is anyone buying foals?

[brindlerainbow]

The market is very slow due to the reccesion.There is absolutely no point in breeding to sell unless the stock is absolutely top class. Im sure your babies are lovely but im afraid part bred Welsh colts are ten a penny, people cant give them away . This may sound harsh but dont breed unless you are prepared to hang on to them until the market picks up which could be months and months and months. If I were you I would geld the colt and hang onto him until you can find him a really good home, you might sell the filly as she is competition bred. You could send them to a market where they will sell but they will probably end up in some hideous hell hole

[Deleted]

I have had several offers on my filly. Last one £3 K, but said no. She is worth £5 k, but in the current climate would probably get £4 K.

I dont want to sell her though, so am sitting tight for as long as I can.

[ladybird]

talking of hell holes, wheres the original post??

[brindlerainbow]

Oh whats happened to the oringinal post ?? Bit strange!!!!!!!!!

[stormyskies]

I had 3 foals this year. Am keeping one but sold other 2 to lovely homes.
I put 2 in foal for next year and have rehomed one to a lovely home due to changing circumstances and am keeping other one. I had 4 to put in foal but only decided to put 2 in due to changing market. I put the 2 in as I have room to run them on.

I firmly believe no one should breed unless they are willing to take responsibility for foals until they can be found appropriate homes. Be that at weaning or 3 yrs. So they need room to keep them and the money to pay for worming, vaccinations etc.

God knows what the original post was! Lol

[paulal]

Yes I totally agree ............... it is hard at the moment nothing seems to be selling. I have a lovely yearling that half of me wants to keep but the other half wants him not to be wasted and to find the perfect home for him ................ which is with me for the time being anyway - lol! My other half would love me to sell but I do not want to give him away and while I have room and time for him I hope to keep him ............... I would love to see him through to being ridden and see how he actually turns out! Fingers crossed!!!!!

[horseyll81]

I bred a super WPB colt foal this year. My intention was to sell him originally. I had a couple of very respectable people ask me if he was for sale. I asked £1500 and they were instantly put off saying they only really wanted to pay about £400. The fact that one of these people were interested in him tells me just how good a foal he is (the guy breeds top class cobs) so I'm quite happy to keep hold of my colt now knowing I have a good one, and ensuring I don't let him go for pennies. xx

[Tallyho]

We bought a lovely dressage bred colt foal for under £2k recently.

Was worth £5k of anyones money but we didn't have that sort of money lying around and the people needed to sell.

We're going to run him on as an entire for a while see how he pans out - he's that nice.

Don't envy anyone who's breeding, definate buyers market.

I wouldn't put anything in foal now.

Breeding anything at the minute is actually not a great idea - dogs, cats rabbits etc.

[beckylock]

I am not very good at this breeding to sell thing... lol But I am very very good at breeding to keep or as I tell the OH running them on to sell as 4yr old... haha Keep saying we will get more money for them as 4 yr old.. Just dont think about the cost of keeping, showing and then backing them. I just want to see if they will be my next HOYS pony as I have also sold a few as foal that maybe I should have not sold.. lol

[oldbag]

I got very confused without an original post to see where this started, but agree that breeding isn't a worthwhile business at the best of times and at the moment it isn't easy to sell youngstock at all, even ones I thought should go quickly.

So I haven't bred any more for a 2nd year in a row and have to say it makes running a stallion much harder work tho he did have a few visiting mares to keep him entertained and he has a long term companion mare so isn't all alone as that would be a nightmare!

Hopefully yearlings and 2yo's will go at 3 if not before and as there are no foals behind them it should reduce the numbers gradually and let me start again if and when the market wants a good youngster again rather than only proven show winners... If not then sadly I'll geld the stallion and call it quits rather than not have the space to say no to a home I don't think is right for whatever reason.