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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I have happened upon a chance to buy a stallion I have liked for a long time. He is the most expensive horse I've ever looked at. I am wanting him for a stallion and nothing else. What are some question I need to ask what checks do I need to have done? I am so excited and terrified at the same time!
TIA!
Edited by equussynergy 2014-09-21 3:00 PM
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 Horsey Gene Carrier
Posts: 1888
   
Location: LaBelle, Florida | If you are buying him for a stallion only, spend the money and have him vetted by a reproduction vet. You want to make sure his swimmers are good and that he is at least sound enough to breed.
Are you set up for a stallion and breeding?
Are you promoting him or using him on your own mares? Will the foals be marketable?
How is he tempementally? Are you going to be able to deal with any quirks he has?
I won't ask the most obivious question as you have decide you like him, which is: Is he stallion material?
There is a laundry list you should ask about him. I'm sure more will chime in. |
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  Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | I don't know what all to tell you to look for. I just know I loved mine dearly.....he was my friend and confidant. If you get him bought I wish you happy days with him. |
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 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I would check him for any signs of laminitis especially if he has come off the track.
I spent some money on one and he started to founder day 2 of the ride home. We didn't know what his issue was, had him at vets etc. Finally found one that said it was laminitis and we treated him. We never figured out what caused it, but he took a turn for the worst and was put down. The vet said it was an on going condition and the insurance didn't cover him. Out a lot of money and not a single foal to show for it.
I would do a pretty thorough vet check since it sounds like it is a pretty penny you will be spending. |
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 The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | Have you considered all of the on going money you are going to have to spend to keep him at a facility? (Including owning a stallion and STILL having to pay to breed your own mares!) Unless you are going to have a special deal with the facility re: YOUR mares. How many outside mares is he currently breeding every year? How old are his oldest foals? (Is this a horse that has "been around for a while" or a younger one that doesn't have any performance aged foals yet?) If the current owners are shipping semen, I would also want to know how he ships. Just because a stallion has good swimmers, does NOT necessarily mean he ships well.
Edited by RacingQH 2014-09-20 9:48 AM
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 Living on the edge of common sense
Posts: 24138
Location: Carpenter, WY | RacingQH - 2014-09-20 8:43 AM Have you considered all of the on going money you are going to have to spend to keep him at a facility? (Including owning a stallion and STILL having to pay to breed your own mares!) Unless you are going to have a special deal with the facility re: YOUR mares. How many outside mares is he currently breeding every year? How old are his oldest foals? (Is this a horse that has "been around for a while" or a younger one that doesn't have any performance aged foals yet?) If the current owners are shipping semen, I would also want to know how he ships. Just because a stallion has good swimmers, does NOT necessarily mean he ships well.
I'm glad I read all the responses before I typed :) I would also verify how well he ships. It's disheartening for a mare owner to make all the effort and cost to get a mare bred only to have a limited number of swimmers when the semen finally gets there.
oh and a big congratulations! Do we get a hint  |
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Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | Thank you all for the responses! He doesn't have many foals on the ground and did not get promoted as much when he was younger. He has the pedigree power to back him. I have a long way to go to get him and a loan appoval but to me he is worth it. The only clue I can give is he is Yellow and is barrel bred not race bred. |
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Living on the edge of common sense
Posts: 24138
Location: Carpenter, WY | equussynergy - 2014-09-20 11:11 AM Thank you all for the responses! He doesn't have many foals on the ground and did not get promoted as much when he was younger. He has the pedigree power to back him. I have a long way to go to get him and a loan appoval but to me he is worth it. The only clue I can give is he is Yellow and is barrel bred not race bred.
well that narrows the guessing down
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The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | If he is by "one of the usual suspects" I would think LONG AND HARD. There are 40956894578 sons standing by a handfull of "barrel bred" stallions. Unless the son is a standout performer (if young) and also a great sire of performers (if he is older) it will likely be REALLY tough to get many outside mares. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Sounds like you are really in love with this fella, you do what you want with him and enjoy  . Wishing you all the luck, and you had better post pictures of him when hes bought  |
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The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | Have you seen him in person? |
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 That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| equussynergy - 2014-09-20 12:11 PM Thank you all for the responses! He doesn't have many foals on the ground and did not get promoted as much when he was younger. He has the pedigree power to back him. I have a long way to go to get him and a loan appoval but to me he is worth it. The only clue I can give is he is Yellow and is barrel bred not race bred.
Does his name start with: Pc Thorn Frost?? lol |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Whiteboy - 2014-09-22 12:38 PM equussynergy - 2014-09-20 12:11 PM Thank you all for the responses! He doesn't have many foals on the ground and did not get promoted as much when he was younger. He has the pedigree power to back him. I have a long way to go to get him and a loan appoval but to me he is worth it. The only clue I can give is he is Yellow and is barrel bred not race bred. Does his name start with: Pc Thorn Frost?? lol
I've been drooling over PC Thorn Frost... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 788
| I think you mostly need to consider what you will be using him for and make sure you will be able to fulfill your needs with him. Since you are so excited I would say that it will be a good decision as long as he is healthy repro wise and if you do plan to do big things make sure his swimmers are capable. Congrats and good luck |
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Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I can't tell any more until it is a done deal. However I am learning that it is much harder to get a loan for a horse in my part of the country than it is in places like, Texas. So it is looking kind of bleak right now. I guess if it is ment to happen it will, if not it wasn't ment to be.
