Your experience with purchasing

[Sterling]

As the time goes by, I give thought to getting that long awaited mare that we've always wanted for our own foal. My thoughts are to purchase her in foal. It's getting very hard seeing the beautiful mares for sale and the beautiful stallions that they are bred to and not bring her home. I'm thinking this would be the way to go. I have also heard about sending out your mare to be bred. If you've had experience in any of these events, please share. Pros and cons? Words from the wise?

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I do both.

If you buy a mare in foal I would want a mare that has foaled out before. Find out her foaling history, and try to get a good estimate on when she will foal. Ask about her habbits throughout her pregnancy. Ask for previous pics of her foals and pics of the stallion she is bred to and make sure the stallion's and mare's papers are current. Make sure they have this mare down on the stallion report and give you a stallion service certificate. I'm sure theres more but can't thinking of anything right now.

By sending out a mare make sure the stallion's papers are in order, look through his breeding, and see what he has produced. I personally would like to go over to where the mare will be and see the conditions, I just hate sending any mare out to any place without knowing. Personally, get a LFG, you pay money to get her bred and they might not even mess with it and say yep shes bred.

I'm sure theres more but thats all I can come up with, I'll be reading this thread.

 

[Lauralee]

I've done it many times with great success.

When buying a mare in foal, there may or may not be a live foal guarantee with the breeding. You'll have to ask the seller.

Just make sure you have all of the necessary monitoring equipment for your delivery and you'll do fine. Those things, are necessary in my opinion, for birthing foals successfully.

Also make sure that the mare in question was in fact ultrasound by a vet and found to be in foal. Mares that are not ultrasound in foal have less chances of actually being pregnant. At least with the ultrasound, you have some confirmation of what you are getting.

I say go for it!

 

[Firefall]

I've also done both. My only bad experience was when I couldn't get a hauler there earlier and ended up having the mare hauled in her last month. Was a bad experience and I won't put a mare or me through that again.

But I've bought several as exposed, no guaranties, but look like most of them took. :aktion033:

 

[FoRebel]

I've had experience with both. First thing is first, FIND A REPUTABLE BREEDER! We had sent our grey miniX mare out to be bred, we researched the stud, built a relationship with Jackie (ponyexpress here on the forum) and emailed often while Frosty was with Jackie. When Frosty out on May 5, 2005 and the beautiful solid bay colt was stillborn, I called Jackie at 10:15p (she's only 5 miles from the farm) and she came immediately! Jackie even took the body with her so we didn't have to deal with it. Jackie is a wonderful friend and breeder... We're sending Frosty back to her this spring to be bred to Jackie's stud Rimrock! I can't wait to see what they produce in 2008! :aktion033:

When we purchased our mare Missy from Donna (qtrrae here on the forum) she was heavily in foal. I knew what the stud (Boss) Missy was bred to threw since we have a son from him. We knew Donna pretty well too. July 5, 2006 we ended up with a beautiful little filly that came out looking like a qtr horse! She was muscular and not wobbly at all! Missy is going to be bred to my perlino stud, Picazzo this spring... Looking forward to this cross! :aktion033:

Honestly, my best advice is FIND A REPUTABLE BREEDER AND GET TO KNOW THEM!

:

 

[nootka]

Buy for the mare more than anything, and do investigate very thoroughly, get the details in writing, every eventuality!

And of course doing your homework on accountability is best of all.

Good luck!!

Liz M.

 

[bluerogue]

I've done both as well, although the times (3) we bought bred mares they ended up open... through no fault of the sellers. They both tried to fix the situation. The first, they went on vacation, so we hauled the mare pretty soon after she was bred. Hauler truck broke down (for 2 days!), and yep, she ended up open. Since I live in a different state than the seller, I chose not to send her back. I had just bought a stallion specifically to breed to this mare, so that was a big factor in not sending her back as well. The other one had a foal at side when we bought her, and she just didn't breed back. She's older too, and we are still trying to get her bred. The third was with a maiden stallion, and well, he just didn't figure things out fast enough for her! Now, sending mares out to be bred is something I will only do if I know the stallion owner VERY well. Actually, I've only sent my mares to one breeder, a very good friend of mine, and my mentor. I have no problems sending mares to her, but to anyone else I would think long and hard about it. I just don't like the idea of sending my girls off to be cared for by someone else. Besides, I miss them while they are gone!

 

[lvponies]

My advice.....don't buy a mare in foal just for the baby she may or may not be carrying. Love the mare first. I've bought 2 mares that were thought to be in foal. I mainly wanted a baby from the stallions they were bred to. Both came up open. I really didn't LOVE the mares, I just wanted their babies.

