Gray Fox Farm

Sucessfully Marketing Your Foal Part 3

2011-09-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

I was reading a post from a hunter breeder on a popular forum who's gotten no interest in her foal. The mare is by a well known hunter stallion and the foal is by a hunter stallion who's not so popular any more but fairly well known. She was asking advice about why her foal has no interest at all. This is some of the crazy advice she got.

One person said the video should be 10 minutes long and the ad should says things like "she loves to be scratched on her butt". Many people said the video should be comprised of showing the suckling loading into a trailer,etc. This kind of advise is why people who want to be successful breeders shouldn't listen to random people on forums. The people giving this advise never sell to "AA" show homes and this in part is why they don't.

The most important thing to show in a video is the quality of the baby. What I think videos should show is the foal walk/trot/cantering in both directions if possible. Pan the camera around the baby to show the correctness. I usually put a few pictures at the front of the video. Pick a popular song to go with your video. The whole video should take up a song length. This is not always easy with a foal but do the best you can. The video and pictures you show will attract different kinds of buyers. If you post a video with your kids playing with foal you will more then likely not get show people interested.     Show people are interested in quality first. The video should show off the foals quality. Pick a time when the foal is moving and looking their best. Remember no foal looks wonderful all the time, they go through funky stages. When a foal is very butt high they will move with more knee action then normal. The foals should arrive at his new home with good manners. There isn't a need to show ad nauseum a foal displaying good manners. No one I know has the patience to sit through a 10 minute video of Pookie playing with a toddler. While cute doesn't have much to do with whether or not they have a good temperment.

Also, a lot of people mentioned figure out what sells locally. Unless you happen to live in the middle of a big market like 5 minutes from the Wellington show grounds you shouldn't worry about the local market. In general if you are ONLY selling locally you are selling to a B market. I don't think I've ever sold locally (within 50 miles). Most of my foals sell into top homes around the nation. Sometimes people fly out to pick the baby and sometimes they buy off a video or pictures. Breeding and marketing for a local market is very limiting.

There was a lot of talk about how foals don't sell. That has more to do with the foal or the marketing then anything. Foals sell fine if you are producing and presenting  what people want. If your foal isn't selling figure out what you did wrong. Did you pick the wrong stallion, the wrong mare, is it your marketing, your video, your presentation of the foal, your feeding program?   Also, a lot of people in that forum post that said trainers don't buy babies. I think there are a number of trainers that do buy quality babies and sell them as a 3 or 4 year old. Also, I have barns around the country that have a number of the clients buy babies. It's a good way for trainers to have a barn full of really nice horses for a reasonable amount of money for their clients.  This year I had one hunter barn send me 4 clients, 3 bought yearlings and foals and the 4th is considering buying.   These are to replace going horses that are aging or not exactly what they wanted.

Use proper terminology for your babies. Use terms that a show person will understand. Something I've noticed a lot lately is people using "inspection" terms incorrectly for their hunter babies. I think maybe they don't understand the meaning of the mostly dressage words. This is a red flag for some buyers, it will make educated buyers wonder if they don't understand hunters or if the babies aren't really hunter material. I read someone who says that they are breeding hunters say they are looking for a stallion with "expressive movement". They are saying they want a hunter that moves like a dressage horse. I saw on an ad for a baby by a hunter sire that said the foal was an excellent mover because they had a "lofty trot". What?? This is a dressage term. I've seen hunter ads that say that the baby has lots of hock action. Exactly what isn't wanted in a hunter. I just saw an ad for a foal by a popular hunter stallion that says the yearling is "brave, fast and agile". Having a fast and agile hunter is important to no one, I'm not surprised no one is interested in spite of the super low price. If she were selling a jungle cat people would be interested.  Know what what you are talking about when making an ad.

To recap, make clean short video showing your foals quality not a lot of emotional stuff if you want to attract show people. Don't bother trying to attract a local market. Use appropriate terminology in your ads, terms that fit your discipline. Don't take advise from random forum people. Hunter babies sell well, you just have to produce what people want and present them well which includes the use of smart marketing.

What's In A Name

2011-06-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

Naming a warmblood foal has specific rules. If your selling your foal it's more complicated. Names can be very important for the new owners so that means it should be very important to get the name right.

Every registry has it's own rules. In general the warmblood foal needs a name that starts with the first letter of it's sire name. For example Redwine and Romantic Star babies start with an R. Some registries have different rules for fillies. For example Holsteiner has the rule that fillies start with a different letter of the alphabet depending on the year. So as an example if this year was C next year would be D and the year after E. Some registries have the fillies first letter follow the dam's name. If the dam was named Betsy her fillies would have names that start with a B.

Having naming rules are an excellent way of tracking family traits. People can generalize traits that lines are known for producing. For example the "R" line is well known for throwing very rideable horses with good temperaments. The "P" line can be temperamental but they throw a great jump. These are just general guidelines and individual horses should be looked at.

At Gray Fox we put a lot of effort into naming our foals. It's important on many fronts. People are attracted to names. As strange as it sounds a good name will attract some people to your foal. Not to say they will buy based on a name but it's part of making your foal attractive. For hunters one word names are very popular. I like names that mean something so I use a lot of 2 word names as well. The name should be easy to pronounce. Funky spelling might seem clever but remember show announcers are going to be mangling your babies name at shows. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes but some of my dislikes are the following.
Foreign names that no one can pronounce, spell or know what the heck they mean.
Long names that have 3 or 4 words.
Long names with a prefix, no one wants that.
Really bad names.
Super common names.
Names of famous horses, like naming your baby Man O'War. Very tacky.
Putting the sire and dams name together with no regard to what it sounds like. Very Quarter Horsey.
People that change the name of a horse they didn't breed to have their farm prefix or suffix.
Putting another breeders prefix or suffix on your new foal.  For example Popeye K, the K is a breeder suffix. When people name their foal Cutey K they are saying that the breeder of Popeye K bred their foal.

When we name foals we look at the USEF recording to make sure that there aren't pages of the same name. One page of USEF horses with the same name is reasonable. Some of the horses are retired, some are sold, most will never be in the same ring as your horse. Try to pick a name that sounds right for your discipline. Event horses have different sounding names then hunters.  Dressage horses seem to have a lot of German names. Pick a name that fits in.

