Is a brood mare worth anything at all?

[cjdjivanovic]

My 5yo TB mare, bred to event, has had an accident in the field meaning she will never be a competition horse, although sound. Amazingly the breeder / dealer I bought her from is willing to take her back to breed from, in "PX" for another horse. I expect to get almost nothing knocked off the replacement horse but has anybody got any idea how much I should try for. She is perfect: movement, jump, temperament, by a leading sire of young eventers on BE's list this year. Conformation excellent except some would criticise for lack of bone so not up to weight. Any input much appreciated.

 

[AmyMay]

I'd want £3k for her.

 

[koeffee]

sorry but i think £3k is a bit much for a mare who may or may not stay sound? i have a perfectly sound nice well put together mare which i payed £200 for. she is a brilliant allrounder and not for sale!!!! i think around £1k to £1500 is more realistic in my opinion.

 

[AmyMay]

A good brood mare is worth it's weight in gold. So we'll have to agree to disagree on the value.

I was actually being conservative.......

 

[Bananaman]

I would agree with you entirely but in this economic climate they are being nearly given away.

I think keoffee is nearer the mark esp as the mare hasn't had a chance to prove herself nomatter how well bred.

 

[madmare22]

now i would agree with amymay.

everyone is always banging on about the mare and the dam line etc etc, more important than the stallion, but when it comes down to it they want them for peanuts.

It is sad that even good broodmares are given away sold for a fraction of their worth.

In this coutry we brag about how little we pay for horses then complain that we cant get our foals worth.

 

[cruiseline]

If the mare is a proven broodmare, with quality stock on the ground and has a decent competitive record herself and more to the point someone really likes her, then I think you are more in a position to demand the higher price, but as this mare is a maiden, with little competition results, then I think the lower end of the scale is more realistic, and as Bananaman has said, the market is dead at the moment, regardless of how good or bad the mare is.

 

[millitiger]

but we don't know that this horse IS a good broodmare as she has not had a foal? just because she has a fashionable sire and looks the part she isn't proven under saddle NOR has she proved her worth as a broodmare.

you can buy fillies by Mill Law/ Jumbo etc for under £4k as 4yros which are sound with a whole career ahead of them before you decide to breed from them- how can £3k for an unriddable horse be reasonable?

i think it would be a different story if she was graded, had competed or bred a foal before that you could judge- how many mares with great bloodlines do you know that produce cr*p foals year on year? i know of more than a few!

£1500 for me, unless any of the above applies.

 

[Maesfen]

I can only go by I have been offered for free, three different mares. All TB's, two with good racing history from good families and they themselves have both produced winners, other a young one like this that is field lame from an accident. I turned them all down even although they were free and the owners are really struggling with what to do with them. There are just too many about so I'm afraid I'm with Keoffee on this one; you'll probably be very lucky to get as much as £500 against another.

 

[cjdjivanovic]

I thought you were all going to say meat money (ie about £300) so I'm really chuffed anyone is going into 4 figures. Thanks very much everybody - feel much better now

 

[volatis]

A good broodmare to me, is one with a strong motherline, and the pedigree, movement and conformation I want. I paid decent money for some of my broodmares, as I wanted those bloodlines and the broodmres are the foundation of my breeding program.

A fasionable sire is actually almost the last thing I consider in a broodmare, its the motherline that counts if she is worth much

 

[silverbreeze]

I am in complete agreement with the higher end of the scale, I sold one of my RID Fillies back to Ireland for £5k as a 3 year old, not in foal and never having had a foal as they wanted her for her bloodlines.
I brought an RID mare about 6 years ago (she was in foal) for £3.5k. After my experiences with breeding and handling the stock itis more than apparent that the key feature of a good youngster is it's mother.
Deflated market or not, a good breeder who knows there stuff will offer you more than £200 for her

 

[henryhorn]

Brood mares vary hugely in value, a good ex comp mare with a proven comp and breeding record can be hard to find, we ended up paying six thousand pounds for ours.
In the six months it took me to find her I was offered at least six broodmares either free/on permanent loan or for under £1000.
You base their cost firstly on why they are no longer any use to ride, then their breeding, then their suitability with your stallion.
Sadly your mare doesn't seem to have much comp experience behind her, and may not be rideable from what you say, so her worth is slightly above meat value, at around £600- £900. If you go to my blog look at the chesnut mare not far from the beginning, she is Cruising bloodlines, has won British Novice and lots of other placings, is absolutely sound and aged 10, but a hot head to ride. I paid £700 for her , so assess your mare against her to give you a good idea. (blog is on www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com )

 

[ihatework]

I think good broodmares should and do have a decent value on their heads. However in your instance you have a young horse that presumably is maiden and has little/no competition record. Who is to say that if she hadn't had her accident she would have stayed competition sound? In this climate I think you are looking at around the £800 mark personally, sorry.

 

[koeffee]

[ QUOTE ]
I am in complete agreement with the higher end of the scale, I sold one of my RID Fillies back to Ireland for £5k as a 3 year old, not in foal and never having had a foal as they wanted her for her bloodlines.
I brought an RID mare about 6 years ago (she was in foal) for £3.5k. After my experiences with breeding and handling the stock itis more than apparent that the key feature of a good youngster is it's mother.


thats all well and good, but at least your filly had a chance to be ridden in competition, the one in question will never be much more than a happy hack??? you only have to look on horsemart, horse deals, and h&h to see what they are making. i also bought an animo mare sound vice free, has prove competition record and proven broodmare not that old for not much more than meat money. at the end of the day people will pay if its what they want, but the market is as such a buyers one

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
I am in complete agreement with the higher end of the scale, I sold one of my RID Fillies back to Ireland for £5k as a 3 year old, not in foal and never having had a foal as they wanted her for her bloodlines.


[/ QUOTE ]

But there's a BIG difference between RID fillies who have done nothing except be graded - and TB mares who have done nothing and are unsound! Hell, I paid double that for a 3 yo ID from Ireland who hadn't yet graded - and not rare bloodlines (but good ones!)

But unproven, unsound TB mares are a glut on the market unless they are SERIOUSLY fashionable bloodlines for racing. I was offered one a few weeks ago - in foal for this year to a good RID stallion - and I suspect I'd have got her for les than the cost of the stud fee/vet's fees. Sadly, I'm more than full-up with brood mares.

 

[shirleyno2]

Well I have WB mares for sale, in foal for '09 at £3000, and not sold yet!!

 

[wonkey_donkey]

As the saying goes . . . . something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it !