Sales Report

Well, it's over. The Sale, that is.
And to say it SUCKED, is putting it mildly.

We brought Athena back......I just could not give her away.
Summer, however, did not share the same fate. Although we did not want to give her up, we definitely need the room and need to down-size.

It wasn't just our horses......it was everyone's. Oh, yeah, there were those who everyone really wanted......all the ones WE were interested in went for $3000 and up......but there were a LOT of really decent, nicely to well-bred horses, broke, carrying babies that went for anywhere from $500 to $900. Like the auctioneer said.....these aren't horses that were on their last legs; these are horses in their prime: 5-9 years old!

There were people there that looked at horses, made their notes, asked questions, made comments.....that went home empty-handed. People who should have picked up something and would have obviously given them a good home. Why didn't they? I have a theory.

Most of the people who really took time to ask questions were not your normal draft horse people. Most of them looked like hunter/jumper or sport horse people, or people just getting interested in possibly getting a draft horse. But the prices may have stopped them......after all, a saddle-horse that only commands $500 these days is usually a puke, a problem and/or too old to do anything. However, 90% of these horses were none of the above.

Just look at the financial logistics:

• to get the horse on the ground (i.e., be born) is a stud fee of approximately $500
• there is 2 years of maintenance; feeding, vet, trimming, caring and, maybe, showing
• the horse is trained (broke), usually for a fee: a cheap fee is about $500; the trainer only keeps the horse for a month or so
• the horse is "finished"....used by the owner
• the horse (if its a mare) is bred and is going to have a baby. Stud fee: $500

Just picking up the "big" fees, there is already $1,500 invested in a broke, bred mare.....and they are selling for $500. But it's not a good thing for the draft horses.

Why? Because the cycle of the 1940's will happen again. When horses were replaced by trucks and cars small breeders simply closed up shop. And when people wanted to get them again, they were few and far between. It took a long time to build up the numbers.

Now, there are many small breeders wondering if it is worth breeding anymore. Many of them have very nice horses; it would be a shame to lose those bloodlines. If it is no longer worth it, it will come to pass.

Just another sign of the times, I guess.