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As
I have mentioned before, in any given week, I will
have several conversations regarding the sale of
horses, either at auctions or privately.
I have told all of the ideas I have
regarding getting as much money as efficiently as
one can. I
do have a suggestion that may help in and indirect
way to market your horses or at least put some
perspective on the problem.
The suggestion is.....go see someone
else's horses.
Here's why.
Most of the members of the
Shoemaker-Skipper W. Bloodlines have similar types
of operations.
Most are interested in the breeding
business, we are all working with the same
breeding, and our goals are at least similar
enough that we all can at least understand what
the others are striving for.
But, we are all different in that we live
in different areas of the country, we all have
different financial resources, the number of
horses that we have or want to have varies and we
each are capable of different physical tasks
required in the horse business.
That was a lesson that I learned years ago.
Everyone is working with different
resources and we all have to be tolerant of others
goals, assets and limitations.
That said, let's move on.
One way that I have kept up in the horse
business to the extent that I have, is to try to
be aware of what others in the business have and
what they are doing.
If I am aware of horses or an operation
similar to mine, I try to make an effort to make a
visit to that operation and see the horses.
I always try to call ahead and usually try
to make it clear that I am not interested in
buying anything,
I just state that I am interested in seeing
their stallion, their foals, mares or a horse that
they are showing.
Most horse owners are eager to show you
their horses and their place so for the most part
these visits are fairly easy to arrange.
I am not always impressed.
Sometimes a horse or horses that I expected
to be good were disappointing.
Other times, I thought that a group of
horses would be mediocre at best and they turned
out to be far better and more interesting than I
would have ever imagined.
It doesn't ever really matter if the
horses are better or worse than a person
anticipates; it's always interesting and can be
so enlightening.
Be
Objective!
Try to compare the horses to your own and
you may realize that there are some changes that
need to be made in your own operation.
Maybe it is changes in management, or
breeding stock or promotion.
I can honestly say that I have always
learned something by visiting other horse breeders
or owners. Maybe
it was something as minor as a better way to latch
gates or a way to keep paint from peeling of the
fences. Or,
maybe I was made aware of mares bred a certain way
that I suddenly realized could help my own horses.
I have learned that other owners promote
their horses in ways that I had not considered.
There is a wide range of things to learn if
a person is objective and willing to accept new
things.
There is a second benefit to be enjoyed
from visiting other breeders.
That is that the person or persons you
visit are made aware of your horses, your
operation and your part in the business.
I think most people would be surprised at
the dividends this kind of awareness provides.
An extreme example of this happened to me
in 1990. At
about this time, I had seen hundreds of horses
being sold at the sale at Shawnee, OK. to German
and Italian buyers.
The horses were sent directly to Chicago
and flown to Europe, most of them going to
Germany. Most
U.S. horse owners were aware of a sudden interest
in Quarter Horses in Europe but exactly how they
were handled and what the Europeans were doing
remained somewhat of a mystery.
During the summer of 1990, I was fortunate
to be able to accompany my wife to see her parents
and family in Stockholm, Sweden.
As we were planning the trip, I thought it
would be a chance to see what the Europeans were
doing with American horses.
I contacted the president of the Swedish QH
Ass'n. He
referred me to an owner who lived about 100 miles
north of Stockholm.
We contacted him and a date was set to
visit him and his wife at their farm.
On the second day in Sweden, Annika and I
drove (Annika drove, I was the passenger) drove
through north central Sweden as planned.
The Larssens didn't have to have horses
to make the trip interesting.
The farm was not like anything in this
country. There
were three houses all built in the 1600's.
The very large stone horse barn was built
in the 1700's and the main barn which was about
100 years old was large enough that one half of it
was used to house over 100 cows during the winter.
They did in fact have four quarter horses.
One stallion and three mares, all more or
less "cow bred".
Interestingly, one of the mares had been
born and raised in Imperial, NB.
That's about 80 miles from where I live.
I don't think that if the Larssens read
this they would be offended if I said the horses
were only so so.
But the trip was enjoyable and I thought I
had learned a lot and had an experience not many
people get to have.
We returned to Stockholm and went about our
business of being tourists and visiting my in-laws
for the next few days.
The day before I was to return to the U.S.
the horse owners whom we had visited called and
asked if I might meet with them if they came to
Stockholm. Well
sure, I would but the big question was why.
We arranged to meet for lunch and I assumed
they had questions about American horse shows or
some question about pedigrees or whatever. They came, we met, and the question was "If they came to
the U.S. would it be possible for me to help them
buy a stallion and eight mares?"
At the time horses were cheap and plentiful
so the answer was an enthusiastic "yes".
Two months later, the Larssens came and
purchased a stallion, seven bred mares and a
yearling filly from myself and two other friends.
All of the horses were "family" bred
and this was the biggest single shipment of
Quarter Horses ever to go directly to Scandinavia
from the U.S.
No, I didn't get rich from the proceeds
but the money made came at a time when I really
needed it. A
bonus was that two years later, I was invited back
to show the yearling filly (by this time, three
years old) in the Swedish National Championship QH
Show. I
did show her, and the mare stood GCM, beating some
of the top mares from all over Europe. And, just in case anyone thinks big money played a
part... this filly cost $525 at the January '90
Shawnee sale. She beat a mare for which the German's had paid $30,000.
The final chapter to this saga was that the
Swedes came back a year later and purchased a
yearling stallion from me.
He went on to be a successful show horse
and sire.
I understand that all of the above is an
extreme case of what can happen if you just make a
visit to satisfy your curiosity about someone
else's horses.
I realize how fortunate I was to have the
opportunity to go to another country and to have a
ready made translator who was interested in the
same things.
The point that I am trying to make is that
if you are a little adventurous and go see what
someone else is doing, even if its just ten miles
away, you might be surprised at what the returns
might be.
A final thought. If someone comes to see your horses, whether they are a
potential buyer or just an interested horse
enthusiast, look at your horses through their
eyes. Again,
be objective and see what they are seeing.
Often, a person will realize ways to
improve their own situation if they understand
what others are seeing.
Think about it.
You never know who will drive in and what
will happen.
If
anyone is interested in the horses that went to
Sweden, the website for that farm is: www.untragard.se
John
Hayes
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