As  a breeder you should put some real effort in your foals name. If you pick a great name there is a bigger possibility that the name will follow the foal. This is important for tracking the foal during it's lifetime. Pick a stupid name and it will be changed, sometimes multiple times during it's life. Most of the names we pick stick with the horse. Of course I don't take offense when someone changes the name, names are very personal.

Just for fun these are some of the crazy names I've seen breeders name their foals. They make me giggle but that probably wasn't the intent. Promiscuous Phoenix, Flamboyent Fuerstin, Essesense of Presence and Ebony Gold Rosette (what does that even mean),    The list is endless.  Remember a name is the sometimes the first impression someone has of your foal, make it a good impression.

Updates at Gray Fox

2011-04-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks. Breeding season has started and we are shipping a lot. We had a new baby Federalist/Record Performance, a big fancy chestnut colt with tons of chrome named Finger Paints. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention and got kicked in the chest by the new Mother. Big Ouch. Always watch maiden mares. We are very smitten with the new colt, he's exactly what we are breeding for. Big, beautiful, gorgeous movement, fantastic temperament, extremely balanced and athletic. He Sold at 2 weeks to a repeat client in New York. We couldn't be happier for them. Picture below at 2 weeks.

Currently there are 4 mares in the barn under cameras for foal watch. All are dripping white milk so they should foal this week. There are 4 more mares right behind them. The mares on foal watch are Raintime in foal to Romantic Star, Debutante in foal to Romantic Star, Anemone Minnette in foal to Redwine and Radieschen in foal to Redwine. The mares on foal watch get bathes, tails wrapped, manes pulled, face and legs trimmed. Also, they are looked at by the farrier to make sure the feet are perfect before foaling. It's stressful for the new Mothers to get there feet trimmed sometimes in the first few weeks so it's better if they are done right before foaling.

We have a beautiful new broodmare Terlina, she's an imported Dutch Warmblood (Natal/ Damiro). I've had a couple people ask, she is not the daughter of the Brailizian brindle warmblood by the same name. Her sire Natal is a wonderful jumper that was owned by VDL in the Netherlands. She had a successful jumper career and she will make a wonderful cross with Redwine. Pictures below of her.

Rain Check (Redwine/Raintime) is getting ready to go to his home in Colorado, it's very sad. He's was sold at a few weeks old but has been with us since birth and he'll be 2 this year. He's a fancy black gelding, full brother to Ravenswood. This a picture that was taken this week. His owner is excited to finally see him in person.

It's finally not raining buckets so we are busily doing the spring cleaning on the mares. Most are turned out in grassy fields but they are being brought home in bunches to bathe, trim faces, legs, pull manes and clean and braid tails. It's a HUGE job but worth it. Also, all the yearlings even the ones that are sold need updated pictures and video. So we are starting to do that. We have 5 yearlings leaving soon to go to new homes so they really need to be done. Here is the first video of the yearlings, Roseland (Redwine/Really Painted). We are very happy with her beautiful hunter movement. Roseland (Redwine/Really Painted) Oldenburg filly

How to Successfully Market Foals - Part Two

2011-03-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

After reading and implementing part one of how to successfully market foals you now have one or more beautiful babies on the ground and buyers are calling.   The following is how I present my babies.

First we'll talk about foals at the mother's side. Both the mare and the baby have to be presented. The mare should be in good flesh with a shiny coat. This isn't something that you can do overnight. I have lots of people flying in to buy babies from all over the country. So my mares are kept with manes pulled and laying flat on the right side, tails braided to stop knots. The only exception is the winter when the manes are allowed to grow because the mares are kept out in mare herds. It's warmer for them to have manes in the winter. Their faces are clipped and the legs are clipped. I trim the ears a little on the mares but keep most of the hair inside the ears for flies. The mares are naturally shiny in the late spring through fall and  if they aren't something is wrong. Mares are examined daily and mares that aren't perfect are brought in for extra grain with oil and a couple different coat conditioners to insure shiny coats and a healthy weight. Always make sure the feet look good on the mares that you are showing. We have a farrier that comes out every week, make sure the mare being shown in on the schedule for that week. We worm the mares every other month with rotating wormer. The mares have to be clean, they don't need to have a bath but they should be groomed. Mares with a lot of chrome or gray mares sometimes need a full bath. The mares should be presented in a beautiful clean leather halter and a solid dark lead rope. The braid should be removed from the tail and the tail brushed.

The babies should be groomed and/or given bathes. They should have their manes trained to lay on the right side, I use rubber bands and water. Just be sure to take the braids out every other day and reapply. I start training the manes as soon as the manes are long enough to lay on the side. The manes should be moisturized and pulled.   The babies should have the legs and face clipped. If the coat looks awful, you need to body clip. Nothing beats a daily grooming on the babies.

You should have the babies looked at monthly by a farrier, make sure a farrier sees the baby within a few days of the people coming. The babies should wear a halter and lead. This is really important, make sure you can walk up to the baby in the field and easy slip the halter on them. Use a sunscreen on the babies, especially if they are clipped. I also use a coat moisturizer on the babies about 5 times a week. You should be treating any scraps or bumps but go over them very carefully a week before the appointment to avoid any surprises. Bumps get DMSO. I also use the magnetic leg wraps and poultice alternating for bumps. Rub the bumps as much as you can. It's helpful to have two people when you are presenting a mare and foal. Have an area to present the pair and then have an area to let them trot around. When you are presenting them put hoof oil on both of them. This is a good time to get pictures of the babies.

Presenting weanlings or yearlings are very similar to presenting sucklings. The babies should be on a program of careful feeding, grooming, turnout, foot care and worming. I worm the babies every month starting at a month old with a rotating wormer. It's important to note that sometimes babies around weaning will get a pot bellied look. This is normal for some babies. I do a couple extra wormings and probiotic paste and suceed paste when this happens. Usually this doesn't change the pot bellied appearance if the baby has been wormed regularly. Normally it's not that the baby is wormy or unhealthy, it's just that some babies get that look as they transition away from their mother. They outgrow it in a few months and it's just a matter of waiting.

