opinion). I don't plan on breeding my girls every year, year after year. Two of them will be trained to drive, so if I decide to never breed again, I'll still have an activity I can do with them (aside from grooming, and going on walks). Something that will allow me to keep spending time with my girls (and not be accused of just keeping them as pets by certain family members). The other two aren't going to be trained to drive. One because she lost an eye in an accident as a young foal, and I don't think it appropriate to drive her, and the other because she's older, and I don't think she'd enjoy it. I don't want my girls to only have worth as baby makers. They are so much more than that to me... they are friends, companions, and pets. The foals they give me are gifts. Every foal born is bred with the idea that that foal might be a keeper.

I didn't breed any mares for this year. I do plan on breeding at least one, and possibly as many as 3, of my mares for next spring. The one foal I am for sure going to breed for is making me jump with excitement. It is going to be a long, hard wait for me until I can meet this baby in person. I am planning on keeping this foal, colt or filly. If it's a filly, it's likely someone is going to need to pass smelling salts under my nose after it's born. I'm due for a filly! This baby will have bloodlines I love, be out of a mare I love, and be sired by a stallion I admire.

I hope that the people who have dealt with me would say that I am a good breeder. I make a sincere effort to be ethical, and completely honest. I am proud of my horses. I am willing to help people find the perfect horse for them, whether it's from me, or someone else. I try to educate people about minis when the opportunity presents itself. I have tried my best to be a good breeder, and I will continue to do so.

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

As I am still learing the lines and who is good and who I should stay away from I must say it has to be similar to dogs and dog breeders. We have some big name kennels. As they have the reputation and can sell their pups for top $$ and alot of times will only look for the top $$ and not consider selling too a good home that might show or do good by thier pup. These same breeders sell tons of puppies each year and have seen some end up in shelters or in the wrong hands. The are memebers of clubs make it look like they are the great breeders but when it comes down to the nitty gritty they don't take puppies back when the owners give them up and they don't think they have any problems with their lines. They are all show quality and have no faults or health problems. I have not learned yet if its like that in the mini world as I am so very new still. I have seen names that seem to be in alot of the minis pedigrees and I am very intrested in those lines as it seems thats what alot of people have but am trying to learn if thats the road to take or not. I like there is a look that I like so I guess my question is how does a newbie find a good line to start with and someone they can trust thats not just looking for how much money they can get for their mare, stallion, colt or filly? It can be a greedy world out their and have to be honest as I would love to have nice lines I am a stay at home mom and to pay $2000.00 and up my hubby said I need my head examined. Then to pay cost for shipping these days its hard to newbies are resorting to buying the basically Mutts of minis. How do the lease programs work.?

 

[Minimor]

TPS - in order to find good horses to start with, without being taken in by a good sales pitch on a lower quality/higher priced horse, you need to know how to judge a horse on its own merits. If you aren't good at judging conformation, find a mentor to help you. Find someone that knows conformation, someone that you trust to be able to pick out a good quality horse and who will help you choose a horse that suits your needs and price range. A good mentor will help you find the right horse, even if it's from another breeder, not just sell you something out of their own herd. And you know, you do not have to put out a huge amount of money to get good quality--these days especially there is a wide range of horses, even some very good quality ones, available for modest prices. You have to look around some, and check out the small breeders as well as some of the big ones. Those with the big name/good reputation (and some with nothing more than illusions of grandeur!) may keep their prices 'up there' but some lesser known farms have lower prices for horses that are still good quality. Keep in mind that you do NOT have to pay a high price to get quality--there are some very overpriced poor quality horses out there. Sometimes a low price does mean low quality, but not always--just as sometimes a high price gets you a good price, and other times that high price just means that you got took badly on a dud of a horse. Do not go strictly on pedigree--you can have a horse with the greatest pedigree in the world and that horse has some very poor conformation....or can't produce anything worthy of the pedigree. Meantime, a horse with a more modest pedigree may be a lovely animal that will give you a quality foal every time. Do not let yourself be taken in by a fancy pedigree, big name prefix or high price.

 

[Shortpig]

I bought three mares, the mother and her two fillies. Those two little black filles were wild, had never been touched by human hands, one was 2yo and one was a 3yo. Had no intentions when I bought them of ever breeding them. Thought never crossed my mind. But and that's a big but I had a friend who was an old cowboy. When he was those three mares he said lets get us a stallion, I will pay for him but you go find one. So I started looking. Found one that was the sweetest little guy and fell instantly in love with him. Hauled him home on July 3rd, 1995. On July 4th we chose a mare and put them together for a week. Each mare spent a week with him and then we were done. One year later we had three fillies one each week. Two of those fillies were sold at 6mos old. The other I kept but sold to a friend at 2yo. I bred one mare back the first year and one filly was born the next year. Over the years I have produced 7 foals. Two from one mare and 5 from the other. I have rescued a few over the years and rehomed them.

In 2005 I bred my mare and said last time. But then last year on June 13th. I bred her once, one more time. She was 18yo and I still can't tell you why I did it. But to keep my group at five I sold one of my foals to the most perfect home she could go to. She was 8yo. So to those of you who say you don't want to take a chance that if your mare takes a couple years off and might not settle again after that. Wow! Six years in between breeding and one time she settled. She is 19yo and has no problems keeping her weight on. She is right now 5 weeks from foaling and looks great. We will keep this foal. I don't care if it's a filly or a colt we will keep it. If it's a colt it will be gelded. Within the last year three of the foals have been in driving training and will have jobs. My stallion and one mare drive. Both are very gentle and very soft on the reins.

I still own those original three horses. I have asked all of them to go get jobs to support themselves. LOL.

Didn't happen. I love my horses. They are a family to me. My daughter plans on showing the new foal next year. In the future it will be trained to drive. I work full time but I can't imagine how a person who creates 20 foals a year has the time to spend with each individual foal to love on it and make it feel special love and trust humans. I will never forget the fear in my girls eyes the first time I walked into the stall with them. They were absolutely terrified that I was going to attack them, butcher them and eat them. I have never created a foal with the intention of selling it for a fortune to support my herd of me.

I don't breed dogs or cats or for that matter pot bellied pigs. I have these animals for my own pleasure. I have also in the past been told I shouldn't be breeding my horses. This by people who breed theirs every year over and over. I found great humor in that.

I suppose having these horses for 16yrs doesn't make me a newbie but I will never say I know everything. No one knows everything. Not to mention there are new ways created each day to handle and train horses. New theories on how to feed them.