Buying a foal/yearling, advice?

madhector

madhector

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Having the week from hell at the moment, and just found out that Jerry cant go out with my friend's horse as planned and so I will need to rent him a field somewhere so he can retire properly. The problem is that I will then need another companion as my current one keeps Blaze company. So I thought rather than buying/rescuing another pony, why don't I buy a weanling/yearling that can go out with J and then eventually be sold or evented. What do you think?

Figured as I will be renting the field anyway I may as well have something that might earn some money in it.


So, if I do buy a baby, what would you suggest? I quite like the idea of a decent ISH type, but maybe a 14.2hh type would be better? Where should I look? And what bloodlines are sell-able?

What sort of money would you spend? I could save for a bit and get something nice or buy a cheap bargain now...

Am I mad? Or does this sound sensible?

I have never bought a real baby before so not really sure what to look for!

Any suggestions welcome
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Hi,

When I brought a foal to keep the filly I bred company I found it was very odd going foal shopping lol You look at them, stroke them, watch them wonder about and have a run round the field and thats it!!
I didnt have loads to spend (esp as this is horse number 5 for me) and decided it was more likely to make me a few more pounds in the long run having a horse foal.
I found a nice filly (the bay in the sig, who no longer resembles that, much more a big hairy yak!!) She was put together nicely, moved well and was friendly. I had the vet check her over, all was good and that was that!
I would say that they are VERY hard work. I thought they would be but its much more than I expected. So bear that in mind. As yearlings mine will hopefully be out more and it should all be easier <fingers crossed>

Good luck!!!!!
 
LOL I have nice sport horse filly for sale
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lots of eventing brothers and sisters......

But seriously - temperament is key because if you can't work with the little sods you're scuppered before you even start! Plus so long as you remember that they're horses in miniature then you shouldn't go far wrong - things like straightness, conformational defects etc will all be evident at whatever age you buy them.
 
although it makes sense, just remember that youngsters are more prone to infections and problems, so ensure you have the time and cash to handle that, and also that jerry might be exposed to them!!! but sure you are aware of that!

Get a pretty baby, then sell me it when I graduate!!!
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Sounds like a good idea to me although I don't know anything much. I know what what daughter would say - conformation, conformation, comformation
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no no, conformation, not comformation - doh, and forgot to say because it gives you the best chance of a healthy horse.
 
Buying a yearling isn't a bad idea as you'll be able to see what you're getting temperament wise a bit more but I'd be looking at getting a 2 year old if I were you simply because they aren't that much more expensive and you're one year closer to backing, plus they have survived that difficult first year!

My advice, go straight to the breeder or stud. If you're wanting to sell on, buy something with 'named' bloodlines (not that they make much difference but buyers seem to like it) so for ISH I'd be looking at Clover Hill/Cavalier type lines. Or try and get something that's related to a well-known event horse for a good selling point. Try the Mill Law/Ben Faerie (Brendon) studs, they look like they're breeding smart youngsters of the kind you're after.

Bear in mind that despite the papers being full of economic doom and gloom, this will pass and people will still buy and sell horses and so you may get a bit of bargain with breeders offloading their quality youngstock and be able to sell on for good money in 3-4 years.
 
i always buy mine as weanlings now, break them at 3 or 4 and then decide whether to keep or sell. if you buy well and there are no accidents, you *should* make money if you decide to sell.

for nice ISH, i would recommend the Louella Stud- i bought my weanling for extremely reasonable money with fantastic breeding both side for eventing (Primitive Rising/ Criminal Law/ Gort Boy).

he is now rising 3 and i have been offered 5x what i paid for him a few times.
 
You are thinking about doing pretty much what I did and for the same reasons.

My horse was injured and I rented a field, needed a companion and figured if I was paying to keep an extra it may as well be one that had some use for me in the future.

It was around this time of year I started looking and I eventually bought a rising 2yo. It's so difficult to tell what they will be like at that age so I just bought him for his temprement.

I have been through a few ups and downs wondering if it was actually going to do the job I wanted and now at rising 5 I am erring more towards liking and keeping him.

If I were to do it again I personally think I would buy a rising 3 yo, they don't tend to be much different in price and you end up with one less year of upkeep. And also if your situation changes you are then not studk with a 2yo which tend to be on the difficult side to sell

Also I'm not convinced t's that fair on a weanling/yearling to go out with one adult, at that age I think they benefit from a peer group. But maybe thats just one of my quirks!
 
What's that old saying it costs as much to keep a good horse as a bad one. I have done the samething twice but never managed to sell either one on
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Be warned you get very attached to them when you have known them since babies
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I personally like to buy them as yearlings, because I feel I can see more what they are going to turn out like.
I think you will probably be able to pick yourself up a bargain at the moment. I was even considering it myself, but think I'm possibly getting to old to start another youngster
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Yearlings tend to be cheaper as they don't have the cute or wow factor of foals and very often they go through an ugly duckling phase so it can be hard to see the overall picture.

Look for the obvious, ideally exactly what you look for in an older horse but with yearlings it's not always the overall picture rather than the individual bits, feet, limbs, shoulder, head and neck and most important movement!

Good luck I love baby shopping
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