I feed each baby alfalfa, red oat and grass hay free choice. Plus Complete feed, a little all in one to hold the supplements in. Top Line, MASS builder, coat conditioner, daily probiotic, flax seed, rice bran oil and life force. They should be in good flesh. I present them in the barn with sheets or blankets on. It's nice to remove the blanket with the people there to show that they are well handled. The babies should lead well, stand to be examined, stand to be sprayed, pick up their feet well.   They should be used to strange people walking up to them and touching them all over. I've had more then one buyer say that they looked at other farms and the babies refused to stand to be examined. They spooked or reared or worse. This is not okay, it forces the buyer to decide if the baby has a bad temperament or the breeder just doesn't have a clue about raising show babies.

They should be turned out daily for at least 8 hours, 10 or 12 hours are better.   My babies are kept in baby herds during turnout. I think it's healthier for them to play but one of the problems besides an occasional bump is tail eating.  We make a spray of 3 parts baby oil to 1 part Replast and spray it on the bottom of the tails twice a week. Replast is a product to stop bandage chewing.   The tails aren't brushed just the shavings are picked out. We only brush the tails after they are bathed and conditioned and they are being shown to prevent tail breakage.

It's a lot of work to show babies but it's all things the babies need to learn as future show horses. It's also allows for you to sell babies to excellent show homes for great money. It's very rewarding to send babies off in great condition to start their new lives.

How To Pick the Perfect Hunter Stallion for Your Mare

2011-03-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Picking a hunter stallion for your mare is as much an art as it is a science. At Gray Fox Farm we want a hunter that is beautiful and has that "hunter look". We want an above average mover that has a beautiful jump, a great temperament, excellent long term soundness, is an optimum height and has good saleability. So we look at the individual mares with a critical eye and try to improve faults without losing the good qualities. Remember no horse is perfect. If you think your horse is then you aren't being critical enough.

There was an article a few years back that asked 3 top hunter trainers what they want in a hunter prospect and all three said beautiful as an important criteria. One extremely well known trainer said it counted for 60% for him. I think that if a breeder is breeding for the hunter market the babies should be beautiful. A good head is very important to me. It doesn't have to be tiny but it should be an attractive shape and fit the horse. It makes people happy to see a beautiful head looking at them over the stall door.   I want a correct baby, it's attractive and more importantly it's an indicator of future soundness.  Because of that I want to see the stallion in person or see it moving toward me on a video. I saw a stallion video recently and when the young stallion came toward the camera he was winging so bad it looked like he was hitting the ring wall sideways. No bad winging, it's extremely ugly. I don't like horses that toe in or out if possible. That said I don't breed for Hunter Breeding classes. I breed for hunter classes but I want the babies to have the quality to show in the Hunter Breeding classes while waiting to start their undersaddle career. I don't know of any hunter breeder who breeds exclusively for the Hunter Breeding classes, everyone has the horses future performance in mind.

I don't ignore movement. It isn't just for the one hack class but also in between the jumps.  A great mover will be noticed. I think that even 10 years ago that movement wasn't as important as it is now. I personally think it's a BIG mistake to only think about the jump. Buyers want the whole picture. I believe that a breeder who says movement isn't important to them is not understanding the modern hunter market. It should be a warning sign that maybe other things aren't being considered also. If you aren't producing good moving hunters I guarantee the next breeder is. Movement sometimes is elusive and you can be surprised either way.   Its important to remember that sometimes mares or stallions produce better movers then themselves. In breeding animals what they produce is much more important then how they perform. By good movers I mean free shoulders and flat knees and a horse that uses themselves behind . There should still be suspension and swing through the back. A tense topline and a raised head will make even a good mover look bad. I want them to move naturally in a hunter frame. Of course a big step is important to make the lines.

I hear people say just breed to a jumper stallion, it works in Germany.  That's true that Germany produces a lot of hunters, accidentally. But what most of people that say just breed to a jumper are "forgetting" is that most of the time Germany is getting what they bred for which is jumpers. If the goal is to get 90% jumpers and 10% hunters it's a good formula for you. If you breed only for jump without considering movement, beauty and temperament it's very easy to accidentally breed a jumper prospect instead of a hunter prospect. That's not to say that there aren't stallions in Germany that are well know for throwing the movement and jump we want for hunters.

Consider the height of the mare and stallion. It's not always as easy as breeding a small mare to a big stallion. Try to figure out what the height the mare and stallion are producing. In general breeding a 17.0hd mare to a 17.1hd stallion isn't a great idea. You could easily end up with a 17.3hd baby. Much too big for the hunter ring. I look at sales ads for the mature height of offspring. There is a well known hunter stallion that produces 15.2 to 15.3 hd offspring very frequently. It's easy to recognize that by doing just a little research on the big sales sites. That is in general an undesirable height. If you recognize it before the breeding a large mare can be used with a better result. It's helpful to know what you mare produces height wise before making a decision. I have a small mare that always produces height, so much that I have to be careful not to produce too large a mature horse with her.

Bloodlines can be confusing. Many dressage bred warmblood stallions and mares produce beautiful hunters. Remember most warmblood stallions are tested in Germany and jumping is a criteria. I have never seen a dressage horse that didn't have jumper blood. Very few dressage stallions are what we call jump killers and those stallions are very well known. That means that many, many dressage lines also produce fabulous hunters. Also, the different warmblood breeds are confusing to people. The successful hunter breeders that I see breed for type instead of a certain breed. That means that if you have a biggish broodmare herd you could have like I have, Dutch Warmbloods, Hanoverians, Oldenburgs, Trakehners, Thoroughbred and Holsteiners. All in one broodmare band. The one thing I will not do is breed a jumper to a jumper because I would most likely get a jumper.

I think something that a lot of people ignore is soundness in the stallion. There are a lot of hunter stallions that broke down in the hunter ring. It's not the end all but it's definitely something to consider. Ask why the stallion isn't performing and ask if he's sound now. I believe that a hunter stallion should be sound enough to do the job. Some warmblood breeds want xrays on stallions before approving them. Don't believe that those stallions are more sound. Some of those broke down in one season or less.

