We began our journey practically 1 year prior to the buy of our Hanoverian gelding. At that time we were primarily shopping in the U.S. For a young dressage prospect. Our goal was to find a horse with possible that we could enjoy developing and furthering to the fullest of his abilities.
Living in the Southwest we found that there were few breeding farms in our areas dedicated solely to developing dressage horses. Thus, our quest began by extensively visiting local stables, exploring local word of mouth and sales ads, and exhaustively researching online. While we found many gorgeous horses we didn't find our "dream" horse. We were seeing for not just a fancy mover but a horse that was bred for dressage with exceptional athletic capability and most importantly brain and a desire to work. Like many habitancy shopping for horses we found it exceptionally difficult to find a horse with the desired movement, as well as a horse with the desired brain and work ethic, to have such a horse pass a vet test, and ultimately to keep within our desired budget. So we began our European journey not because we couldn't buy in the U.S. But because after several months of searching we decided to alter our methodology which would hopefully improve our success rate.
Growing up I rode at a dressage barn that frequently had German judges, trainers, apprentices and most importantly German Horses visiting. While I loved my Thoroughbred I developed an appreciation for the German horse breeding manufactures and based on this background we decided that we'd alter our quest to take us to Germany for the dream buying palpate of our life. As I often tell friends, "this was our one crazy moment!" So we were by no means experts in European horse shopping and in effect not horse brokers. Therefore, we had to become completely educated prior to our visit. I found to my disappointment, that there were few if any helpful guides on the internet and basically only brokers contribution to find a horse for you.
The first step in our horse quest was to find and invent a relationship with a local dressage trainer. We chose Gintara Slavinskas because of her kind nature and desire to not push a young horse but to encourage that young horse to invent to his best with only definite reinforcement. Therefore, we consulted extensively with Gintara on our decision to shop in Germany and in short order we were all very excited and ready to hop on the next plane. Tasteless sense took over however, and we decided to wait a few more months while we developed some contacts, chose a Verband or horse auction to attend and basically educated ourselves.
In this process we learned that most of the German warmblood registries offered several auctions throughout the year and luckily they are all now contribution online viewing and data on the choice for the upcoming auction. We placed on researching the Oldenburg, Westfalen, and Hanoverian registries. All of their web sites can be found at horse-gate.com and be sure to agree the small British Flag below the menu on the left for the English version of the page. After seeing hose-gate we then explored all the Verbands we were curious in. At horse-gate these are found under the auction menu item. agree this button and you will find added options for Hannover, Holstein, Oldenburg, Wastfalan, and Esi
So once we chose our breed (Hanoverian) we began watching the online auctions and results for that breed. The Hanoverian Verband has 12 auctions a year so we had the chance to monitor a few prior to our visit. The auctions are all a little different in the field of horses offered and quality/pricing of these horses so I suggest you examine their web site early to settle what auction is best for you.
We opted for the July Summer auction and were able to monitor the winter and spring auction results. For all the auctions the choice of horses are listed and numbered, most of the horses will have still photos and several will have videos. Now the auctions are also contribution a live video feed showing a presentation of the whole selection. All of this allows the buyer to get a good sense of the capability and type offered. The auction houses do offer bidding and buying by phone but I personally do not suggest buying based on just the web data as we found that seeing these same horses in real life drastically altered our favorites. Indeed, we had examined all photos and watched all videos in effect 100 times prior to attending and had a short list with the strengths of each horse, but at the moment of arrival we tossed the list and stated making a new one based on our live impressions. There is just nothing to beat seeing and interacting directly with the horses. For online viewing you can also quest the archives and view the after sales reports and learn data such as how many horses went to each country, the average sales price in addition to the high and low sales price. The site even breaks down how many horses were sold in each price range. I encourage you to view these stats and then to remember that they are not in dollars but in Euros so please convert for your price in Euros. And remember to get tissue out for this experiment because the current conversion rate is certainly not in our favor.
For the best fares we arranged our flight tickets well in strengthen and as this was "our crazy adventure" we opted to fly first class. We found that by shopping online and shopping early we were able to get first class tickets at an practically coach price. So I encourage you to quest the online fares to save money for the auction.
Because we didn't know whatever in Germany and of policy didn't know the city we called the Verband (they are highly helpful for their guests) and went with their suggestion of Haags Hotel NiedersachsenHof. We found this to be a inexpensive priced and lovely hotel with loads of European charm. Their palpate amount is 04231/666-0. While this was a lovely hotel the primary advantage is that it was just a brief walk from the auction house allowing repeated visits throughout our stay. The Hanoverian Verband and auction house are placed in Lower Saxony Germany in the small town of Verden. The nearest airport is Bremen. A few other hotels are available in the town of Verden but will need a short car or cab ride to the auction.
For our vehicle we used a cab from Bremen to Verden because we didn't want the hassle of driving in a foreign country. The rates are good and cab accommodations are clean and new with courteous drivers. We requested a pick up time and date from our cab driver and he showed up instantly as scheduled. Rental cars can also be used but I encourage added investigate prior to renting.