 

[Hosscrazy]

When I got Misty, she was in foal with Cody. This was her 6th foal, and she never had foaling problems before, so that made me feel a little better. It was an incredible experience, and there were so many people here on the forum who helped me with my first born!

Liz R.

 

[Miniv]

Lots of great advice!

I totally agree with -- buy the mare for herself and not for what she may be carrying, and buy a mare with a foaling history.

Get things in writing. Buy from a breeder you feel comfortable with and who would be willing to continue a relationship with you through the pregnancy and foaling out process.

Happy Shopping!

:

MA

 

[Minimor]

I've done both, and have had both good and bad luck with both.

I've bought bred mares, some with LFG others with no guarantee. One mare--no guarantee on her--turned out to be open. That was very disappointing in one way--these things do happen but that's all I'll say about that one. Another mare--different seller--did come up open too, but that seller let us take a different mare to be bred and that deal worked out extremely well. Couldn't be more pleased with the seller, or our resulting foal! Another deal, & yet another seller, offered LFG. One resulting foal did not stand and nurse. We planned to get our return breeding but it turned out that collecting on that breeding (as well as 2 other breedings that we paid same stallion owner for) was very, very difficult. My pet peeve are stallion owners that don't make their stallions available to the mare owner when the mare is ready to breed. They tell you one thing then go back on it...been there, done that, are out 3 breedings...we could have kept trying, but you know what? It just wasn't worth the effort. We decided to write it off as a bad deal and just use our own stallion on the mares. In the end we didn't want the other crosses anyway, but it hurts to be out the $$$ and not even as "sorry" from the stallion owner.

Anyway, as the others have said--if you're buying a bred mare, make sure you're buying her because you like her for herself--then if she comes up open you still have a mare you like.

And, do know your seller/breeder, and if your gut feeling tells you to not go with the deal--go with that & do your shopping elsewhere.

 

[Songcatcher]

Anyway, as the others have said--if you're buying a bred mare, make sure you're buying her because you like her for herself--then if she comes up open you still have a mare you like.

And, do know your seller/breeder, and if your gut feeling tells you to not go with the deal--go with that & do your shopping elsewhere.

I agree completely with these sentiments. I have bought probably 8-10 bred mares over time. Only two of them were ultrasounded. All WERE bred and foaled, although one of the ones that was ultrasounded had a malpresented foal (twisted cord and foal died inutero). There was no LFG on this mare and the seller was far too distant to return if there had been. Two of the mares had a LFG (verbal), but both foaled sucessfully and there was no need to return. There are no real guarantees. There is always the possibility that something may go wrong. What if the mare colics and dies before foaling? It IS a possibility.

When I have sold bred mares, I have always offered a free rebreeding if it turned out the mare was not pregnant. Nothing was written, just a verbal agreement. One mare turned out not to be bred (we actually expected it at the time of sale) and I allowed the new owners to bring her back for rebreeding. Everyone was satisfied. That is where trusting the breeder you are dealing with is VERY important. Of course, I would have no problem putting it in writing if the buyer wanted to.

 

[CJMM6]

We have bought 5 mares that were bred, 4 foaled & the 5th one came up open. :aktion033: I agree, buy the mare & be sure you like her. Also when I buy a bred mare I choose to stay close to home. If I have a free breeding comming I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on travel expense.

: When I've sold a bred mare I also offer a verbal free rebreeding if she comes up open. I don't sell too many of my girls, just my foals. cjmm

 

[bevann]

Iagree with buying the mare because you like her-not what she is carrying.I bought 1 mare bred to a famous overo and she had a big, black ugly colt.Another mare bred to an AMHA National Grand champion stallion had a big crazy filly with lots of problems.I gambled on both babies&lost both times.I like 1 mare, but not the other.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Sending a mare out or purchasing a bred mare - either can be a great situation, you just have to do some homework. I've done both and they've run the spectrum of outcomes. The conclusion I've personally come to is that sending a mare out to a special stallion is what works best for us.

I have a mare at Monette's (Wisteria Mini Horse Ranch) right now. She's been there since LAST April and were still working on getting me a baby. (Edited to add: due to my mare's issues, not any issues with Mo's stallion) As a breeder, Mo has been amazing! :aktion033: I would send another mare to her in a heartbeat! I don't know that she'd take one from me at this point, but I'd send another one! LOL But that's because she's so honest and I totally trust her care of my horses. And, she stands by her word. On the other hand, I've sent a mare out to another farm and I'd never send another horse back there for anything!!! :no: They changed the "rules" after my mare was there and even though they begged me to send her with her foal at her side (oh, how they love the little ones, etc.) the little guy came back with a halter indentation that stayed on him for weeks! I don't think they ever took it off him the whole time he was there! :no: The mare is due to foal in April. If she does, great. If something happens and I lose the foal, I won't be sending her back there for a re-breeding. No thanks! I've learned a lot since then and I won't send a mare out to any breeder that I don't know VERY well and have done a ton of homework on. Our mares are just too special to risk like that again.