Temperament is very important. A horse with a good temperament will always find a job. There are some hunter stallions that don't produce a good temperament. Does that mean that you definitely don't use them? No, but you should proceed with caution. I remember a couple years ago their was a stallion in the 70 day test that was a pistol. He reared over in front of the camera and was even worse when the cameras weren't on. This should have given hunter people pause. Another stallion in the testing refused repeatedly in front of the camera. Both stallions were marketed as hunters but both seemed to have some temperament problems. I would only pick a saint of a mare to breed to a stallion with a questionable temperament. I would ask myself if the stallion threw his temperament would I be proud to present the baby? If I was breeding something beside hunters the temperament probably wouldn't be such a big deal.

There are many wonderful hunter stallions. Just remember to look at all the facets of what makes a top hunter and breed accordingly.

What to consider when purchasing a hunter foal

2011-02-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

Buying a baby doesn't have to be a huge gamble. I think that successful breeders can look at a baby and judge it's potential. This don't mean they can say with certainty that the foal will win every hunter derby class entered. But they should be able to say if the foal will stand on the line or get a piece of the hack or jump well. It's important to go with a breeder that knows what the show ring wants. I once had a breeder tell me that her stallion was a wonderful hunter producer because he had a lot of knee action. When I asked if they had ever seen a hunter go, she replied "no". Yet she was advising people that her babies would do well as hunters. If the breeder doesn't know what the goal is, run. For instance if they brag that the stallion can easily jump 4'6" and don't mention much else. That is an indication that they are out of touch with the hunter ring. They should be able to articulate what they were breeding for, why they choose the stallion, and what the mare brings to the table. Ask what they know about the discipline they are breeding for. I've heard breeders say that they have no idea what a hunter is but they are trying to breed one because they think the money is better. Unless you are very experienced with buying and evaluating babies pick a breeder that knows what they are doing.

The foal shouldn't look like a mature horse. They change a lot from the time they are babies until they are three. I want to see a long neck, a short necked foal will often be a very short necked horse. I want the neck to tie in properly, The baby shouldn't have a big dip in front of the withers. A baby that has a neck that ties in improperly will often hold it's head high and the muscle under the neck is developed. It also sometimes looks like a backward S. I want to see a smooth muscle from the withers arching to the ears. I want to see a big overstep behind and a sloped shoulder. The stride should be big and the shoulder free. Often the babies will have some knee action but sometimes its caused by the baby being butt high. The babies that jerk the knees straight up and the leg has a scooping movement will probably not be suitable to hack. The baby that moves from the shoulder and just bends the knee a little will probably straighten the leg over time. I don't like a horse with a head like a suitcase. Remember that the head will continue to grow. Look at the shape, a head in a rectangle without a small muzzle will often look like a mailbox with fur when grown. Look at the parents also.

There is no need to xray a baby. If you want a vet to check the eyes, heart, lungs, etc that is reasonable. Babies also can't be flexed, it can damage them.

Correct legs are a must. Sometimes the toes can turn out a little if the whole leg is like that. The chest will expand and the elbows will come out and straighten the leg.

Pick a healthy baby. The breeder should have the baby looked at by the farrier every month. The foals should have had a rotating wormer every month from 1 month old. The new shot guidelines recommend against giving shots too early, it interferes with the natural immunity from the mother. The foal should lead well, stand for the farrier, trailer, blanket and been exposed to sprays, bathes, etc. The baby should be in good flesh with a healthy looking coat. The ribs can be visible on some babies, they are growing and that's healthy. I wouldn't want to see all the babies bones. I recommend a baby that is turned out at least 12 hours a day. I don't want to see a pot belly.

Good temperaments can't be overlooked. Ideally your baby should be a team player. Babies are babies and don't expect perfection but the parents should be known for throwing decent temperaments. It's not enough to ask the breeder, ask for specifics like "what did the stallion score in rideablity and character". It's a good indication. Make sure your baby is friendly but respectful. The other extreme is an overly friendly baby with no personal space concept. Even babies are big animals and should have respect for you.

If you are looking at a baby that baby should be groomed and trimmed and presented like a horse unless it is extremely young. It's an indication that the baby will be handled and presented to you with a good start. Getting a baby has some advantages if you pick well. The cost is much lower. The baby if started well and has a good temperament are usually very bonded to their person. There is a sense of satisfaction in bringing along your own horse. You don't inherit any bad habits. Picking your next superstar as a baby is a very fun experience for most people.

Horse Websites That Help Not Hurt Your Business

2011-02-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

A good website is the most valuable marketing tool that a horse breeding business can have. It's a way to connect to buyers across North America. It's a showcase of your breeding. Unfortunately for many breeders it also their business's worst enemy. These are some guidelines for a great website in very nontechnical terms because my forte is the look. I have absolutely no idea how it all works. That's for my very competent web person to know.

I don't recommend free websites, the ads are very distracting and it's not expensive purchase web space. Also, your website should look professional and what kind of a message does that send that you can't afford the 10 or 20 dollars a month for a website. This part is very, very important. Go to godaddy or a similar company and buy your own web address (domain). Don't let your web designer do it for you. There are lots of unethical people that say they will take care of that for you, with your money of course but guess what they put it their name. They then own your web address, this is huge. This happened to a friend of mine. She's stuck with a crappy web person that owns her domain and she can't fire her because she's been told that she won't turn over the domain. Very unethical but what are my friends options, a court battle?

Put some real thought into the colors of your website. These colors should be brought forward to all your marketing materials. Think coca cola, the colors are very distinctive and recognizable. Don't keep changing your colors. Pick correctly the first time and make those colors part of your brand. These should be your barn colors also. Be logical about the layout of your website. In the beginning spend lots of time tweaking the layout. Make sure it makes sense and is easy to maneuver. People don't have patience, it has to work fast and easy or your customers will move on. This is a good time to look at lots of other websites and note what you like or dislike. Make sure all the links work and the pictures are showing.

