When buying a herd sire?share photos as well

[MBhorses]

Hey,

Share with us why you choose your herd sire and why.love to see photos as well.

Why

Where

color

height

Pedigree

Confirmation

shipping(how far was you willing to have the stud ship and at what cost)

Prices (varies)

AMHA/AMHR

etc.

We had to sell her whole mini herd last year, because of reasons I try to forget about.

i would like a small nice herd to start over with.The economy is not good right now, so how do you know you are making the right choices on your minis you get.I was told that you can get very nice herd sire as reasonable prices.I was told it is the buyer market not the sellers market right now.

We are in the process our rebuilding our burn house from jan 2009

i miss my minis so much it is killing me.

 

[kaykay]

HI There

So good to see you posting again! Before you start over just keep in mind what I said when you were buying before. Go very slowly! Be really picky and take your time. First you need to decide what it is that you want to breed for and what you are passionate about. Learn everything you can about conformation then start picking out horses.

There are so many different ways to go. Some breed small some breed tall

Some like solid, some like appy or pinto. But remember conformation first then color.

We picked our ASPC/AMHR stallion as I knew his sire and loved him. I also knew his dams bloodlines and liked that. And when I saw him he was everything I was looking for. Great conformation, beautiful mover etc. And I knew from looking at him he was minimal expression Tobiano which I wanted for my mares that have a lot of white

When we picked Feature Attraction it was totally by accident. I had drooled over his pictures for years but never dreamt he would ever be mine. To me he was/is the ultimate stallion. Conformation, intelligence, temperment and the icing on the cake his overo color. I had already seen many of the get he had produced and knew they were outstanding.

Ten L's Tigers Back In Black

Wauk A Way Feature Attraction

 

[Miniv]

Two things we looked at.......Conformation AND Bloodlines that we admired.

*We also looked at how those things may cross with the mares we already owned or were looking at owning.*

Here's what happened to US.......

Our first stallion, we bought before we did all of our homework. We didn't look into his bloodline enough AND we bought him as a very young horse.

Our second stallion we bought as a mature horse, knew his background, and saw what he had already produced. We were NOT disappointed.

We have purchased other stallions since then.......and have retained a couple colts of our own breeding......

 

[End Level Farms]

We chose our stallion because when we ran across his picture we were like WOW what a nice horse. It wasn't until after ogling and goggling him that we found out he was a MINIATURE. Showed his pictures to fellow Paint Horse and Quarter Horse breeders and they didn't believe we was a miniature either.

Where: Sam was in Montana and after a long cold drive and messed up paper work he finally got home.

color: Sorrel Splash Overo.

height: I have never gotten him officially measured but I get him around 35"

Pedigree: Sam's Pedigree I liked his pedigree because he wasnt over bred or very line bred and specially because he carried no Buckaroo. Not because I dislike Buckaroo but because I wanted something a little different.

Confirmation: I love his refined conformation. Which he throws to his foals. He also reduces size.

shipping(how far was you willing to have the stud ship and at what cost) It cost us quite a bit to drive to Montana to Moses Lake Wa then home. Then back to Moses Lake because of the paper work. But we were happy once he was home. We have a mare coming from Texas which is costing over 800 to ship.

Prices: We were able to purchase him on payments. Which was a god send.

AMHR and PtHA only. Though when we got there the seller was able to measure him at 34" We just have never perused it due to the cost of hardshipping and not actually having an official measurement on him.

I think one of the things I like most about him is that as an aged stallion he is not cresty and he is still as refined as the day I first saw his picture. His foals usually stay that way as well.

 

[Frankie]

I agree with Kay,,,go slow!! If you plan to breed, the stallion being an important part, MAKE SURE!

I am not so sure the internet is the buyers friend, I suggest you go see any horse in person first. Then many questions are answered standing before you and not in a picture.

Best of luck!

 

[Reijel's Mom]

The economy is not good right now, so how do you know you are making the right choices on your minis you get.I was told that you can get very nice herd sire as reasonable prices.I was told it is the buyer market not the sellers market right now. We are in the process our rebuilding our burn house from jan 2009

i miss my minis so much it is killing me.

