Unknown Farms

[MindyLee]

So I was wondering, would you buy a horse(s) from a small unknown farm without a show record to back it up or only from well known farms who have national/world title records to back them up?

I know that I have and made a awesome show horse from a farm that has NEVER had a horse sold to a show home or to this day any of the horses they have sold been in the ring. I did'nt buy her from the breeder, but many owners later (which never kept up with her paperwork) and even became a broodmare for a few yrs), I purchased her, bred her, then put her in the ring first time Prego at 9 yrs old (she's now 12 yrs old) and did very well and plan on continueing to show her more next yr. I personally feel that out of all my show horses (former and current), she is one of the best and most beautiful horse that I own and out-dose herself in the ring and dose anything to please me.

How about you?

 

My little mare who I am talking about is pictuared in my avatar

 

[targetsmom]

Well, as a small unknown breeder myself, I would hope that at least some people would take a chance...

Now, we bought most of our minis from well-known farms with show records, but also (because I trust my own judgment in selecting horses) bought from some (at the time) less well-known, but up-and-coming farms. I think that is where the best buying opportunities are. And of course, even though our farm is not well known, the farm prefixes of most of our minis ARE well known.

 

[chandab]

I'd buy from an unknown farm, as long as they had what I was looking for and it was a quality animal. Known farm doesn't necessarily equate with quality, all the time.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Of course. My show horse to the left is from a unknown farm. I still consider myself not well known and I still show. I've done ok but have not shown any that I have produced, but I'm not breeding anymore anyways so I don't care lol. Also sometimes the smaller farms are better to work with.

 

[Zipper]

I would buy from a unknown farm as I would be buying something that I liked (even though I am new and dont know what to buy) and everybody has started out as a unknown and most horses you can trace bloodlines back to someone known.

 

[Reble]

I buy only what I like and what is best for my breeding program.

Which have the bloodlines I want, they have been unknown farms.

Very happy with what our little herd has produced.

Show records are not that important to us.

 

[sedeh]

As a small "unknown" farm myself I sure hope people would buy from them!!

Though I have to admit when I purchased my breeding stock it was from well known farms and they all had either a World Champion sire or dam(my stallion had both) in their pedigree. I do show and do well on the Pinto circuit but that is not held in as high of regard as the AMHA/AMHR circuit. I do know that I have pretty babies and they sell for a lot less than what you'd pay at the bigger farms!

 

[muffntuf]

Yes, I have and put together a nice show string as well as breeding program. So I don't look at the farm name, although I would be remiss if I didn't say I watch the big name farms to keep track of what they are putting out and presenting, as well as what is winning in the show ring.

And I don't bloodlines too much. Again I would be remiss if you thought I didn't keep track of bloodlines, I do. But its not my driving factor for buying an animal most of the time.

It needs to meet the standard of perfection to best that my money can purchase, and I make an educated guess (really it is a guess) as to what the broodmare and the stallion would produce.

 

[HGFarm]

Quality is my first thing, so I would not care where the horse came from. And it certainly does not have to be a 'big breeder'!! I have seen some absolutely stunning horses that were 'hiding' in people's backyards or just that folks had that dont care to show, etc....

YES I would buy from a small or 'unknown' farm in a heartbeat if their quality is what I am looking for!!

 

[albahurst]

I agree wholeheartedly with what the others have said. Each horse should be looked at individually.

 

[Anne ABC]

We are a small farm and I would hope, if we have something you are looking for, you would consider us along with many other small breeder's that are striving to produce top quality horses. I feel we have very nice quality horses and we do win our share in Amateur classes, we prefer to show our own horses and not use a handler. Therefore our horses are not out and about as much or as well known as some. Doesn't mean their quality isn't every bit as good as the ones out on the circuit with handler's, we just choose not to send them out with handler's by preference.

Quality is Quality regardless where you purchase it, be it Wal-Mart or Fifth Avenue.