I firmly believe that people will not take the time to read a lot of copy. I try to make my website picture heavy and copy light. On the subject of pictures, big is better. I frequently see small pictures surrounded by lots and lots of copy (writing) surrounded by lots of margin. I don't believe that this is aesthetically pleasing and it's not eye catching. Remember, the longer you can get people to stay on your site the better. I always think of the old saying "keep it simple stupid". Words to live by. A page with say 4 good sized pictures and a link and 4 or 5 lines of copy is perfect. Also, the pictures should get bigger when you click on them. I'm amazed at the people that put small pictures on a site and you can't click on them to make them larger. Here's an important tip, people don't look at the web with a magnifying glass.

The pictures that you put on a website are extremely important. No picture is better then a bad picture. I always hear people say that "people should be able to see through the dirt". They can't. "People should be able to see through the hair". They can't. Pictures should be perfect. I'm never happy with the pictures and always try to get better pictures. Why in world would anyone show a horse in a fuchsia colored nylon halter but they do. Leather only please and make sure it fits appropriately. .

Invest in the best camera you can afford and take lots and lots of pictures and then cull lots and lots of pictures. I take a few hundred pictures for each one I use. You never get a chance to get a first impression again. Make sure the horse fills the picture. They shouldn't be a spec. Also, I see people take pictures from the strangest angles. Certain angles will make your horse look deformed. Professional photos are always a good idea if you can find a good one. Just remember not every professional is good. Cutesy isn't cute. Please, please no pictures of your horses eye. While it's nice to demonstrate that they have an eye, beyond the medical necessity of an eye, no one cares.

Make sure everything is up to date. I went to a website that stands a few bargain basement priced stallions. The stallion at the top of the page is long dead and under offspring picture it actually says "Coming Soon". He died in his 20's, this is about 15 years out of date. It's almost comical how little thought they put into their website. This should send out warning signs to potential customers. Expect no help marketing your foal if you breed to those stallions. Put the most important horse at the top of the page. Every horse should have their own page. Watch out for crazy font that's hard to read. Also, watch the font color. Some colors are extremely hard to read. Spell check after every update. This is a good time to ask for peoples opinions. Expect to change things a lot. A website that's well done takes work and time.

The goal is to keep people coming back to your page time after time. You need to update weekly or biweekly to keep it interesting. Also, put a free tracking software into your website and look for trends. I use statcounter. I get 1000 to 4000 people a day coming to my website. Until you track the numbers you can't know if your marketing is working. These are a few important concepts about your website. Later I'll go into more detail.

Hunter Breeding Part 4

2011-02-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

We've sold a lot of babies in the last couple weeks. It's been a mad house. The babies that are left are Accessorized, Rip Tide and Roseland. The show is this week. My groom threw a tantrum and walked off the job a few days ago. So for the show this week we are taking Federal Hill because he hasn't shipped yet and Accessorized who needs to be body clipped again. Also, my friend is taking her colt Rain Boots by Redwine. He is absolutely stunning and huge.

Because nothing goes smoothly or as planned. Besides having no groom our normal braider isn't going to the show. We are scrambling to find a braider. We've called the handler and no answer back yet. Also, USEF lost Accessorized's fax for her USEF card. Of course now they tell me. The paperwork has already been shipped to the bookkeeper so I called her to fax it back. No answer, hopefully she isn't out of town. Over the weekend I realized that I never got the shipment I ordered of bits and crops. I guess it got lost, it was shipped weeks ago. Hopefully we have enough bits and the handler should have his own crop.

Today Accessorized has to be body clipped and Federal Hill needs his face/ears clipped. With no help it's tricky to clip the babies sometimes. They are both wearing bridles well. They don't trot in hand yet but we have a few days. The show is going to bigger then normal, so fingers crossed we don't embarrass ourselves. Oh, the show bridles need to be fitted. Let's hope that we don't need any adjustments from a leather person. We have about 10 different baby bridles by different manufacturers and different sizes so it should be fine.

The Biggest Mistakes Breeders Make

2011-02-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

There are a number of reasons why breeders fail to have profitable, successful programs. Here are a few of the biggest reasons. It's not difficult to have a successful breeding farm. It takes a lot of work and determination but staying on track and having a great plan will result in success. This article has a hunter slant because it's what I know best.

Making breeding choices based on what other breeders think is good vs what the show market thinks is hot is a sure fire way to fail. Hanging out on breeders forums can be nice for entertainment purposes but know that the opinions are from people that you don't really know. Much of what is said is false either intentionally or unintentionally. DO NOT PICK A STALLION BECAUSE PEOPLE ON A BOARD THINK THEY ARE GOOD. Many of the people on boards are not selling their babies. I see many amateurs giving opinions with little to no breeding or showing experience. Instead spend your time talking to show people. Watching hunter rounds and comparing the winning hunters to your breeding program. Ask as many people as you can at shows who they like for stallions. If they have even heard of who you are thinking of breeding to. Make up your own mind about what's winning. An example of this crazy board mentality is I see lots of non breeders talk about breeding a 4' hunter and ignoring movement, temperament, and beauty. I have sold a lot of babies and guess what, NEVER has someone said they want a 4' hunter. It's a weak division that not many people are interested in. They do want beautiful, good moving, great temperament, 3' to 3'6" horses. Many breeders who are new to hunters or don't really understand hunters fall for this myth. It's a recipe for disaster. You will breed a jumper a significant number of times with this method and a low level jumper at that. Not much of a market and really away from your breeding goals.

Not doing your market research on potential stallions. This is a very expensive mistake. Find out what the babies sell for, check websites, do google searches. I see all the time questions on boards about who is the most marketable stallions. People say all sorts of crazy stuff. They often list stallions that other breeders think are nice. If they would have actually done the market research for the stallions they are suggesting they would have seen lots of inventory (babies) that aren't selling. Many are listed for cheap 4500. range, even the stallion owners are listing some babies as low as 4000 to 5000. That is not a marketable stallion. But really it's no skin off their teeth to steer you wrong, it's your money, time and effort. I even look at inuteros, the inuteros should be price 8000 and up. The babies should be listed and sold at 8500 to 15000 as weanlings. All of them.

