Would you spend £3000 upwards on a foal ?

[BBH]

Just musing really. Have seen some nice well bred weanling foals but a lot are circa 6k and I'm not sure i'd pay that to just have a punt on the outcome.

I realise that breeding a foal is hugely expensive, and i'm not having a pop at any breeders, but as a buyer would you pay that when you can get some smart youngstock for considerably less and have a better idea of what they will turn out like.

Any thoughts cos I've seen a foal with nice jumping lines but at the end of the day at the moment thats all i'm buying. There is a long way to go before I could tell if it'll get in the ring.

 

[Sheri]

I've looked at a few Arab foals that are quite pricey too - Personally I wouldn't spend anymore than £3000 on a foal even with good bloodlines and I want one with Endurance breeding

 

[tikino]

yes i would and have done in the past yeh it is a gamble but it has paid of with th foals i have bought

 

[Brandy]

Definitely not. A friend of mine has done so twice in recent years and neither horse has grown up to be fit to ride.

Fair enough this can happen if you buy an older horse but it seems very risky to spend so much on such a young, unknown quantity.

Saying that, i rarely spend much at all on any horse so I may not be the best person to give an opinion.

 

[Umbongo]

I wouldn't, but I can understand why some people would.
My friend has bought a 9 month old filly for £4000 before Christmas. She has brilliant dressage lines apparently (I don't know about dressage breeding). She has lovely movement. I gawped when she told me the price, but it was the only way she could afford what could be a top class dressage horse for herself that she can mold into what she wants. The dressage horses from the same yard that she wanted originally were going for £10,000 minimum. So buying the foal was the only way she thought she could get around it. You can't be sure if how it will turn out, but that's a risk you have to take.

 

[happihorse]

I can understand why people would and if I had more money I would love to do this but even if you save money by buying young, you still have to factor in the cost of keeping it for three years until you can ride it, by which time you would have spent closer to £10,000 anyway!

If I did buy a foal it would be for the whole experience - ie caring for and training it from day one.

 

[tasel]

I spent quite a bit over that for a 2.5-year-old... who if she hadn't injured herself now would cost quite a bit more!!! Obviously, with injury... worth not so much anymore.

Problem is with a foal, you never know how they will turn out. Another girl and I bought our horses at the same time. At that time, we didn't know each other, but we were similar age and horses were similar age. Her horse ended up being a saint, whilst mine was challenging to say the least.

 

[tasel]

P.S.: Just to add that though my mare is quite good on the ground, she was never easy in the saddle... (just didn't like work full stop). So really, with a foal... until they are ridden... you will never know what you've got.

 

[Faithkat]

In 2003 I spent £3000 on a 7 month old foal (she was originally between £6000-£8000, reduced because the owner needed a quick sale to pay huge death duties bill). Foal had stunning (sorry, awful word) SJ lines . . . .

 

[dressagecrazy]

Yes i would & yes i have, to get a really well bred foal unfortunately you have to pay.
Yes they might not turn out exactly what you want but the same can be said for buying an older horse tbh in my mind.

The trick is to really research if buying foals however it can still go wrong. Guess some of us are more daring than others & are happier to spend more on a possible future Potential top horse.
The Foal i have just bought has excellent bloodlines & for fact i could never afford her when backed, if it goes wrong it goes wrong but either way i will be the one sorting it out i definitely wont pass on.

 

[otter2]

if i had my own land i would, but i don't so no i wouldn't!! for the amount they could cost up until they're 3.. i'd rather save that money up and buy a 3yo!

 

[FionaMc]

I fully intend to buy a foal at some point in my life, and have a clear idea of what I'd want. I would definitely be prepared to pay over £3k for a spotty foal with the potential to go on and event to a reasonable level. Of course, actually being able to afford it is another matter...

 

[tasel]

Ditto _Charli_

If you don't have your own land, then you will have to add up all the costs of keeping the foal until it's rideable... and that can easily cost about £8k in total if not more, depending on where you are in the country.

