Re: RC: breeders who want more $$ for their horses

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Dear Deanna
I would LOVE to find more buyers like you who are willing to pay even
$2000 for a yearling (found one so far). Unfortunately, you are in the
minority. And as for that being a decent price, remember, even at that
price, if you take away the $600/year for almost 2 years (you said it
was a late yearling) and $600 for the feed of the mare during pregnancy
and $300 for her feed during nursing that leaves the breeder perhaps
(barring any vet bills) with a $100-200 margin for 3 years in the
foal-making to pay for his/her labor. Now what is wrong with this
picture???
I believe this makes it PAINFULLY obvious why most of us breeders have
stopped breeding to produce sales horses years ago.
Bette (yes, and I have offspring of my stallion doing VERY well in the
endurance arena and am communicating ALL the time- voila!)Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of TLA Halynov
http://www.stormnet.com/~woa
I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes. Smell the roses!

"guest@endurance.net" wrote:
> 
> Deanna German dgerman@earthlink.net
> There is a segment of the endurance market that is willing to pay
> for measureable quality. For an unstarted horse, the measurement is
> in the success of the horse's ancestors.
> 
> I purchased my 4 1/2 YO 3/4 Arab mare as a older yearling for $2000.
> No training except halter-broke and leadable. It sounds like most
> of the breeders here doing the complaining would accept that as a
> decent price for that age and level of training.
> 
> I wasn't looking for bargain basement. Heck, I would have paid more.
> What I was looking for was a proven line of horses (successful at
> endurance distance and endurance speed). The horse I purchased has
> many distance winners among her relatives including her dame, her
> sire's half-brother, her dame's full brother, her grand-sire,
> her grand-sire's get, etc. etc. As she matures, I am thrilled with
> the speed at which she is progressing. She has great trail sensibility
> is bold and wants to go! Recoveries are great; legs look great. This
> summer I'll be starting her camping at rides. If she does well, I'll
> try an LD ride or novice CTR toward the end of the season.
> 
> But you know what? I'm not the least bit surprized she's doing so
> well. SHE WAS SPECIFICALLY BRED FOR IT and has the long list of
> successful ancestors as proof.
> 
> Kat tried to provide a lesson in basic economics that at least one
> of you failed to understand. The MARKET drives the price. If you
> want to sell your horses for more money, develop the aspects that
> make them more valuable to your niche market. For people willing
> to pay a few bucks for a competitive mount, you have to be able to
> show them the wins!!! Conformation points toward physical ability,
> but it's often the head and the heart that creates a winner. A
> potential buyer willing to spend a few bucks more wants to see some
> champion endurance horses in the line in addition to top-quality
> physical characteristics.
> 
> For those doing the complaining who have endurance champions in the
> pedigree, there is something called "effective marketing." You can't
> just put the product out there, stick a premium price on it and expect
> people to know they should buy it without telling them why it's more
> valuable. It might comfort you to criticize the potential buyers by
> saying that they don't know the value of what they're looking at, but
> if you want the $$, it IS up to you to communicate.
> 
> Deanna (Ohio)
> 
> 
> 
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