Picking a stallion that has a really cheap stud fee. There are a number of stallions that are listed for 300. to 500. stud fees. They say introductory stud fees but it doesn't matter. A 1000. stud fee is a reasonable introductory stud fee. If they are listing their stallions that cheap it's because they can't get breedings at market price. DO NOT USE THESE STALLIONS unless you want to keep the baby. You don't have a hope of selling the baby for more then 5000. no matter what the stallion owner tells you. If they think you will get more money for the babies then ask to see sales contracts where the babies have sold in the 10,000 range and call the people to verify and double check with USEF to make sure the baby exists. They won't be able to produce the contracts. If you want a deal buy during the winter, most breeders run good specials.

Pick a stallion from a good program. The stallion's farm should have a beautiful updated website. They should have many pictures of stunning babies. They should have a SOLD page that lists most of their babies because they all sell so well. DON'T PICK A FARM THAT CAN'T SELL THEIR OWN FOALS AT GOOD PRICES. It seems like common sense to me but many, many breeders never check the stallion owners For Sale and Sold pages. There is a problem if the above isn't happening. Stallion owners will say they don't have time, they aren't computer literate, etc. It's all excuses, don't fall for it.

Of course if you are breeding for yourself then just pick the stallion that looks good to you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But if you are trying to run a successful and profitable business follow the above rules. Remember a plan is crucial and persistence is key. It will all pay off and get easier.

It’s Not The Hunter Breeding Division That’s Broken | The Chronicle of the Horse

2011-02-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

It’s Not The Hunter Breeding Division That’s Broken The Chronicle of the Horse

Showing on the Line Part 3

2011-01-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

It was a busy week but I got 2 babies body clipped. Tweeked the supplements on some of the babies. Rumors Fly is confidently wearing a bridle. He needs work on standing and needs more weight. Here is a picture of him that I took today.

He will be ready for the show. He's huge and growing so it's hard to keep enough weight on him but I like how healthy he looks. His coat feels better with the daily moisturizing. His mane still has dandruff but we will add more oil and I think it just needs more time. It's certainly shiny.

Apricot Hill looks really good also. She is the youngest of bunch at only 7 months old but I think she'll be ready. This week she needs to wear a bridle every day and work on standing. I'll get pictures of her this week.

Accessorized is going through a growth spurt so I'm not sure if she'll be ready physically but mentally she is really ready. I'm going to spend some extra time with her this week to see if we can take her. Also, her coat is very dry and she needs some help with that.

All the babies need work on trotting in hand without getting too happy. They think it's funnest thing in the world and we should be running with them always. Also, I want all the babies to learn the benefits of peppermints this week. So much easier then carrots and sugar cubes. As always I didn't get to everything I wanted this week.

Breeding mares Part 1

2011-01-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

In my never ending quest to be organized I've made a breeding schedule for my open mares. There are a couple hundred outside breedings for 2011 so far, so I want to get some of my mares pregnant before I'm shipping lots of semen out. There are quite a few open mares because mares were added to the GFF program after the breeding season or they didn't get pregnant or they slipped a foal. The easiest way to breed a lot of mares is to use P and E. I'm starting my P and E on February 21 to breed on March 9 and 10th. The good news with the P and E is that you know about when to breed. The bad news is that it's a series of 12 shots that have to be given at a certain time. By the 3 or 4 day when I go into the field I'm met with bulging eyes followed by a stampede. This will wake you up in the morning, especially if you happen to be standing in the path of the stampede. There is nothing like chasing or being chased by 15 huge warmblood mares over acres of rolling hills clutching multiple syringes, halters, carrots, buckets and sugar cubes. I usually start with a cheerful "Cookies, Cookies!" This is soon followed by wheezing, panting and swearing. They of course think it's an invigorating way to start the day. The first day is about an hour by the last day it's 4 hours of misery followed by a short nap and possibly an alcoholic beverage depending on the number of times I've been trampled.

These are the mares that will be P and E'd and the stallions I've chosen. This blog will follow the progress of getting these mares pregnant.

Pop Tart by Popeye K will be bred to Redwine, maiden mare
Sands of Time by Jones Hall will be bred to Redwine, twinned last year and we couldn't pinch it.
Likide by Concorde will be bred Aloha, maiden
Sequel by Sir Caletto will be bred Redwine, slipped her foal last year
Denay by Domiro will be bred to Redwine, maiden
Grande Divina by Grande Saber will be bred to Aloha, didn't get pregnant last year.
Kollette R by Kalypso will be bred to Aloha, had 1 foal years ago. Been showing as a hunter lately.
Devil's Sis by Devil on Ice will be bred to Romantic Star. Came in late year and wasn't bred.
Laws of Nature by Esops Fable, will be bred to Aloha. She's been barren for 3 years.
The Rose Line by Hennessey will be bred to Federalist, maiden. Didn't get in foal last year.
Lena by Silver Lining will be bred to Aloha. Older maiden, fantastic hunter mare.
Annual Statement will be bred Redwine, maiden. Slipped her foal last year.

We have to make sure that we have enough semen for all the mares, so we couldn't breed that number of mares all to one stallion. The list looks doable for the stallions. After the breeding they will be started on the Oxytocin protocol which is a series of shots, big fun. The mares are all being started on a mare supplement to get ready for breeding. The annual shots will be given at the end of January. They were all just wormed with Strongid and they will be wormed again on February 15 with Ivermectin. The blankets are being pulled this week to make sure everyone is in good flesh. The vet will be out to check teeth before breeding starts. Any mares then need a little more weight will be brought in for an extra feeding. I like the mares to be on the heavy side of normal for breeding but not obese.

Here are pictures of some of the mares.

Showing on the Line - Part 2

2011-01-02T03:58:00.000-08:00

Feeding Schedule- The babies are in pretty good weight. We want them to have a shiny coat and a thin layer of fat over the ribs. We don't want them obese. With these goals in mind this is the basic feed program and it will be individually tweaked depended on how the baby responds. They all get free choice hay, a combo of Grass Hay, Red Oat Hay and Alfalfa. They also get a scoop of Purina Ultium Growth. A handful of whole flax seed, a 1/4 cup of flax oil, Progressive Top Line Xtreme, Invigor. Some of the things that I add if needed are Succeed, electrolytes, Probiotic and Weight Builder. Some of the babies look like they have dry coats, will add more oil in a couple weeks if the coats don't improve.

