# Price for Broodmare



## Bendihorse (30 April 2016)

I'm shopping for a second broodmare at the moment, looking at taking a promising, well bred and well related young mare out of competition, spending 10-15k. I told someone my intention and they thought I was mad spending that amount of money on a broodmare but I think you need to buy the best mare that you can afford. What are the other breeders on the forum willing to invest in a good mare?


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## Alec Swan (30 April 2016)

Assuming that the foal born would be intended for competition,  it would depend upon the specific discipline.  A very well bred and proven by competition Show-Jumper,  for instance,  would probably be double that of an Event mare, and Dressage,  possibly considerably more than the S-J mare.

Alec.


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## be positive (30 April 2016)

I am not a breeder but think you are correct to buy the best mare you can, if you are investing in an expensive stud fee, then keeping the resulting offspring for several years to either sell or do a job for you, then it makes sense to use a really good mare, I suppose there are still people who think you breed from any mare that is no longer able to be ridden and that they can be picked up for peanuts so why bother to spend good money on one. 
A well bred young mare will potentially pay back your initial investment if they produce something very special.


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## Equi (30 April 2016)

Put it this way, breeding is a gamble at the best of times, but i would always want better odds if i could! A lot of people seem to think a brood mare is literally just a uterus and it all comes from the stallion. Funny thing about breeding is it is 50/50 folks!


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## Maesfen (30 April 2016)

If you haven't conformation and a good temperament it doesn't matter how much you pay, you need to be able to work with it and its produce.


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## cundlegreen (30 April 2016)

Agree with the above posters, but you must look for a good damline above all else. If you are going down the WB road then a Keur Preferent mare would be the sort of thing you should be looking for.


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## AdorableAlice (30 April 2016)

The best to the best and a superb temperament.

However, having just been told what well bred and very decent horses were fetching at Brightwells today I wonder if it is worth breeding at all.


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## The Bouncing Bog Trotter (30 April 2016)

I am currently trying to sell a proven broodmare with a competition record (show jumping) and exceptional breeding (dam sire   Voltaire) and I struggling at very much less that the price you are looking at (knock off a zero). I would say with that budget that you should be able to find a really good mare, especially if you think outside the box and look for one that has just not gone down quite the right path in life.


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## popsdosh (1 May 2016)

OP if you are looking to spend that on a broodmare there are lots of sellers who would love to see you. Sorry I think you will be heading for the bankruptcy courts if your looking to make money. Good luck is all I can say.
Recently mares as you describe have been put down in good numbers due to no demand for them or their offspring.


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## Tetrarch 1911 (1 May 2016)

I agree. There were some sound winning sorts for sale at the Tattersalls sale a couple of days ago from top-class, tough TB families. They were fetching mid-hundreds out of training, and with input would make a decent performance horse or would breed a nice sport horse. That's what I love about TBs ... mine have always been sweethearts, they're sound and stay sound, and they have amazing scope. 



AdorableAlice said:



			The best to the best and a superb temperament.

However, having just been told what well bred and very decent horses were fetching at Brightwells today I wonder if it is worth breeding at all.
		
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## Bendihorse (2 May 2016)

I'm looking to breed a showjumper. The mare I have chosen is full brother to a 1.60m showjumper, she's a quality type. I agree with all said above, especially about temperament however, I don't think breeding a horse with the aim to have it so quiet it could be ridden by an amateur is the way to go, breed a trainable smart and sharp horse who wants to win, not one who is quiet and so straight-forward it loses interest or isn't able to think for itself.

Another question, would breeders be willing to buy a mare off a video from a trusted agent or would you have to travel and see it in the flesh?


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## Alec Swan (2 May 2016)

Considering the amount that you're prepared to spend,  it must beg the questions;  Has the mare competed?  Why is she now 'out' of competition,  and have you seen film of her in work?

At that sort of money,  I would only ever trust one person,  I'd consider advice,  but the final decision would be mine.

Alec.


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## Bendihorse (2 May 2016)

She's young Alec, 5yo and is shown under saddle jumping and is being sold as a riding horse with x-rays and full vetting. I take your point though, it's a bit of a gamble. I think to get a sense of the temperament you need to visit the horse, you get a good sense of the animal in person where as that's lost in a video.


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## Alec Swan (2 May 2016)

She's only 5 and being sold as a broodmare and at serious money?  She also comes with a full vetting?  Why isn't she being allowed to continue with her career?  I would advise extreme caution.  In fact,  I'd have alarm bells going off.

I'm sorry if the above isn't what you want to read,  but you have asked for opinions.  

Alec.


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## Bendihorse (2 May 2016)

No sorry Alec, you miss understood or I'm prob explaining myself poorly, she is being sold as a competition mare by the agent! Also she is 4yo and just broken in, not 5yo as previously stated, I was mixing her up with another horse I was looking at.


