Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Love It or List It

The push and pull of crazy-horse-girl emotions vs adult-responsibility with regard to Prair continue to wage war in my brain.

The oscillations are still a bit wild - but it seems like I am settling more and more on the idea of marketing Prairie as a broodmare.

Staring at her (most likely) retirement from any sort of significant work- I wish more than ever that a) horses were cheaper or b) we had that cute little farm with a couple empty stalls.

Either of those scenarios would make is so, so, so easy to keep Prair without any consideration.  But lacking either of those particular realities, it's hard for me to feel good about keeping Prair as a pasture puff when I know that I want to pursue my goals with Windsor and also with our real life human kiddo too.

So I have been doing a lot of thinking. 

I've started perusing a few broodmare groups on FB, and one casual comment in response to a want ad actually garnered several inquiries which served to  remind me that Prairie's bloodlines are rather desirable - especially with her history of carrying one foal and a successful ET for another..

I am not a breeder.  I don't really know a lot of breeders, and I definitely have never rehomed one of my own horses with the sole purpose of "broodmare." 

That is to say, I am not super educated about how this process works, what makes a top notch broodmare vs a retired old nag that doesn't have any other jobs left to do...

I do know that if I do let Prair go to a new home I will be ridiculously picky about it, and I'd rather keep her on the payroll for a while and feel fabulous about where she goes, than move her out to the highest/fastest bidder. 

So, I'm in no man's land. 

But I am thinking about it.  I think I'll wallow in my own thoughts a bit longer and perhaps try a formal listing toward the end of the month - but who knows.  That could change.

As part of my thinking-not-actually-out-loud process, I did compile a short video with a variety of footage.  It's hard to make a "sale video" with footage that was never intended to be used as such -  But Prair's pretty, and I figure if people are looking at her with a breeder's eye they really don't care how horrid my eq is or how ugly part of my dressage test looks if they get a sense of who she is and what she's got to offer as a mama.....

If nothing else it's a fun summary of what she's done over the last couple of years...




The only thing I didn't include was footage of her two kiddos. 

Felt like it wasn't mine to share at this point. Though I have started to collect info on both her babies along with some video links to prove how gorgeous they are.  (Her Sir Donnerhall colt is LOVELY.  holy moly.)

Looking at his footage always flares up my own desire to keep Prairie and breed her, but without the whole a) horses cheaper and b) own farm thing, that's probably best left as a pipe dream for now...




15 comments:

  1. Would you consider a full care breed lease? If so, I'd love to chat with you about the possibilities. You can email me at dock.start@gmail.com to chat.
    Cheers,
    Renee

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  2. I hope that you can find her a fabulous home - I am sure she will make some pretty little babies for someone.

    I also wish that I had a small farm etc etc

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  3. great video compilation - she really is such a lovely mare. good luck finding the situation that feels exactly perfect for you!

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  4. So... what I did with my mare was a long term lease situation, and once I got 100% comfortable and knew she'd found the perfect home, I offered a trade: ownership of the mare for one of her foals. So this year she's being bred to the stallion of my choice, on their dime, and when that baby is born, the mare officially becomes theirs and I keep baby. I feel like that's a win-win for everyone. Baby will stay at the breeder's until it's of suitable age, and they know I'll show and campaign the baby, so it'll help spruce up the mare's production record. And I'll keep their farm's suffix on the baby's name so that it's kind of it's own form of advertisement for them. Just another thought... ;)

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    1. That's a great deal for both parties.

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    2. Oh that's interesting! I've been trying to figure out a lease situation that feels slightly more advantageous than just renting her out and not knowing what I'll get back - this is a great win-win alternative....

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  5. Whatever the outcome, I'm sure you will make the best decision for Prair, as you've done with Pia and Gus :)

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  6. She is so beautiful. :-) I know nothing whatsoever about breeding, though, so best of luck to you with the decisions.

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  7. Prair is such an awesome mover and the video is really nicely done. And anyone looking at it from a sales perspective is not looking at the rider anyway. I know that, like Gus and Pia, you will find the perfect home for her if that is the route you take. Though, secretly, I would love to see how things would go if you ended up with a baby out of her ;)

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  8. What a lovely video of her!!

    I was going to say talk to the900fbpony about how she leased out her mare and now is getting a baby.. BUT looks like she commented on here already :)

    I know you will find the best situation for her!

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  9. Love your title. I think you've a history of making good decisions for your horses, I'm sure Prair will be just as lucky. I like $900 fb ponys idea, cause yay baby Prair!

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  10. Ditto to what everyone else said...if only we all had little farms for these guys to retire at...these are tough choices but you'll know what to do. Fortunately there's no rush to make a decision. Too bad life isn't like our childhood days playing with our bin filled to the brim with our Breyer and MLPs! Plenty of space, time and love for them all ;)

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  11. Sigh, she sure is lovely. Having gone down the breeding route myself once and learned that it is a very expensive dice roll... I think you're better off selling her to a breeder who has the experience to produce a really quality baby. If you fall in love with her offspring you can always buy one for yourself :)

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  12. She is incredible. I agree that I like $900FB Ponys idea

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  13. I knew Prarie before you bought her, you might check with the trainer you bought her from. As well, the barn who imported her. Either of those parties may be interested or know someone who is...

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