Okay, so timing of arrival is also leading to allow maximum time for viewing and trying of the horses prior to the actual sales. The regular auctions make the horses available 2 weeks prior to the auction and the Elite 1 month prior to the auction. We attended 1 week ahead of the auction but would have appreciated and enjoyed the added week. Also, many international competitors will attend the first week when it isn't as busy and not as many eyes are watching their picks.
The protocol for the auction is a presentation or training of each horse in the morning and prospective buyer and training trying in the afternoon. They also will offer a formal presentation of all horses under rider at least once or twice prior to the auctions. Dressage horses are worked in dressage and jumpers are jumped. Each horse is assigned one educator that will be with him straight through the journey and this individual will be a requisite asset to you. I encourage you to talk to the groom and educator of your favorites to get a best feeling for the horse.
We arrived the morning of the formal presentation which began at noon and went well into the night. The auction we attended had 142 horses offered for sale and it took some time to view them all. We were fortunate to have a palpate with a frequent buyer of auction horses, Melissa Mulchahey of Rose Lane Sporthorses, straight through our educator and she offered her aid at no charge. Although, the brokers do get a allowance on the auction fees as well as some other perks from the auction house for their contribution to the event. So we met with the Melissa that night and found her to be pleasant, informed and a requisite asset in learning auction protocol.
Initially, we found it very difficult to form a short list as all the horses looked gorgeous on first impression. However, mid-way accepted the presentation we saw a lovely black gelding with 3 white socks, blaze and sabino markings enter and 'float' around the arena. He was named Latin Lover and for me it was love at first sight but my educator and the Melissa did their duty well and examined all possibilities. An exciting note is that Latin Lover did not have an online video or photograph so he was not originally on our short list. By the end of that night we were all asleep on our feet with jet lag and crawled into bed.
The excitement of the auction had us up early and after a very quick morning meal we walked over to the barns and enjoyed visiting each horse while he was munching morning meal in his stall. One of our short list horses was a Hessen called Russian Fox and he was one of the few we kept on the list after visiting in person. As a side note the Hanoverian Verband recently bought out the Hessen Verband and now all hessens are registered Hanoverian and offered at the auctions. The Hessen was a lovely chestnut of average size again with sabino markings socks and blaze but most importantly free and lovely movement. We visited him while he was having morning meal and all agreed that he was lovely and well put together. We then visited the black horse that also turned out to be one of the 2 Hessens in the auction and found him amidst all the auction chaos laying down for a snooze. However, he quickly got to his feet when we greeted him and gave us all a nuzzle. At that point we all agreed he was a Teddy Bear but that we wouldn't make any decision until we had formed out short list and tried several horses. But, he was certainly on the list.
A word on the auction chaos, it is certainly stressful for these young horses to attend the auction and was in effect more stress then I originally expected. However, all the horses are treated with great care and love by the verband. All things was about the horse and if a horse was considered to be tired or stressed a no visiting sign was placed on his stall and he was not take out or tried during this time. an additional one unexpected seeing was that many of these young horses developed minor upper respiratory infection. seeing back I believe this was to be expected as the auction mixes many horses of young age from many different farms - much like kindergarten. The most Tasteless seeing of this Uri was little nasal dismissal and any affected horse was examined and treated by the in house veterinarian.
We continued our excursions that day by visiting each stall repeatedly and speaking with all the grooms and trainers. The groom of the chestnut agreed that he was a very lovely mover and well balanced for such a young horse and the groom of the black advised that he had a lovely character. The other horses we investigated included both mares and geldings with ages fluctuating form 3 to 6 years old and height from 15.2 to well over 17 hh. When exploring the barns if we were particularly curious in a horse we would request that the groom take him out for closer examination and inspection of movement in hand. This was very helpful for determining possible conformation faults and character. Some of the horses were clearly not habitancy horses and would stand with rear end facing their gate and others would nicker and welcome all new visitors.
Later that day the training began with each educator riding their group of horses. We found it helpful to keep the sales list of the whole choice handy to make quick notes in the margins as each horse was shown. Each horse was ridden by the educator for about 15-20 minutes and there were 4-5 horses present in the arena at any one time. When the educator was done riding he, or she, would take the horse to the end of the arena and dismount waiting for prospective buyers to emerge from the audience and request a ride to try the horse. This was an exciting and sometimes exciting methodology as most of these horses were very green and had little if any steering or breaks. And whatever could try the horse regardless of their capability or lack of ability. The Verband trainers of policy make each horse look like an developed mount but it was eye chance to see some armature riders on the same mounts. We witnessed a few rider falls and run aways during this time. When trying these horses it is best to have eyes in the back of your head to look for the unexpected run away or inattentive rider. Caution is strongly advised. It is helpful to talk first with the educator of the horse so you can get an comprehension if you should use caution with that individual mount.
