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Miss Not Exciting
Posts: 3279
   
Location: Ft Worth TX | I have been wanting to get into cutting quite a bit. I have a trainer willing to help me, nearly bend over backwards for me. I don’t have the funds to enter the big cuttings and in no way feel like I’d be ready for that in the next few years.
Knowing the above information what would you do when buying a cutting prospect?
A. Buy a cheap mediocre bred prospect by a stud who has NCHA earnings.
B. I have been offered to “pay out” (I’m not real fond of this idea), a son of a big up and coming NCHA sire, out of a producing and performing mare. My only real issue with this is I don’t feel like I’d do the breeder or mare owner “justice” knowing what level I’ll start out. I feel in a way I’d “waste” its potential. The trainer I’m friends with offered this- so I feel obligated in a way with how much he helps me.
C. Try and find a prospect by a decent sire and out of a producing/ performing mare at a reasonable price I wouldn’t have to pay out.
I bought a filly last year by a nice stud, and out of a producing mare, unfortunately she fractured her splint bone and tore her suspensory, her prognosis is not fantastic, she won’t make a cutter- but will be sound to ride. She did this 3 days after I bought a pro cutter ??
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? | |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7551
 
Location: In The Land of Cotton | My husband cuts. It is expensive. We started the wrong way. New rider, new horse and it took a while to get him going.
I would start with an older, been there, done that horse. If you think you want to get into breeding later, get a mare. You can build her earnings and use her later for a broodmare. If you are in Texas, you can go to a lot of jackpot cuttings. You have way more cuttings then we do on the East Coast for smaller entry fees.
Or, borrow/lease a horse from the trainer willing to help you. He should also be able to find you something to start with in your budget.
Good luck. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 575
| 3canstorun - 2018-10-31 7:47 AM
My husband cuts. It is expensive. We started the wrong way. New rider, new horse and it took a while to get him going.
I would start with an older, been there, done that horse. If you think you want to get into breeding later, get a mare. You can build her earnings and use her later for a broodmare. If you are in Texas, you can go to a lot of jackpot cuttings. You have way more cuttings then we do on the East Coast for smaller entry fees.
Or, borrow/lease a horse from the trainer willing to help you. He should also be able to find you something to start with in your budget.
Good luck.
Agree with everything here. Buy older and finished and let them teach you.
There are a ton of club cuttings, not NCHA approved, with lower entries. Lots of NCHA cutting will even have "un-approved" classes like a $750 limited rider or a Ranch cutting class. Good luck! | |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | Me? I would not become a cutter ha! If you have the availability of the B. option-you have a lot of time to ride, the trainer is willing to spend a lot of time with you-Jump in with both feet-to me that sounds like a GREAT opporatunity that someone is offering you and that they see potential in you that you're not? Getting into the right crowd and being allowed to ride and help bring together nice horses would be the way to go IMO. If you just can't do that see if you can lease a good solid horse (I think of the HS kids that cut-the ones that leased dependable horses did great, the lease generally allowed them to work with the owner/trainer as needed) | |
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 Expert
Posts: 1520
Location: Illinois | I worked for a cutter for quite some time on both the ranches they owned, the father & son were both non-pro cutters. The biggest thing I learned was that it makes the expense of barrel racing look like pennies, lol. I loved it while I was there though and learned so much, I apply a lot of it to what I still do today. I had the opportunity to work the flag & some cattle on a couple of their show horses & it's insanely fun. Way more fun than barrel racing for sure. There was one horse I liked a lot and was interested in purchasing, he was 6 and they were done with them once they were 7. So I asked how much they'd want for him, they said they'd cut me a deal for $150K. Ended up selling him to his own mother for $100K. We had another mare that was 4 and he sold her for $400K. That would have been a barrel horse and entry fees for life for me. He purchased an older one for his young son to start out on a year or so ago and only paid $15K, so there are deals out there for the lower level/just starting out people. And it just depends on what level you can jump in at. If you have the ability to learn & be helped then you're a big step ahead. If the trainer friend feels comfortable offering you a horse, he believes in your ability. He's not going to stick his neck out like that if he doesn't have faith. | |
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Miss Not Exciting
Posts: 3279
Location: Ft Worth TX | Guess I should have said I do have an older finished cutting mare I’ve been riding. | |
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Hugs to You
Posts: 7551
Location: In The Land of Cotton | Whoop Z Day Z - 2018-10-31 11:13 AM Guess I should have said I do have an older finished cutting mare I’ve been riding.
Then if you have experience and something like the mare to show, start riding with the trainer on the one you talked about - option B.
You can always build the older mares earnings and breed her to a nice stallion. While MC is the hot thing right now, you can always breed to something that has earnings also, just not as promoted as he was. Although his get have been so nice. We bought into one and hopefully will hit the pen in January.
