This message is from: "Dave and Patti Walter" <dwal...@tm.net>
Thought I'd give my 2 cents worth on the topic of "lots of fjords for sale". I would agree with Deb Ulrich, Fjords are still selling and for a good price. The market is soft, folks are VERY careful about spending any extra money but a good horse will always sell and in the Fjord World, there are MANY good horses. Now, young ones, untrained ones, problem ones, out of shape, not in good condition or training won't sell well and won't sell for top dollar. A top dollar horse has to be in top condition, that it is physically in top condition plus in its training. It must also have a good pedigree, good movement and good disposition, anything lacking and it won't get top dollar. Also, sorry to say it, but many DON'T know how to market their horse. AND, I hate to say it, but there are poor quality Fjords out there. Not as many as good ones, but there are those that breed anything and everything and then don't take care for them in quality feed and quality training. Also, another thing I would say that I disagree with you on is, "there is NOT a lot of Fjords out there for sale". If you are looking for a specific Fjord, one that has a bit more training and need a few characteristics met it's gona be hard to find. Or if you are looking for a certain color/age/gender it is harder to find. The more you have specifics, the narrower your list of available Fjords are. A good trained Fjord will sell! And probably quickly. We are still a VERY rare breed, we have not changed in numbers a whole lot over the last 10 yrs. I got into Fjords in '94 and what I see is the buyers now is REALLY careful about buying. 15 yrs ago, all you had to do was have a Fjord for sale and it was sold, now.. Buyers are smarter and comparative shop a lot more. They realize not every Fjord is a good one and they want a good one. I say , "GOOD FOR THEM". This might help some folks think twice before they breed. The GOOD breeders should still be breeding, or we will have a shortage in 4-5 yrs. But, we need ONLY good Fjords! Pretty condensed reply, but I have to get going and just wanted to toss out my 2 cents on the subject. I have sold 18 this year, last 3 yrs I have sold 23-25 each year. So, yes numbers are down but also folks did not send me as many horses to sell for them. Those owners who did, were very happy, the horses sold, Folks are still looking. I KNOW if I would have gotten more good Fjords in on consignment they would have sold. Patti Jo Walter Francis Creek Fjords Two Rivers WI Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