I think what you said there is VERY important. It IS a buyer's market right now and has been for awhile, and will probably continue to be for awhile. So if you're going into this as a money making business you might want to rethink that. If you miss minis a lot you could just have a few around as pets and breed on occasion for yourself without all the business risk.

Sorry, I know that's not exactly what you are asking, but having spent some time in the horse rescue world, I really wish people would think things through before breeding.

 

[christina_ski]

I had found my perfect herd sire as a total accident. But with his recent passing I didn't know what to do with my herdas far as breeding.

I have decided since all my fillies I currently have, 3,are totally different from one another even with 2 being full sisters, that instead of trying to buy a stallion to fit all my mares. I would buy the mares I like based on type, etc and then send her out to an outside stallion when I decided I want a foal. That way I don't have a stud sitting around frustrated if I decide not to breed every year, or any accidental breedings, and can keep my herd diversified. Since I have so few mares and would more then likely keep the foals, it makes more sense for me to do it this way.

Christina

 

[MBhorses]

I would like to thank you all for your comments.You that have posted photos very nice studs.

I only want to bred a few mares a next time. I am not in it for the money. I really love the miniature horses they are like family to me.

I haven't decide yet if I want to own another stud or use a stud from another bred.I was trying to do my homework this time, so that is why i am asking so many questions.I made some good choices last time and some bad ones, but in the end all the minis I brought were loved by us. When i had to sell them due to family problems, i was lost. The minis are my therapy and my children thur good and bad times. I have cried daily without them.I really love the foals.

What is the pro and cons of breeding to outside studs?

thanks again.

 

[eagles ring farm]

First End level I love your stallion

We bought our stallion Triple Ks Boogie Bow Tie

because:

Conformation was first

His bloodlines he is a paternal grandson of Boones little Buckeroo

and a maternal grandson of Little Kings Buck the System

even though he is very dark he is a smutty buckskin

and we wanted a horse carrying a cream gene.

He was not a proven sire when we purchased him at 2 years old

he is now 6 and has given us 9 beautiful foals in the past 3 years (8 fillies & 1 colt)

He is AMHR/AMHA which was a definite thing we looked for ,and we didn't know at the time of purchase

he is homozygous for black. Which was a great surprise.

He is 28" as we wanted a small stallion as we prefer our mares

32-35" although we have a 37" mare we love too.

We are happy with our choice.

But we may after we move look for a second stallion. Although we would still use bow as a stallion too.

But Bow also has a wonderful sweet personallity which we have grown to love.

We were fortunate as we did not know as much about what to look for

as we do now, and are still learning. And we are still happy with him.

He has crossed very nice with our mares.

We were also fortunate to purchase him from an honest seller

We hope to get better photos of him one of these days

These are not the best

 

[Littleum]

I'm not a breeder, nor do I think I want to be anymore, BUT...

don't.chase.fads

Buy what you like, not what you think the market will want. Because I assure you, by the time you have a product to offer the market, the market has moved on to The Next Big Thing. Never chase the market- you'll never catch it!

Fads come and go. Buy what YOU like. Breed what YOU like. Because you're the one paying the bills! It's really easy to get tempted into buying what's hot and popular and winning, but that doesn't mean it's what will make you happy when you look out the window a the pasture... while peering from behind a huge stack of horse-related bills.

So buy what you can build a future on, but just what sure it's the future you want to build, not what slick advertising tells you you should build.

 

[targetsmom]

This is probably not what you want to hear either, but I thought I would share my experience.

I have college degrees in Animal Science and Animal Diseases, plenty of livestock and judging experience, about 50 years of experience with "big" horses, and a pretty good idea of what type of horses we wanted to breed. Our goal was (and is) to produce versatile Pinto (PtHA) minis (also A & R registered) with great conformation, movement, temperament, and personality. After 3 years of breeding, up until late May of this year, all we had to show for our efforts was 2 dead foals buried in our pasture, another one at the hospital where he was delivered at 9 months, huge vet bills, and tons of heartache. We were ready to quit until Max was born 5 days later. My advice is that unless you are prepared for the heartache and the vet bills, to forgo the breeding. There are so many OTHER ways to enjoy minis without creating more.