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## popsdosh (3 May 2016)

Bendihorse said:



			No sorry Alec, you miss understood or I'm prob explaining myself poorly, she is being sold as a competition mare by the agent! Also she is 4yo and just broken in, not 5yo as previously stated, I was mixing her up with another horse I was looking at.
		
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Sorry it just looks more crazy spending that money. There is no logic as the only way her offspring will command any decent price is if she has a decent competition record it matters not how well she is connected . You will also find purchasers very suspicious of a mare who was never given the chance to prove herself however you explain it. Sorry the more I here the more I think you need a reality check.


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## Bendihorse (3 May 2016)

Ok so a few seem to be up in arms over what I am prepared to pay for a good mare and that was my original question, so I guess I expected a few answers to fall on the more conservative side! 

Education here and on the continent has proven that the mare does not need to have a performance record herself, what's most important is her lineage and back breeding containing a high number of 1.60m jumpers in the mareline is most desirable.
Jan Greve explains the point well in this article, see question titled: 

You are not only a breeder - you have a training yard?
http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2012/10/breeding-philosophy-with-jan-greve/

He also goes as far as to say that mares of his that had high profile competition careers didn't seem to breed as well as ones who has not competed at all.

In my case, If a mares half sister has bred a 1.60m showjumper and her dam is full sister to a 1.60m jumper and she currently shows potential to be a 1.30m plus jumper herself, then one can expect to pay the going rate for a good quality riding horse. 
You could wait around for a 6 or 8 year old mare who has done more and proven her ability, but then one would have to spend considerably more. Or you have the option to wait for one to get injured and have their competition career ended thus sent to the breeding shed, but these top quality mares never hit the market and are retained by the people who own them.

Luc Henry is also quoted in this article about making brave choices and positive thinking:
http://www.horsesinternational.com/articles/luc-henry-never-lie-quality-horse/
Henry continues: In fact, the way we are and the way we think has the most influence in our life. Our attitude and our positive thinking are the roots of the success.

All my life I have tried to be inspired by people who have success and by horses who were exceptional. Observation, questioning, sharing and positive thinking are the first step to the success. I am a lucky man because ever since I was young, I have been committed to the goal of breeding horses for the top sport one day. And ever since I was young, I have known how to achieve this: not by being led by coincidence, but by looking for the best horses without making any compromises. I was and still am inspired by successful breeders amongst them Leon Melchior, Joris De Brabander, and Marc Kluskens.


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## popsdosh (3 May 2016)

Good luck is all I can say!  I hope you may be able to sell the offspring on the continent as the UK market is very different . I suggest you sit down and examine what these types are making in the uk. You have to factor in what happens with the failures as I dont care who you are ,there will be a few of them! usually there is only one realistic outlet hence the reason most top studs never name youngsters until the last moment.Seen many youngstock that ought to be carrying top end prefixes being sold out of bottom end dealers yards.


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## crabbymare (3 May 2016)

i dont see a problem with the amount you are thinking of paying and I do know that on the continent good broodmares will fetch a lot of money (often more than you are budgeting) which is partly why I have a good mare on breeding loan over there rather than buy a leser one. the difference is that on the continent many very good mares are professional broodmares whereas not all horses that are in competition work and have a good record will necessarily make a good broodmare. personally I would be looking to buy abroad as they do seem to know which mares are more likely to have offspring that will perform but there will also be good mares in the uk. its just a case of finding them. I look in germany but there are also very good mares in holland although you also need to take into consideration what your intentions are for the future as in will you be keeping the foals or breeding to sell. if breeding to sell you need to be aware that in the uk market is not normally known for small breeders to get the same prices as are often achieved abroad and it takes a long time and a lot of money to get the sort of reputation  that the studs who sell at a profit have.


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## sywell (7 May 2016)

be positive said:



			I am not a breeder but think you are correct to buy the best mare you can, if you are investing in an expensive stud fee, then keeping the resulting offspring for several years to either sell or do a job for you, then it makes sense to use a really good mare, I suppose there are still people who think you breed from any mare that is no longer able to be ridden and that they can be picked up for peanuts so why bother to spend good money on one. 
A well bred young mare will potentially pay back your initial investment if they produce something very special.
		
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I have a number of brood mares all branded Hanoverian some graded some with Futurity records see web page Sywell Stabes or email or ring Dressage bred bt State stalions one jumping.


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## Toraylac (9 May 2016)

Wow - you really are a dream buyer OP. I have a 10 yr old Elite/St.Pr.A mare that I imported from Germany at considerable expense. She was backed professionally, achieved her Elite status and competed at dressage successfully before she had two fabulous foals . She has now been brought back in to work (again professionally) and yet I have had NO interest in her whatsoever!!! Have reduced my asking price for her twice and have now decided that I am not giving her away and that she can stay here with me. She can even jump - so what is going on with the market?


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