[GAGirl]

I have found what appears to be a pretty nice jumping prospect at a very nice price. She is young and pretty green so I can get her started my way and go on with her. Only problem is that she is a TB cross. I asked the owner what she was crossed with and she says that she thinks Hanovarian but isn't totally sure as she got her in a rescue type situation. So here I am unsure of what to do. When I say the price is right I mean less then $500.... My only concern is resale value if she doesn't work out for longterm goals. What would you do in this type of situation?

[FlashGordon]

I have found what appears to be a pretty nice jumping prospect at a very nice price. She is young and pretty green so I can get her started my way and go on with her. Only problem is that she is a TB cross. I asked the owner what she was crossed with and she says that she thinks Hanovarian but isn't totally sure as she got her in a rescue type situation. So here I am unsure of what to do. When I say the price is right I mean less then $500.... My only concern is resale value if she doesn't work out for longterm goals. What would you do in this type of situation?

What exactly is the problem? The TB part or the cross part?

You can't ride papers. If the horse is nice no one cares what its breeding is.

Also keep in mind that cheap horses still cost the same to board, shoe, feed, vet. So unless you can sell this thing in a few month's time don't go into it thinking you are gonna turn a quick profit. Horses are money pits.

[GAGirl]

Well the upkeep of the horse isn't as huge a concern since she will be kept at my place. I think my concern is I have spent a lot of time in a world where a winning grade mare is still a hard sell and in my part of the country an english horse is difficult to sell in itself. It has been quite a while since I have ridden jumpers or event horses and could not remember how potential buyers view a horse with questionable lineage. I personally love TB crosses! I am just being honest that my goals are set high and if she doesn't work out I will be forced to find her another home. But then at that price I guess it wouldn't be a huge loss.

[goodlife]

Um...a Hanoverian TB cross is not a grade horse by any means...there are tons of crossbred horses that have sold for 6 or 7 figures. There are also lots that have sold for 3 or 4. People don't care about whether a horse is full TB or full Hanoverian. They care about how nice the individual horse is.

[FlashGordon]

Well the upkeep of the horse isn't as huge a concern since she will be kept at my place. I think my concern is I have spent a lot of time in a world where a winning grade mare is still a hard sell and in my part of the country an english horse is difficult to sell in itself. It has been quite a while since I have ridden jumpers or event horses and could not remember how potential buyers view a horse with questionable lineage. I personally love TB crosses! I am just being honest that my goals are set high and if she doesn't work out I will be forced to find her another home. But then at that price I guess it wouldn't be a huge loss.

Where on earth is a winning grade mare a hard sell?

If there actually is a place like that, then I wouldn't take her on, as it sounds like an impossible sell even if she is bringing home blues.

[goodlife]

Yes...I'd also like to know where in this country you can't sell crossbred jumping horses...because I'm never going there!

[GAGirl]

Lol I have ridden barrel horses for years and due to the rate of injury a grade mare is hard to sell and price is considerably less if she is grade. I am in Montana and still feeling out the hunter/jumper/eventer scene here so I could be mistaken but I can say for sure the horses I have seen advertised here as HJ are priced a lot less then what I was used to seeing in the south.

A TBxHannovarian is nothing to shake a stick at! I agree! The hannovarian part is questionable though. And if I did breed her how do you even start to go about proving that?

[ParadoxFarm]

Well, also it can purely be terminology! Grade mare has a negative connotation. Now, warmblood cross sounds more expensive. And if she is cheap, surely you can get the sales price back and more after training. Good luck.

[GAGirl]

Well, also it can purely be terminology! Grade mare has a negative connotation. Now, warmblood cross sounds more expensive. And if she is cheap, surely you can get the sales price back and more after training. Good luck.

Thank you! Yes my stock horse upbringing
I went and looked at her several weeks ago and there is just something about her that is telling me to give it a go. I am glad to know that there are others out there that would do the same!

[iEquitate]

When I saw the grade mare title I assumed the horse had some QH or draft blood. WB/TB cross is very very common in the hunter world, if she is nice I would definitely go for it. However, if you end up selling her I would not say she is a grade mare - warmblood or TB cross sounds a bit better for a hunter buyer.

[FlashGordon]

Ah hah I thought perhaps you were coming from stock horses.

I agree marketing her as a generic WB cross or even a WB/TB cross will get you more mileage than "grade."

I would take her on with the intent to make her a personal project, and without any expectation of making big bucks on selling her.

[kookicat]

If she can do the job, then the breeding wouldn't bother me.

[GAGirl]

Thanks Flash! Not my intent at all. We have a very small place so if she doesn't work out for me selling her is the reality do need to consider that with whatever I purchase.

[littlecreek]

If she seems to be going to work out some of the breed registries will inspect a mare, maybe she could get some "papers" that way. I agree, if she's that cheap and seems nice I'd really listen to that little voice saying "do it!".

[Star's Ascent]

I don't pay too much attention to breeds much myself unless it has something in it I'm not really wanting like a gaited breed. There is no reason that she can't be marketed as a TB cross and if asked what the other half is say it's suspected that it's Hanoverian but you don't know for sure. If the horse is winning it will be marketable no matter what I think. When you say " due to the rate of injury a grade mare is hard to sell and price is considerably less if she is grade." Are you meaning that IF a grade horse were to get hurt it would be harder to sell than say a QH? Or that a grade horse has a higher chance of getting hurt? Or neither of those two? I want to make sure that I'm reading it correctly!

[EqTrainer]

IME people are less willing to buy (or pay accordingly for) a *mare* without papers/an identity than a gelding. A lot of people who buy mares are considering that they may want to breed, or sell as a broodmare should something go wrong. Right or wrong, papers seem to trump performance in the breeding shed, so even if she turns out to be the next Hickstead, she will be at least slightly devalued by her lack of "heritage". If she is average, much more devalued.

So it is a consideration to make. If you are thinking just for yourself and you like her, no reason to hesitate. If resale is likely, you should expect this to be a bit of a harder sale even if she turns out to be stellar.

[vxf111]

If you think she has the stuff to win... hunter peeps like me with no plan to ever breed won't care. If she's not nice enough, that's a separate problem. But if she's nice enough to be a show horse, you'll find a buyer happy to buy her for that purpose.

[Equine Studies]

I'm not the type to give a rat's behind about papers. But thinking ahead to if you resell her-would it be worth it at all to get her "approved" for breeding with any of the warmblood/sport horse registries?

[Chall]

Oh. You plan to breed her. Then her breeding is more of a concern. I thought you planned to compete her in hunter classes, then sell her.

[Rel6]

Lol I have ridden barrel horses for years and due to the rate of injury a grade mare is hard to sell

This confused me. I interpreted this to mean grade mares have a higher rate on injury? Did I read that wrong?