Now, with all that said, we bought our stallion as a weanling, from a nearby dealer we trust. I would not recommend this route for everyone, but I do think Max has justified our selection. Buckshot has also done well for us in the show ring (he already has his Pinto Championship), and is the easiest horse I have EVER trained. He is about 30" tall, has Buckeroo and Rowdy blood, and a few National Champion/Reserve Champion relatives. He also had to be LWO- because one of our mares (Mira- Max's mom) is LWO+.

SRF Buckshot (stallion):

His first foal, "Max":

 

[MBhorses]

What nice studs you all have.

I have had 9 mini foals in the past years born on our farm. We have had the hugh vet mini horse.I tried to be at every birth when I could. I think I only miss two foals being born out of 9 foals. We also had two big horses foals born on our place before we got into minis. I have learn so much from this forum.I like the small and big minis.I really would like amha/ amhr minis if possible.

thanks again

keep the information and photos coming.

you all are great. The more we learn the better we will be.

i would have 7 foals this year with mares i had to sold last year.

my dream stud was little america silver keepsake silver bay appy i used to own, but had to sell him last year. I had loved keepsake as a foal and always wanted him, but couldn't. The last year in dec i was able to buy him from Tony, but then i had to sell all my minis last summer long story.Good news is I do get to see keepsake my great friend cindy owns him and lives 30 mis away.I have two minis coming back that were my some of my favorites fancy pants my shown as a yearling pinto mare and her 2008 black pinto filly mia(sire little kings hallmarks buckshot). Cindy was nice enough to let me buy them back. Mia and I have a strong bond at birth.

 

[Ferin]

What first led me to my herd stallion, Country Star Buddy Jewel, was his bloodlines. Buddy’s sire is my show gelding, Wauk-A-Way Kansas Twister, whom I absolutely adore. I love everything about Twister and Buddy’s previous owner assured me that Buddy was just like him except more easy going, which was what I wanted in a stallion.

Conformation was another main thing that made me choose Buddy. I like horses that can do both halter and performance. Buddy has the perfect build for what I am looking for. He is refined enough to produce nice halter foals but also has some body to him to produce strong performance horses. Besides producing versatile foals, Buddy, himself, is an all around show horse.

Buddy is also AMHR/ASPC which is what I mainly breed for. He is a foundation certified Shetland pony and only measures 36”. I like my mares to be between 35” and 38” so Buddy is the perfect height for them.

Movement is also important to us and Buddy has a gorgeous floating trot which I love.

His color was the icing on the cake. I love frame overos and really fell in love with them when I bought Twister, Buddy’s sire. I just don’t get tired of looking at a visual frame overo and am anxious to produce more from Buddy. They look like real life art pieces.

Buddy came from Texas. Location didn’t matter to me. If I could find a stallion like this, that fit everything I wanted in a herd sire, I would have had him shipped from anywhere. To find a stallion with all the qualities you want is extremely difficult and I feel very fortunate to have found my dream stallion.

 

[End Level Farms]

First End level I love your stallion

Thank you.

It took a long time to find him. Now we are working on the perfect herd of mares for him.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

When I started the search for a new herdsire I knew I needed something that was going to be more marketable with today's market/economy, yet still appealing to what *I* like as I am NOT a fan of the extreme arabian looking miniatures.. Conformation was important of course, wanted a stallion that could halter and drive, and also hopefully produce the same. Bloodlines played a role as I wanted something with more modern lines, yet still have some of that "old" blood too..

I love the 32-36" size minis, so wanted a stallion within that height range and ultimately decided to search for a stallion on the smaller side to *hopefully* be able to cross on the taller end mares but still produce foals within that range.. Also wanted AMHA/AMHR to open up more market for the resulting foals as well as showing for him and his offspring (unfortunately doesn't look like I will get him out this year due to cutbacks at work, but hopefully next year!)

I LOVE love love pintos, so of course coloring fell into play as well, same goes for his base color, I love the black based horses so was looking for black/bay/buckskin..

Location was important as far as shipping and shipping costs.. I had NOT previously bought out of state except for once and even then that horse was within driving distance for us to see in person.. When looking for the new herdsire I had come to the conclusion that it was highly possible that I may find that "right one" and buy sight unseen, along with that I knew that I had to find a breeder/owner that I could trust and feel was up front and honest..