Training program: We have a trainer come in 5 times a week to work with the babies. They are learning about blankets, trotting in hand, clippers, and tying. We are behind because they haven't started learning about wearing a bridle or standing on command. My groom Gabrielle and I will have to work on some of the things with the babies or we will be very far behind. Goal this week: Put a bridle on everyone. Practice standing up on command.

Grooming: Surprising we are behind, are you seeing a theme? Rumors Fly, Abercrombie, Perfect Alibi, Federal Hill, Action Hero and Rain Check all need to be body clipped. The babies that were clipped will need another clip before showing. For the clipped horses they needed the blankets pulled off daily, moisturized and ragged. Feet picked out. Minor scrapes treated to grow the hair back. Everyone needs their manes pulled. Goal this week: Get 3 babies body clipped. Get 3 manes pulled.

Exercise program: Right now they are being turned out daily in groups. It's a terrible winter and I hesitate to do more because it's slippery out. Goal: Call Junior Johnson and see if I should be doing more.

This is Accessorized and First Kiss, they will be at the first show.

Foaling 2011, part 1

2010-12-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

This year we have 25 mares in foal to our 4 stallions. This means no sleep and lots of stress. The first 7 mares and their due dates are listed below. We will follow the mares from the precare through the foaling and then to the rebreeding. Fingers crossed for healthy foals.

Radieschen - Imported Oldenburg hunter mare by Rubinstein in foal to Redwine. Dam of 3 foals. Due Date March 24, 2011

Record Performance, Gorgeous young Thoroughbred mare. She is a 4 year old maiden. In foal to Federalist. Due Date March 27, 2011

Debutante - Warmblood mare by Don Alfredo, she is a 9 year old maiden. She is in foal to Romantic Star. Due Date April 9, 2011.

Stone Hill - Swedish Warmblood mare by Nob Hill in foal to Redwine. She is a 4 year old maiden. Due April 14, 2011.

Portia Westphalicia - Trakehner Mare by Leonidas. She is a 4 year old Maiden. Due April 14, 2011.

Rain Time - Trakehner mare by Tempelritter. She is a proven hunter producer. She is an 18 year old pro. She also hates to be watched. Due Date April 14, 2011.

Anemone Minette - Imported Hanoverian mare by Voltaire. She is a proven hunter producer and has had 4 babies. Due Date April 14, 2011.

They all just got their 2nd Pneumabort shot and were wormed with Ivermectin. They are all gaining weight appropriately. They get Alfalfa and Red Oat with a scoop of complete feed. They also get mare vitamins. I use Mare Complete with great results. Looking at how close the due dates are I realize we need to order more cameras. A total of 5 foaling stalls will be monitored with cameras, there is an option to add an additional foaling stall. This year foaling alarms will be sewn into the vulvas.

Showing on the Line - Part One

2010-12-25T16:35:00.000-08:00

This year we are trying something new. Usually the babies are sold or if not sold shipped to a trainer to show on the line. This year besides shipping one or two to Junior Johnson on the East Coast to show and selling a lot of babies we are keep a few to show on the line on the West Coast.   This blog will follow our process for the 2011 show season. We expect that there will be a learning curve for shipping a bunch of youngsters to a show and doing the training and conditioning ourselves.

The first show is the Northern Winter Classic I, February 9-13, 2011. This is quickly followed by Northern Winter Classic II, February 16-20 and Northern Winter Class III, February 23-27. We are going to take 4 babies to each show.

The babies that will be shown are First Kiss (Federalist/Metsonized), Roseland (Redwine/Really Painted), Rumors Fly (Romantic Star/Radieschen), Rip Tide (Romantic Star/Illuminata) , Apricot Hill (Aloha/Phantasia) , Accessorized (Aloha/Grande Divina) Action Hero (Aloha/Oiselle), Field Trip (Fielding/Classic Jade) and Perfect Alibi (Pilox/EM Diamonette).   Rain Check (Redwine/Raintime) is a 2009 black gelding that is sold but still being boarded at Gray Fox Farm. He is the full brother to Ravenwood, second in the Nation for 2010, Hunter Breeding Two Year Old. So, no pressure there. His owner would like him shown so he will be joining the 2010 babies at some of the shows. At the current time the plan is to ship First Kiss and Apricot Hill to Junior Johnson for Devon, Upperville and Warrenton. Depending on who is the most ready that is how the four babies will be choosen.

Some of the things on the To Do List is the following. The babies need to be body clipped and stand to be touch up clipped. Stand for the braiding of the mane and tail. They need to wear a bridle, trot in hand and stand on command for minutes at  a time. They have to trailer well. Learn to longe. They all need their manes pulled.

We need a feeding, grooming, exercise and training schedule to bring them to peak competitiveness. They need to all have bridles fitted to them. They each need a heavy turnout blanket, a medium turnout blanket and a monogrammed sheet. Sounds easier then it is, the blankets are very hard to fit, the necks on the blankets are so big that they can be dangerous. The bridles usually have to be either custom or modified. The bits needs to be measured and ordered. They all need their USEF cards. A slight complication is that we are having the worst winter in history. What could possibly go wrong........

Next week I'll outline the feeding, grooming, exercise and training schedule of the babies.

How to successfully market foals

2010-12-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

I read all the time about people having trouble marketing their foals. Usually they blame it on the economy or they say that "no one wants foals". There are a lot of excuses about why foals don't sell. My friends and I have had really good luck selling foals by following a few simple rules.

One of the most important things to selling foals is planning before buying a breeding that you are going breed to sell. Decide what discipline your breeding for. I have never had a buyer say they are buying an "all around horse". Most serious buyers are buying for a certain discipline, dressage, hunters or jumpers or eventing. Also, I see people saying they are breeding for hunter/jumper. That is two very different disciplines and serious show people will steer clear of a breeder that doesn't know the difference. Be specific and of course make sure your mare fits your breeding goals.