Edited by equussynergy 2014-09-23 9:25 AM
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 Canine Carryout Queen
Location: Oklahoma | equussynergy - 2014-09-23 9:24 AM I can't tell any more until it is a done deal. However I am learning that it is much harder to get a loan for a horse in my part of the country than it is in places like, Texas. So it is looking kind of bleak right now. I guess if it is ment to happen it will, if not it wasn't ment to be.
IMO its hard getting a loan for a horse ANYWHERE in this economy ...
Good luck to you!! If it works out, make sure to get insurnace on him!
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | First I'd like to say,,,,,,Dont try to get a loan on a horse! Bank's have a very hard time loaning on livestock. The horse could die tomarrow. The loan you need to secure is just a personal line of credit. Then you can spend it as you see fit.
Now as for your question, you need to get a full pre-purchase REPRODUCTIVE exam. The vet will do a basic pre-purchase, plus collect the horse. His semen will be evaluated live, fresh and then they will cool some like you were shipping and examine the samples 1 and 2 days later. Some will also examine 3 days again. |
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 Roan Wonder
Location: SW MO | Call your vet and them what you should have him tested for. If he didn't have any foals this year then I would want a semen test on him.
When we bought our Ike stallion we paid big big bucks for him and we had our vet advise us on what test we should have ran before purchase. Do your home work it pays off in the long run. Also now that AQHA has it make sure he had had his 5 panel test done. You would be heart broken if you did it & it didn't come back N/N across the board |
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 Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | What are your thoughts as WHY you want a stallion? If you don't have a pretty stout yearly bankroll to finance the things you need, don't go forward. By that I mean do you have REALLY GOOD mares of your own to breed or are you depending on outside mares to pay his keep? Do you have the income to pay him into some of the incentive funds and pay for advertising even if you don't get any outside mares or sell your babies.
Have you got the grit that it takes to get knocked to your knees because you lost your best mare and her new foal? Or mares you were counting on having babies to sell, come up open after all the vet work and expenses of feeding them. You still have to feed those mares, even if they are deadweight on your profit.
IMO Lack of money is going to be your biggest handicap. In current state of the world it's ALWAYS going to be a struggle. You have to finance the breeding of your mares, advertising and feeding all of them and the babies until you can sell them.
Then there's the chance that the stallion that has won your heart isn't all that. What if he's not worthy? How long are you going to pour money into that pit? You have to have an exit strategy. Another thought, if I couldn't afford to pay for the stallion outright, I would RUN the other way. It's not a realistic or sound business decision to go into debt buying a stallion. Unless he's already got the hard work done and is breeding 20+ mares a year at $1000 at least. That kind will cost a LOT. Even then, things change in the blink of an eye. Good luck.  |
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Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I don't think most banks would like to loan money on a horse. There isn't a set market value like for cattle. On a horse, say you pay $20K and take out a loan. He injures himself you renig on loan (not saying you would but for conversations sake) and he is now worth 42 cents a lb. Bank repo's horse and takes a HUGE loss. Cattle are different. A much more secure loan. So unless you have a car title or something to put up against a "personal loan", I'm not sure you will get a bank talked into it.
Good luck though, I hope it pans out for you. |
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Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I already have one Stallion that I love to bits, and love his foals, I have not offered him to the public at all. I found out this New Stallion was for sale and had to make the call since I'd been following him for a while. I would be happy if I only bred my mares for foals I wanted. It would be nice if he could cover at least some of his own bills but if he doesn't its not a big deal to me. I do plan on offering him and my other stallion to the public next year (yes I am behind the 8 ball) and "pouring" money into it, because it makes me happy. You gotta pay to play right? I guess I'm kind of sitting here wondering how much money does one have to have before they "should" buy an expensive stallion? I mean people buy all sorts of other toys for lots of money and no one bats an eye but when you want to spend the same amount on a horse its a big deal.
However I do want to go into this with my eyes wide open and I appreciate all of the advice I've gotten. I should treat this like a business deal. One thing I didn't think of was seeing how his semen freezes and about asking if any of the previous owners have any and to freeze some just in case. I now plan on doing that with my other stallion as well.
So one of the funny things is everyone I've talked to personally about him goes on and on about his sire but I'm buying him for his dam.
Edited by equussynergy 2014-09-23 7:31 PM
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I am a Freak
Posts: 3326
Location: Nowhere Special | Like everyone else said, reproductive exam and my number one thing is what is his temperment like. I don't care how pretty they are or whos on the papers if them come off the trailer on two legs and looking to rip something up.
But I did exactly what you are doing but I took a COMPLETE shot in the dark and a even bigger gamble. I also bought a stallion that I was just in Love with. Actually I was in love with his bloodline as it was a hard one to find and my all time favorite.. I actually had never laid eyes on the stud, didn't have him vetted in anyway shape or form, paid more money then I had ever paid for a horse (it was and still is a lot of money to me) rolled the dice and took the gamble. I phone bid him on an auction over 1000 miles away. The only thing I had going is I didn't need a loan I had sold 5 high dollar broodmares the weeks before and had the money. I had no idea what I was going to get, never even saw a picture of him. for all I knew he could have been a 3 legged cripple as crooked as they come and mean as a snake. Talk about nervous for the week it took to get him home. But my gamble paid off I have loved him ever since he steped off the trailer, everyone loves him, he is the most beautiful kind and wonderful horse you could have ever wanted. I bought him for me but ended up breeding a lot more mares to him then the stud I had promoted. Sometimes it just works out.. Hes been here a decade now and I love him just as much today as I did the day he got here. |
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Buying an expensive Stallion