We lost a horse about a month ago and are starting a search for a new family member. I think our wants and needs are pretty basic- cow bred QH, between the ages of 2-6, sane, short (14.2-15.1), and reasonably priced. Amount of training is not as important as sanity as we can start and finish them ourselves. I prefer geldings but would consider a non marey mare. We work cattle occasionally but mainly trail ride.

We looked at some 2 year olds today that were okay, but nothing that made say " Oh my, I have to have this now!!!" We also stopped at a local monthly sale and were not impressed with the quality of horses or the number that were there.

Do any of you have any websites or farms you would recommend? We are willing to travel anywhere in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions for the right horse...

All I have heard from people in the industry is how bad the market is but so far have not found the number of horses I expected to or the reasonable prices. Is anyone else finding this as well?

We've already had an interesting HYPP encounter. We saw a horse on Dreamhorse that was cow bred on the top and double bred Impressive on the bottom. When I asked about HYPP status, the agent for the owner told me the horse has not been tested but I should not have anything to worry about as he was cow bred on the top. OH YES... The dam is N/H... I didn't even try to explain that this could still be a problem for this gelding! I wasn't even going to explain why we were no longer interested!!!

Penn State has their annual production sale at the end of April. That may be the best way to go at this point. I haven't shopped for a horse in 5 years and am not enjoying this!!! 

I would recommend the Fisher Ranch in Eufala, OK.  Some good lines and they have a production auction every year (around September).  Some of the previous year's babies get brought back on consignment after a few years of training and riding.

I went to the sale in 2006 and bought a really nice little colt for $500.  He's got Oklahoma Star, Bert, and Unikia lines.  Since the market is soooo depressed, some of these babies were going for a song.  SADLY, the older horses that had been being used on the area ranches (if I remember they were mostly 4 to 6-7 yr olds) were going for dirt cheap (like about $700 or $750).  Stupid me, I bought a baby.  Should have gotten a good riding horse!  I don't think that this years sale did much better (though they didn't seem to have as many riding horses as last year by the looks of the catalog).  I didn't go in 2007.  Knew I couldn't keep my hands in my pockets.

I became frustrated with the classified ads when searching for a new family member. The horses were not as represented, and I felt I was wasting my time. I found exactly what I was looking for at the Strain Family Horse Farm in Granby, Conneticut. They specialize in well broke trail horses. Put their name in a search engine to pull up their web site. They have many nice horses from which to select. I found exactly what I was looking for. My cousin was so impresed with "Mac" that he and his daughter made the trip (after I declined to sell Mac to them!), and also purchased a horse, and they are very pleased. Another option, although far away, is the Billings Horse Sale. We were there in June, although not looking to buy at that time. You can follow the monthly sales on line. Horse prices have really taken a tumble. Well bred and broke ranch geldings that brought $5-7K in the spring are now selling for 1K-2K. Of course, the transportation costs are high. In June I watched weanling and yearlings (registered) go for $100 and $150. Unbrokes are a steal.

You can check out their latest catalog for the February sale online. Phone bidding is done.

Good Luck, Brenda

I believe the New Holland Auction holds a special QH/Paint horse auction each spring.  Usually around Memorial day.  I have seen the Strain ranch bring in quite a few horses to this auction and the prices are not bad.