YOU have to educate yourself enough to select a horse with enough of the right things in the right places to meet the mark of excellence YOU are striving for, and price does not have to be the deciding factor. Sometimes you do get lucky if you know what you are doing and looking for.

Just because a horse is a Champion does not make it a perfect producer, I would hope the odds of it producing well would be good, but you can't bank only on the basis of them being shown and a Champion. You would be better served to know what he or she beat in the ring and who was judging, how many times. A consistent winner on the National level is something to value, however, to purchase from a farm that has that level of achievement is expensive (usually) and rightfully so as they have invested a lot of money to campagine their horse(s) to achieve the level of winning stock they have to produce from.

I generally prefer to base my judgement, somewhat, on what the horse is producing. The proof is in the gene's everytime, if they can't produce top quality they may look good, but that won't pave their way, or yours, to success.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Honestly, I've learned (the hard way in a couple of cases) that farm names mean NOTHING! It's the quaility of the specific horse. Before I knew what I was doing (well, still have a lot to learn there) and before I felt I could pick out a quality horse on my own, I bought from "big name" farms hoping that if they were well known and had a reputation to protect, I could trust them to point me in the right direction. WRONG! If you aren't ready to pick out the horse for yourself, get someone you trust and have them help you. Farm name alone really means nothing. The size of the farm means nothing. All farms have crap (yes, they do) and most farms have better crap. And then a few farms (regardless of size) have great stock! You have to look at the horse, not at the farm it's coming from.

 

[K Sera]

Well said, Parmela!

 

[Tab]

It's important to have an eye to know what you are looking for. After that a name is not a big deal to me personally. However, if a farm is a great farm that has made a name for themselves I don't see a problem purchasing from them either. It comes down to this for me. If I purchase a horse that is just as good or better from an unknown farm who loves their horses and gives them individual attention (and sells several thousand $$ less) I think I'm ahead!

 

[Tucker]

Im a small farm also, I have bought horses from small farms,Yes I would buy again from small farm if they have what Im looking for, I really dont care about farm name.

 

[HGFarm]

Another thing I keep in mind, whether a small farm or big farm- the sellers attitude has a lot to do with if I buy or not, however I guess that is a whole different chapter and doesnt really have anything to do with the QUALITY found somewhere.

 

[MOJO]

Something to consider, a lot of these big farms are out there snatching excellent quality horses from these small farms. It's a shame so many think it has to have a certain prefix to be valuable, there are so many quality horses to be found from a small breeder. Another point to consider is once these horses arrive at that big well known farm, many are sold very quickly for 500% profit or more. It is such a shame that no one will look twice at a quality horse from an unknown.

My point is don't be afraid to look to the unknown breeders, there are a lot of good animals out there and they can be purchased very reasonably. The thing you need to do is educate yourself, know what excellent conformation is and be able to look past un fit, if it's there it will blossom with a little work. One more thing to think about, you would be shocked if you could see the before pics of some of the worlds grand champions. They all start out a little rough.

 

[Jill]

Since I'm buying the horse vs. the farm, YES, I would consider buying a horse from a "no name" farm. Absolutely. If the horse was what I was looking for, and I felt the people were honest, it is a big YES.

 

[CKC]

Right now I'm on a buying freeze, but in the past it was based on the horse. It did not matter if the farm had a name or not. I like to think that every farm was unknown when they first started.

Kim

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

Either they have a nice horse or not, doesn't matter who the farm is! Heck yes the larger farms are producing culls, people just don't hear about them. Those horses are sold without papers or given away.... or hidden in the back pastures. Not every horse born is going to be a show horse, thats just the way it is (just look around at your family members LOL).

You can have a GC stallion breed 30 mares, not all 30 foals are going to be show horses. I am one that does not care who the farm is. I watch to see who is winning and what their farm is producing. I have researched a mare that has produced some outstanding foals from multiple stallions, so I am looking for her offspring.

I actually perfer buying a quality horse from a small farm. I get a nice horse without paying for the "big" name.