Luckily I found that in our new boy Doc.. I am sooo thankful to Chesa for giving me the opportunity to own him and she was amazing to work with.. Everything happened smoothly, she was honest and trustworthy, and not only do I have a new friend in Doc but Chesa as well

And I have a stallion from a breeding program that I've admired for years, Tami at Oak Park.

I'm anxious/excited to see what's in store for us and Doc, as well as Chesa and her two Doc colts in the future

Our boy:

 

[SHANA]

I've had a number of stallions but my 2 current stallions I'll tell you how/why I picked them.

First is Oneka's Devil After Dark, my 32" bay AMHA/AMHR stallion.

. I had been looking for some time for a solid coloured stallion and as soon as I saw his picture I knew he was the one. He was young but proven but all the way in Manitoba. I had to take a loan out for him and the shipping costs that I am still paying for now. He is worth every penny. I can't wait to see his first foals for me in 2010. He has 5 mares pastured with him. He is such a sweet boy.

Second is Cross Country New Kid In Town, my 31" silver dapple blue eyed boy.

. I had lost my other stallion, Coyote Winds Knockout after battling to save his life for a week. At the time he was my only stallion and I could not afford to replace him. Belinda Bagby offered to give me a choice of 2 colts born that year, then later offered me Kid. As soon as I saw Kids' photo I liked what I saw and decided to take him. He was a 2 year old, so old enough to breed my mares. He was only AMHA at the time. Almost all my mares are AMHR only. By the time I paid for his coggins/health papers, paid to ship him up from Arkansas to Quebec and paid to hardship/register him in AMHR he cost me a small fortune. He's worth it though and one of my mares is due anyday by him. I can't wait to see that foal.

Third is my 2009 AMHA/AMHR colt, SPH Bookers Mightee Snazee Apachee, a chestnut pinto with blue eyes.

. I really really like this colt, he is stunning. I have him for sale but if he doesn't sell it doesn't matter as I have mares not related to him, though if he does sell whoever buys him I hope they keep him a stallion and maybe show him. If I still have him next year I plan to show him at AMHR shows and at Nationals as well. I think he'll do well.

 

[Marty]

so how do you know you are making the right choices on your minis you get.

To answer that question you simply don't know. You might think you are making a nice combination but until that mare foals, you have no way of knowing what you will get. Most people say that the mare has more influence on the foal than the stallion. I'm not sure about that because my foals from Nick favor him in many more ways than their mothers. Be sure to dig into the backgrounds of both grandsire and granddams and go back a couple generations as well.

Like KK said, go slow and also be careful you don't breed more than you can support if they don't sell. I also love Littlum's response. She hit the nail on the head.

 

[~Lisa~]

Ferin I love your stallion Buddy he is very nice I am not a huge overo fan ( I know I am in the minority) but he is just such a nice boy!

 

[Joanne]

We have bought several herd sires over the years and it seems like we have most often bought foals.

We do not care where they are located or how large or small the farm is, just that they are good horse people that take care of their horses and have a serious breeding program. We do look at the pedigree, but mostly look at the horse.

Here are a few photos of some of our current herd sires:

 

[~Lisa~]

Here is our latest herd sire although he has no foals on the ground yet and not sure if he will cover any mares this year although he is very willing and able LOL

I can say we have gone thru several stallions and often I was doing what Littleum discussed trying to keep up with the latest and small farms or people without a lot of disposable income will have a hard time with that

Also somehow a lot of the stallions we keep end up as geldings - It just seems if I really love a horse I geld it that way it can stay here - eventually for a small farm a stallion has to move on once you retain daughters and having more then one stallion can be a bit tricky for us.

Ok so that said this is WildOak Jump Start My Heart- or Humpy as he is called

Raven has been bugging me since we got him to geld him and let her show him so who knows she may wear me down before we even get a foal - he is 29.00 inches tall

and pretty correct and balanced for a little one IMO anyway

He has the best temperment a bit full of energy and the happiest horse I have ever seen he is like a dog when you come home. Everytime you go to the barn he is happy and whinnys comes running to be pet you can go in the tack room and come right back out and he screams and runs to you all over again like he didnt just see you 2 minutes ago lol- he is a clown for sure and he LOVES Raven she had him sidepassing pivoting in a couple of hours

Here he is as a yearling

and just a candid pic at home after a bath as a 3 yr old