If you ever buy or sell horses for the reining, reined cow horse or
cutting horse events... I feel the information below is good to know.

I just returned home from the 2-year-old Select Sale held during
the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno, Nevada.

This horse sale has a reputation for being the place to go to buy
or sell good cutting and reined cow horse prospects.

There were 95 head of 2-year-olds in the sale and the quality of
horses represented didn't disappoint.

Many horsemen were anxious to see how the current economy
would effect the sale prices at this years event.

Here's what I saw... and it may surprise you.

The GOOD horses brought HIGHER PRICES than ever!

That's right... just about every horse that had good breeding,
training and the right kind of conformation, brought good money.

In other words... if a horse looked liked a LEGITIMATE futurity
contender, it sold well.

The high-selling 2-year-old went for $125,000.

And there were quite a few that sold for $15,000 and up.

On the other side of that coin...

If a horse was lacking ANY of the above ingredients... it didn't
bring SQUAT!

There were more than a few well trained horses that could slide,
spin and work a cow that only brought $2000 because they were
lacking popular breeding or desired conformation.

There were also some top bred horses with good conformation
that didn't bring much money because they were behind in their
training and didn't preview well.

The apparent lesson here for breeders...

If you produce talented babies (easier said than done) with
popular breeding, excellent conformation and have them
trained on schedule...

There are buyers who are willing to pay what they are worth.

If you produce anything less... be prepared to lose your shirt.












I remember a few years ago at the NCHA Futurity sale...

One of the top trainers in the nation was selling a stud colt
that was out of one of the winningest mares of all time...
and by one of the best producing sires of all time.

On PAPER, this stud colt was worth a ton of money and
should have brought at least $150,000 at the sale.

Instead, the colt sold for a FRACTION of the expected price.

After the gavel fell, you could hear people in the audience
saying what a bargain the stud was and it was a shame
he didn't bring what he was worth.

In reality, that colt brought MORE than he was worth.

Every professional trainer in attendance knew EXACTLY
why the colt didn't sell well...

He didn't have enough athletic ability to be a winner.

The "professionals" could see the flaw.

The others could not.

Thanks for posting. I knew i neede to change diciplines.

This is just further proof that recessions only deeply impact those who can least afford to loose anything as it is while those who can afford to spend 125K on a recreation sport still have the means to do so.

Not necessarily:

Right now, there is opportunity at the horse sales for
every budget... high, low or somewhere in between.

There has never been a better time to buy a good horse.

If you want a top futurity prospect, there are some available.
Just be prepared to pay a lot.

If you want a horse that can be competitive at the smaller
futurities, they are available too.

And you can get one at a pretty darn reasonable price.

If you are a low-budget buyer, there are some good horses
available for you too.

Of coarse, your higher priced better quality horses aren't being sold to recreational riders.

Those horses, as it should be are going to the Trainers who will campaign them and recoop some/all of their sale price and have a good show record behind them when they are put into a breeding program.

Looking at it from a business perspective, good money can make good money.

yep, if you are in the market for a good horse now is the time.

BUT we both know its not the trainers trainers or professional horse people that shell out top dollar for young colts with talent; it is their clients. Those type of people for which horses are not their main revenue source and therefore are involved in the sport recreationally.