 

[BBH]

if i had my own land i would, but i don't so no i wouldn't!! for the amount they could cost up until they're 3.. i'd rather save that money up and buy a 3yo!

Thats a very valid point actually, you could be spending ££££'s on keeping him / her before you've even sat on it. Also factor in a few thousand to have it backed if you can't do it yourself.( am assuming if its a top notch foal you'll be using a top notch trainer )

I have my own land so luckily no livery costs as such but could argue with myself that it would take up the space of a paying livery so a loss of income as such.

 

[otter2]

plus throw in within those 3 years they could easily injure themselves and provide you a lovely vets bill!!

 

[Kenzo]

If I had that sort of cash for a youngster and I really liked it, then yes, but don't tell the OH I said that.

 

[BBH]

LOL thats the trouble with us women our heart rules our head.

Everything on a business / financial level says walk away but one look at those little foalie eyes and the endless possibilities where it'll never go wrong and we reaching for the cheque book.

 

[beckiebeckyboo]

have a friend who has twice been abroad and bought incredibly well bred foals, bred to do dressage top bloodlines one is now 4 the other 5 both nice made horses the four year old is very ordinary and shes just sold him for what she paid for him 3 1/2 years ago! the five year old when dressage people see its breeding all think superstar when they actually see her shes lovley but again nothing special. she gave £6000+ for each of them. We also breed showjumpers we have 4 graded broodmares which we competed first, all grade a have put them to well bred proven stallions. This year we have 4 four year old 2 of which look quite special the other 2 who knows!! but they are nice people. breeding is such a huge gamble

 

[amandaco2]

i would for a very nice mover with good looks and excellent lines- 6k easily
i would prefere to buy at 3 unbacked because at least its made it that far unscathed!
but you can buy more for the same money as a weanling.....

 

[Depp_by_Chocolate]

Yes I would if I had the money to spare and it was exactly what I was after

 

[Donkeymad]

Personally, no I wouldn't.

 

[JanetGeorge]

I realise that breeding a foal is hugely expensive, and i'm not having a pop at any breeders, but as a buyer would you pay that when you can get some smart youngstock for considerably less and have a better idea of what they will turn out like.

Breeding a foal IS expensive - and getting it to backing age is even MORE expensive - yet people STILL expect to get foals for next to nothing - and nicely backed rising 4year olds for not a lot more!!

It costs me an absolute minimum of £2,000 to get a nice ID Sport Horse to weaning age (and that's paying myself 5p a week for all the time I put into them - and nothing going wrong!!) But people look aghast when you ask for £2,500 for them! So some I run on- at a cost of £1,000 MINIMUM a year and then back and get them riding quietly,hacking out sensibly etc. etc. By then they've cost me a MINIMUM of £5,500 - but you advertise them at £6,000 ono and people say that's too dear for something 'that's DONE nothing'! (True - but it hasn't been f***ed up either!! )

Yet other folk cheerfully pay £2,000 or more for a 17 yo KNACKER from a dodgy dealer - get it home - and wonder why it's lame - or lunatic!

 

[Vickijay]

If I wasnt getting addicted to breeding then I def would.

My mare is (hopefully) still pregnant and it has cost me alot more than £3000 so far and there isnt even a baby on the ground!!

People that want to pay peanuts for nicely bred young horses are putting the breeders under a huge strain. Just look at the semen costs of some of the top stallions alone....

 

[Enfys]

People pay for what they want.

For instance, someone offered me $800 for the yellow colt (not officially for sale even)purely because they thought he was pretty and they wanted to keep him as a lawn ornament, I am talking to someone right now, who has offered me a great deal more than that, unseen, apart from photographs. That is going completely on bloodlines.

To answer the question, yes, I would spend the money if the foal was what I wanted. 3000 pounds is nothing, I've known arabian foals change hands at Open Days for 5 figures.