Pick a popular stallion within the discipline that your breeding for. There are many choices of popular stallions so picking the one that compliments your mare should be easy. This can't be stressed enough. Most people looking to buy a foal do web searches of the stallions that interest them. It doesn't matter if you breed the most wonderful baby if no one is looking at them. If keeping them until they are going under saddle is the goal then that is different. By popular I mean a stallion that is well marketed by the stallion owner and the babies are in demand. Look at the stallions offspring. What are they selling for and are they selling. If the stallion owner has a bunch of babies from past years and they aren't selling then it may not be the correct stallion if you want to sell the baby. Also, look at what the stallions offspring are selling for. Sometimes hot new stallions come on the market and get a lot of breedings but the babies don't turn out as expected. You will see a lot of babies on the market for cheap in the 5000. to 7000. range. This shouldn't inspire confidence in a mare owner. I don't believe that it's harder to sell a baby from a popular stallion. In my experience it's much easier. Even if the stallion was getting a 100 mares a year in the whole scheme of things, 50 states and Canada, even a 100 foals will sell very well. In Europe the popular stallions get 500 mares and up.

Only post pictures that are perfect. This means no nylon halters and ungroomed babies. Don't take the picture with the foal so far away it's a mere spec. The foal should fill the picture. Avoid busy backgrounds. Compare your baby picture to babies that are selling. Make sure the picture flatters the baby. Groom the mare and show her in a nice leather halter. Don't go for cutesy, go for beautiful. They should be set up like a horse. Movement pictures can be nice but be selective. It's a rare baby that looks good continuously. Some weeks they are going through growth spurts that aren't flattering. .

Feed appropriately, your foal should have a shiny coat and not have more then a hint of ribs. Clip the whiskers and trim the fetlock hair. I start training the mane almost immediately to lay on the proper side. I train with water and rubber bands. Just be sure to take out the rubber bands every day and comb the mane. I body clip if necessary.

Marketing is important. Your first stop should be the stallion owner. They should be able to put your baby on their website for sale. If they don't have a way to put your foal on their website it's something to consider before you book to their stallion. Also, I believe that this should be a free service. Of course everyone can make up their own mind. Put your baby on every website you can. Put the baby on Facebook, Twitter, etc. You might not get a direct sale but it's a way to build a following. I've had people contact me years before they buy anything. Make a website, it's usually very inexpensive.

If you follow these simple, easy steps your baby will have a great chance of selling. There are plenty of people looking for babies, why not yours.

These Gray Fox Farm babies are examples of what your sales pictures should look like. These pictures were not taken by a professional. These are all weanlings. Note these are hunter babies, your jumper, dressage or event horses will be composed differently.

What to look for in a hunter broodmare

2010-12-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

I have some specific criteria that I use to pick my hunter broodmares. I try to to stick to my list and not let emotion guide me. This is some of my criteria. I breed to sell, so marketability of the foal is always important for me. Bloodlines are always something to consider. I prefer a mare that has popular hunter bloodlines that people may recognize. I also have favorite bloodlines from Germany that over and over again that produce a nice hunter type. Breed isn't that important, type is much more important.

I want a beautiful broodmare that has the "hunter look". First impressions of the mare are very important. I usually decide in a few seconds if the mare is something that interests me. I want harmonious conformation with a long well set neck that ties in correctly. I am completely uninterested in a mare with a neck that has a major fault. I'm more forgiving of a head that isn't perfect because I feel that a strong stallion can fix a head in one generation. I abhor a super long back. I want a nice big hip and a hind leg that isn't too straight. I like a strong top line but older mares or mares out of work will sometimes loose their topline. It's not a conformation fault, just a mare that has lost muscle tone. I will reject a mare that wings badly, it's too unsightly. I also want correct legs. Blemishes don't bother me at all unless it's caused by a major conformation fault.

I want a mare that jumps well. Jumping is very inheritable and major jumping faults should not to be tolerated. For example, I've seen horses that consistently cross their legs over jumps, I don't want a mare that does that. Mares that doesn't rotate their shoulder are rejected no matter how perfect everything else is. I use both hunter mares and jumper mares in my program. As long as the jumper mare rotates her shoulder and brings her knees up. It's nice to have the scope of the jumper mare in a successful hunter breeding program. I prefer a mare with a show career but it's only one component.

If the mare moves like a good hunter, great. If the mare moves with a free shoulder but too much knee action or she is pretty flat kneed but bends at the fetlock that is okay. The free shoulder is the most important part of the movement for me. The worst mover for me is the pinched shoulder with no freedom with a short flat kneed movement. The mare has to reach under herself. I don't like trailing hocks. I also don't want to see a lot of hock action. There seems to be a lot of confusion with movement and I never believe a seller that says that the mare is a good mover unless I know that they know what that means. For a hunter the canter is the most important gait. I want a long, low ground covering beautiful canter with an excellent rhythm.

Height is something that I consider. I really want the mare to be 16.1 to 17.0hd. That is an easy mare to breed height wise. If the mare is under 16.0hd it affects the foals marketability and they have a harder time making the strides. If the mare is over 17.0hd you have the chance of getting an elephant. It's hard to get down the lines with a horse that's much over 17.0hd so I prefer to try to keep the foals I breed in the 16.1 to 17.0hd range if possible. Of course the best laid plans....

Temperament is something to consider. Quirky is okay but nasty isn't. I don't mind a mare that is not a 10 temperament wise because my stallions are 10's but I still don't want something nasty. I want a mare that's reasonable. No mares that retired because they were difficult to ride. This includes mares that are stoppers.

Color is the last thing I consider and I don't take it into much account. That said if all things are equal I prefer a dark mare.

These are just some of the things I look for. It's a good place to start. I am never 100% happy with my broodmare band and always look at it with a critical eye. 2010 Gray Fox Farm was 2nd in the Nation for breeding Hunter Breeding babies. Hopefully those beautiful babies will continue on to a successful career in the hunter ring.

Some of my broodmares: