Sales day logistics

Talk about upcoming sales or auction results.

Moderators: Roguelet, WaveMaster, madelyn

Pav
2yo Maiden
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:10 pm
Location: California

Sales day logistics

Postby Pav » Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:42 pm

I plan on attending the upcoming Keeneland breeding stock sale in November, and will be looking to purchase one or more broodmares. I haven’t been to a sale at Keeneland before and am relatively new to the sales process, so I am hoping to find some information on the logistics of purchasing a mare at a sale.

In another post, I was advised to get any mare that is “in foal” checked again by a veterinarian after the purchase and prior to release of the horse. Are there veterinarians readily available at the sale to do this? What is the standard cost of a pregnancy check?

I was also advised to purchase foal insurance since the “live foal” guarantee does not transfer to the new buyer. Are there insurance companies available at the sale that provide this type of insurance, and what is the standard cost for foal insurance?

I plan to ship any mare that I purchase to northern California. Again, are there horse transportation companies available at the sale? Does anyone have any recommendations on the best and most economical companies to use? Any cost estimates? Also, are there any inherent health risks in transporting a mare in foal across the country?

Finally, the Keeneland website states that, at the November sale, you are required to move the horse immediately because of the large number of horses in the sale. How does this process work? What do you do in the interim period between the sale and shipping?

Thanks in advance for any input!

User avatar
el camino
Allowance Winner
Posts: 479
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 5:36 pm
Contact:

Postby el camino » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:16 pm

Enjoy Keeneland!
There are lots of vets around and there is a posted listed available at the office.
Insurance, you probably should talk to someone prior to purchase. I know Chad Schumer lives in Lexington and does this kind of work but I always self-insure.
There are more people willing to ship your horse, including myself, at Keeneland than any place on earth. You can get deals because most have made their money getting to the sale any anything going home is gravy.

User avatar
henthorn
Eclipse Champion
Posts: 2463
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 6:05 pm
Location: Oklahoma City, OK

Postby henthorn » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:31 am

I've sent you a private message (PM).
Rocking H

Douglas Brown
Weanling
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 3:56 pm
Location: Maryland

Getting help at Keeneland

Postby Douglas Brown » Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:41 pm

Pav,

Keeneland is the most user friendly place to buy a horse. When I purchased my first one there, I used their website on preparing to purchase and found it most helpful. The people in the office are very helpful and polite. The consigner that I bought my filly from took me by the hand and walked me through the process of finding a van company, etc.. Overall, very nice people.

As far as health aspects about shipping a mare from Kentucky to Northern California - I would suppose a lot would depend on how far along in her pregnancy she is. I am not experienced enough to give advice here. However, if she is too far along and you decide to keep her in Kentucky to foal, breed back to a Kentucky stallion and then ship the pregnant mare and foal to California and you need a good place to board her while in Kentucky, PM me and I'll give you the name of the farm we use. If you need an insurance company, PM me as well and I'll give you the contacts for the outfit I use in Lexington as I have always found them prompt and helpful for all sorts of equine insurance options (fall of the hammer, claiming, live foal, etc.).

Doug

Doug