Buying a foal

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mayangold

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Having been unsuccessful at breeding a foal Ive decided to buy one. Apart form the obvious thing i.e. parents are the sort of thing i'm looking for, what do i need to know thats specific to buying a youngster?
Is it normal to get it vetted so young (prob a weanling)?
Do you take much notice of its action at such a young age? rely on the parents action?
Defo looking for a filly as ive got 2 mares already and one can be a grumpy so-and-so with geldings. Bit of an alpha mare.
help and advice much appreciated! :)
 
My grey has exactly the same pushy personality now, at four years old as she did as a weanling. So it's important that you like their nature/temperament. I had her Vetted, mainly because I wanted her heart and eyes checked.
 
I bought a weanling last year and have never made a better decision! Look at the obvious things such as parents, expected height, future uses and tempremant. I also met both parents and got to ride the sire, saw photos and spoke to the lady who has a full sister to my foal as well. Also look at where they are coming from and the experience of the breeder as the first few months are vital in handling etc. I got my filly checked over by the vet just for general health and clean limbs. Make sure you have an agreed price, price of deposit and they have agreed to passport and microchip and give you an estimated weaning time. I adore my now yearling and still keep in regular contact with her breeder through facebook, its an amazing time watching them grow up!
 
I got my weanling 2 1/2 years ago, so very happy with him, he is off to become a grown up horse tomorrow. I have dealt with youngsters before, they all have their trying times but my god they are worth it :D

Look at siblings, dam and sire (of course) its more important to see the action, temperament and movement of the foals the sires throw, more than make an assessment from the sires temperament and action in my opinion, the sire may have a lovely smooth paces, but pass on god awful choppy paces etc. Temperament of Dam is more important to me... she has been the one to shape the first 6 months of the horses life after all. There is a 3 day, 3 month and 3 yr rule. Basically that at 3 days and again at 3 months you can get a good overall view of what they will turn into confo wise as a 3 yr old, the rest of the time... they look like a gangly cut and shut because they are growing. Have an idea of the 'end product you want' and what horses you like and try to marry the two up, this will help you start to refine your search for weanlings.
 
Love buying foals, do your research, check out parents, siblings etc, gives you an idea how they will turnout. Movement does matter even at such a young age, good movers show it at a young age.
We have bought 3 this year, 2 from photos as down south & 1 we have seen locally.
Can't wait til weaning time to get them, then the fun begins :)
Good luck, hope you find what you are looking for :)
 
Meant to also say, by buying a foal you get to choose the colour, sex & markings you want. Often works out cheaper than breeding one yourself :/
 
sooooooo.. ive found a filly i like

P7220036.jpg


http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p483/mayangold/P7220036.jpg

out of this mare

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p483/mayangold/IMAG0160.jpg

such a sweetie
 
Yep :-) She was an april foal so weaning at some point in sept. Then all we've got to do is get her from Devon to Cornwall.....what can possibly go wrong :-P
Im a bit over excited about the whole thing :-D
 
Well I can't tell you much about her pasterns (except that she definitely has some ;) ) from the photo because she's at a 3/4 angle and has her weight on the NF.

IMAG0160.jpg


To judge confo, you really need to see the horse IRL or have a very good side on photo with the horse standing evenly.

Is the dam a TB?
 
Well I can't tell you much about her pasterns (except that she definitely has some ) from the photo because she's at a 3/4 angle and has her weight on the NF.
Click to expand...

That's why I said that I don't like the look of them, I can't give a definite answer without seeing her stood up properly. :)

She is very pretty!
Do you have any pictures of her sire? :D
 
I always remember the Thelwell cartoon (I couldn't find it on a google search - or I'd have put it in my sig) where they are discussing Kipper the shetland's conformation. The first girl says that he is a bit short in the leg and the other girl responds by saying 'don't be silly, they reach exactly to the ground.' Brilliant. :D
 
Faracat said:
I always remember the Thelwell cartoon (I couldn't find it on a google search - or I'd have put it in my sig) where they are discussing Kipper the shetland's conformation. The first girl says that he is a bit short in the leg and the other girl responds by saying 'don't be silly, they reach exactly to the ground.' Brilliant. :D
Click to expand...

Your going to love this, I just did an images search on google with the words:

Thelwell, Kipper, Conformation

The picture of this mare and foal came up :D:p
 
She looks lovely :) and dont worry about the trip from devon to cornwall when i bought my filly last year she came from Essex to Stirling (Scotland) after weaning, thats about 450 miles!
 
mayangold said:
Having been unsuccessful at breeding a foal Ive decided to buy one. Apart form the obvious thing i.e. parents are the sort of thing i'm looking for, what do i need to know thats specific to buying a youngster?
Is it normal to get it vetted so young (prob a weanling)?
Do you take much notice of its action at such a young age? rely on the parents action?
Defo looking for a filly as ive got 2 mares already and one can be a grumpy so-and-so with geldings. Bit of an alpha mare.
help and advice much appreciated! :)
Click to expand...

1st question: what do you want from this foal, e.g. mature height, type, discipline. Are you looking for a future dressage star - or a great all-rounder.

Ideally you want to buy a foal from a mare you seriously like, by a stallion whose talents match your ambition. Ideally you want to see dam (sire not always so easy), and perhaps older siblings so you can see what your foal is likely to turn into. I usually have foals for sale where I can show sire, dam, and older full siblings - and sometimes have a full sibling who can be ridden by the potential foal buyer! That way you have a good chance of knowing foal will urn into your perfect horse!
 
I wanted an alrounder that could do a bit more than very basic dressage. I was aiming for around 16hh. With this weanling I met mum (who I did indeed instantly go 'that is a stunning mare') and grandma. Also the foals dad.

Love your idea of letting potential buyers ride a sibling if available. That would have been a real deal clincher.
 
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