From the other end of the deal, as someone who offers a stallion at stud, I need to make sure I'm offering the best care and be totally honest with people. I don't EVER want someone to think of me the way I think of those people I sent my mare to! I will ALWAYS stand by my word - my reputation depends on it. Frankly, I don't know why any breeder would risk their reputation by not offering the best service possible. It seems like the few hundred bucks wouldn't be worth it. I see that same breeder still advertising their stallions all the time and I just cringe! People - do your homework!

My best advice - trust your gut, ask for references and actually check them. That applies to whether you are purchasing a mare that is already bred or if you're sending one out to a stallion. And, get it in writing!!!

Good luck with whatever you decide. :saludando:

 

[chandab]

I'm fairly new to minis, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents anyway.

I just bought an in-foal mare. [No ultrasound or anything, just breeding dates and a mare that looks like she swallowed a watermelon.

: ] I bought her because she called to me and I just fell in love with the mare; if she has a foal it is a bonus (stallion is Fallabella-bred), if not, I have a lovely mare that is a nice addition to my little herd and will be a nice cross with my stallion. [she's had 4 or 5 previous foals and as I understand foals easily. can't wait for my first mini foal.]

 

[jdhand]

I have bought several mares this way. The first time I purchased two mares. No live Foal Guarentee. One had a baby and the other did not. I liked the mares so it was fine. The first baby was a real special baby and we were happy. He had a great personality. Then we bought 3 mares very cheap, but were nice mares. No live foal guarantee. Liked the mares. Got one baby and she is lovely and goes back to Rowdy and I am keeping her. Then I purchased 2 appy mares that were bred and they both had nice fillies. They we purchased a hall of Fame Mare bred to a STallion who is a producer of several champions. The baby is a stallion who is absolutly beautiful. This horse beat a World Champion Horse as a yearling. Only at one show, but still. We are keeping him as a future herd sire. Anyway overall it is a fun way to get unrelated nice babies quickly. Here is the Rowdy related baby.

 

[ibquackers20]

I bought a mare in foal and she delivered her baby one night in a storm (small little filly)she is almost 2 now (filly) but just before I could start weaning her from mommy ,a stranger came into my yard and opened the gate resulting in all 4 of my guys getting out at dawn and on to the highway - a car killed 2 geldings and the mare, but the foal ran home back into the corral .Police did not ever find out who let them out and the vet said the filly is fine. When I called the last owner of where I bought the mare from and 1 gelding she was so sad but not mad at myself till 3 days later.

She told me she wished she never sold me the 2 horses and that my place was unsafe for horses (before the accident she said she was very glad that she sold the minis to a good home and we became good friends)She also had the nurve to tell me that it was my fault and she wanted to buy the baby because she feared for the fillys safty. I told her not in my life time or the fillies would I sell her and to drop dead I wanted nothing to do with her anymore. I thought later that the only reason she wanted the filly is because all her foals born in 2 years we boys and she thought this mare would have a boy as well so to lesson the numbers on boys she sold me 2 - go figure the mare would have a black filly. She is so stunning and yet so much like her mom.

 

[Donna]

I bought a mare supposedly in foal from someone that I thought was a very good friend, WRONG! I was quoted two prices, one in foal and one open. The seller had her palpated and the so called vet ( a newbie) found all the mares she palpated to be in foal, hense, I paid for a bred mare. Upon arrival to my farm the mare was ultrasounded and found not only to be open but had a follicle ready to pop! I immediatly notified the seller of the situtation and asked for the differance in the purchase price given the mare was open.

The seller claimed the mare must have aborted and wild animals dragged the resulting fetus away. Needless to say, I did not get a dime.

Have the mare confirmed by Ultrasound or Blood test in foal, do not take the sellers word for it. Palpation is only as accurate as the fingers doing the feeling. Even if it is someone that you feel you can trust, they should not mind putting down in writing exactly what the conditions of the sale are.

Be prepared, having babies is not as easy as it looks, there can be complications and those complications can cost you dearly. Make sure you are prepared for cost that you may incur. It can be quite expensive.

 

[Sterling]

Thank you everyone! What a great list of things to keep in mind! Some things had'nt even crossed my mind. Sometimes when it comes to shopping you get blinded by the beautiful animals and all else goes out the window. I have attended and helped foal out other foals for other people and altho I'm not per say a total newbie at it, it's not the same thing. I'm sure once I get my mare, I'll be asking still loads of questions and making sure I do everything right! Thanks guys!

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