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 The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | Silly question, and I'm not sure there is really a solid answer, but why is cutting discipline so expensive? It does look awesome, but why so much? Training expenses? Consideration of cattle expenses? | |
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Hugs to You
Posts: 7551
Location: In The Land of Cotton | horsegirl - 2018-10-31 11:37 AM Silly question, and I'm not sure there is really a solid answer, but why is cutting discipline so expensive? It does look awesome, but why so much? Training expenses? Consideration of cattle expenses? You have the entry fee, which can range from $75 up to $300 for one class, one day. Then you have a mimum usually starting at $50/per class of cattle fees and usually $125/class at big shows. Then you have the NCHA video fee, and then the office fee.
Example - this weekend at a local jackpot, $100 added money - it will be $130. for the entry fee, (all fees included). If it was a barrel race one day and $130 you could expect the added money to be more then $100.
At NCHA shows, it would be close to $250/325 with no money added for the $2k, limited rider.
Edited by 3canstorun 2018-10-31 11:01 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1520
Location: Illinois | 3canstorun - 2018-10-31 10:47 AM
horsegirl - 2018-10-31 11:37 AM Silly question, and I'm not sure there is really a solid answer, but why is cutting discipline so expensive? It does look awesome, but why so much? Training expenses? Consideration of cattle expenses? You have the entry fee, which can range from $75 up to $300 for one class, one day. Then you have a mimum usually starting at $50/per class of cattle fees and usually $125/class at big shows. Then you have the NCHA video fee, and then the office fee.
Example - this weekend at a local jackpot, $100 added money - it will be $130. for the entry fee, (all fees included). If it was a barrel race one day and $130 you could expect the added money to be more then $100.
At NCHA shows, it would be close to $250/325 with no money added for the $2k, limited rider.
Entries were super expensive, but we went to big shows & futurities only. Part of the expense in horse costs is higher stud fees than we often see in barrel horses. We usually had 10 babies a year, 5 were always High Brow Cat, at least 3 would be Dual Rey, and 2 we'd mix either Spots Hot or CD Lights. All were embryos in recip mares except for one, so any given year for just our 10 babies we were around $150K a year just to conceive. We had to get a new semi load of cattle every week to have fresh cows, can only work a cow 2 maybe 3 times if you're lucky. Se we had to keep and feed 5-6 semi loads at a time. And we were a small operation, 15 working horses each year and the rest were breeders. And the demand, at any given time we could sell one of ours for $200-450K in 24 hours, easy. This was a few years ago, and in Weatherford TX. We sold a HBC yearling stud colt that got injured and we didn't want to keep the risk, and someone came within 2 hours and picked him up for $100K. The whole time I worked there my mind was blown at the price tags, I never adjusted to it. The people I worked for are millionaires . Plus they own well over 10,000 acres of farmland that they farm & grow hay on top of owning a huge fabrication company. So for them the industry probably wasn't expensive at all. They made their money by breeding & selling, I think the sons LTE at that time in the Non-Pro was only like $150,000. But they made $1-2 million a year selling off their "rejects" | |
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The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | Wow, interesting. | |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | JLazyT_perf_horses - 2018-10-31 11:32 AM
3canstorun - 2018-10-31 10:47 AM
horsegirl - 2018-10-31 11:37 AM Silly question, and I'm not sure there is really a solid answer, but why is cutting discipline so expensive? It does look awesome, but why so much? Training expenses? Consideration of cattle expenses? You have the entry fee, which can range from $75 up to $300 for one class, one day. Then you have a mimum usually starting at $50/per class of cattle fees and usually $125/class at big shows. Then you have the NCHA video fee, and then the office fee.
Example - this weekend at a local jackpot, $100 added money - it will be $130. for the entry fee, (all fees included). If it was a barrel race one day and $130 you could expect the added money to be more then $100.
At NCHA shows, it would be close to $250/325 with no money added for the $2k, limited rider.
Entries were super expensive, but we went to big shows & futurities only. Part of the expense in horse costs is higher stud fees than we often see in barrel horses. We usually had 10 babies a year, 5 were always High Brow Cat, at least 3 would be Dual Rey, and 2 we'd mix either Spots Hot or CD Lights. All were embryos in recip mares except for one, so any given year for just our 10 babies we were around $150K a year just to conceive. We had to get a new semi load of cattle every week to have fresh cows, can only work a cow 2 maybe 3 times if you're lucky. Se we had to keep and feed 5-6 semi loads at a time. And we were a small operation, 15 working horses each year and the rest were breeders. And the demand, at any given time we could sell one of ours for $200-450K in 24 hours, easy. This was a few years ago, and in Weatherford TX. We sold a HBC yearling stud colt that got injured and we didn't want to keep the risk, and someone came within 2 hours and picked him up for $100K. The whole time I worked there my mind was blown at the price tags, I never adjusted to it. The people I worked for are millionaires . Plus they own well over 10,000 acres of farmland that they farm & grow hay on top of owning a huge fabrication company. So for them the industry probably wasn't expensive at all. They made their money by breeding & selling, I think the sons LTE at that time in the Non-Pro was only like $150,000. But they made $1-2 million a year selling off their "rejects"
Would you pm me their names? No reason other than I'm a nosey cutting horse fanatic!! But I understand if you'd rather not. | |
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