For both our top picks (the chestnut and black) the trainers were relaxed and willingly handed over the reins. Both horses were well behaved beyond their years, and distinguished movers. Other horses tried were very anxious and while possibly lovely movers had aggressive or frightened characters. Often the trainers of these horses would suggest a word of caution prior to handing over the reins. Out of respect for these hard working horses it is recommended that your rides be kept short with just adequate time to get an idea of the way of going. Most habitancy abided by this but a join didn't and were universally frowned upon.
One exciting rider was an older gentleman who appeared an expert rider and tried a nice bay. After dismounting the rider gave the horse a big kiss on the nose. It was nice to see after all the stress of the day.
When trying a horse I suggest that you consequent your picks back to the barn. during this time you can watch the horse move on a level line from behind and see how he responds for the untacking and bathing or grooming.
We finally formed our short list of about 5 horses but the black and chestnut were top 2 picks and the black my own favorite. Once we had our short list we visited the house veterinarian and requested data about the vet check. He was very helpful and would in effect show the digital x-rays for those interested. We found that the chestnut has 2 chips and the black no chips but 1 missing molar tooth. As a small animal veterinarian I found the vocabulary of chips exciting as they sound like a benign nothing but in reality chips referred to Ocd lesions or cartilage lesions that could potentially cause lameness later in life based on the location of the chip. They also graded these chips as 1-3 with the highest being the most problematic. I suggest meeting with your equine veterinarian prior to attending the auction and discussing what type, if any, Ocd lesion would be accepted to you.
So we were very disappointed with the 2 chips on the chestnut but decided to keep him on our list as the chips were low grade and could be removed later if needed. The missing tooth was not of great concern in the black but did mean that he would need regular floating of his teeth and good dental care. Discrete other issues were found on the other horses on our list. Basically every horse will have something identified in the vet check and it is your job to use your team of veterinarian and educator to settle what is accepted to you - prior to the actual auction.
After meeting with the vet we took one horse off our list for grade 3 chips and added one other, but kept the primary 2. The job now, was to prioritize the biding for each horse and settle if we would bid on all of the short list until one was won. We found that the chestnut would be sold and presented early on auction night and the black later in the night. This raised a dilemma because we had to settle if we waited for our first pick (black) or started biding early. We also had to settle how high we would go for each pick. In the end we decided to bid on our two favorites and keep those sold at the end of the list as our back-ups.
In the middle of the week Melissa took us for a drive about the country and on a visit to a gorgeous stable (Dressurstall Kubelke) owned and operated by her trainer. We had a lovely visit here and were shown a join of non-auction horses offered for sale along with a gorgeous 5 year old grey gelding. We decided to keep this horse as our back-up for after the auction as he was lovely.
After this we continued our daily viewing of the horses, training and presentation until the day of the auction quickly arrived. We all awakened early and were a mass of nerves. I'd done my math many times over the night before to settle how high I would bid in Euros. One thing I suggest having available for the auction is a printed spread sheet of U.S. Dollars and the equal Euro amount. In the heat of the auction it is very helpful to remarked down and know how many dollars you're in effect spending. As often as I reminded my self that we were bidding in Euros I kept mental in dollars so keep that paper handy.
We were fortunate that Melissa was able to gather ring side seats for the auctions at an excellent line of sight to the performance & auctioneer . I suggest that you book your tickets early by contacting Mr. Malte Kanz @ ++49 42 31/6 73 50 the price for tickets range from 10-25 euros each.
Our bidding protocol was discussed ahead of time with Melissa and she offered to bid for us. This turned out to be a blessing as All things went much faster then expected once the bidding began. The auction started with the auctioneer starting at 5,000 Euros on the first horse and it quickly escalated from there. The auctioneer did present in German but a handy scroll board was available above him showing the current bid. several young habitancy were present around the arena to act as pointers and help direct the auctioneer's concentration to an active bidder. The actual bidding was done with a yellow card contained in the brochure and decorated with the Hanoverian logo. When the card was raised high a full bid was made when the card was presented horizontally the buyer was attempting to make a half bid which the auctioneer may or may not accept.
All of this was very new to us but we had a very enjoyable time watching the active bidders, the horses and the auctioneer. We found that immediately after a horse was sold the buyer was presented with gift from the Verband fluctuating from a Hanoverian logo mug to bottles of Champagne depending on how much the horse was sold for.
The enjoyment continued until our first pick arrived in the arena, the chestnut waltzed into the arena like he was floating and bids seemed to come form in any place at once. I had set my max bid on him somewhat lower then on the black and we were quickly outbid. It was crushing and at that moment we wondered if we would be able to take any one of our picks home. The bidding ended with the chestnut going to Italy.
The black was in the last 1/3 of the auction and we had a long anxious wait until our next attempt. Teddy Bear, the black, (actually Latin Lover) marched out of the stable doors and into the arena like he'd been doing this all his life. He never hesitated or spooked but just floated around the arena. The bidding took off again and we were all very worried. Melissa had advised us that she would not bid until the last moment and to have patience but this was very difficult. She in effect waited until the hammer was about to fall and then bid for us, immediately the habitancy sitting behind us also began to bid! We bid back and forth several times until they hesitated and all went silent for what seemed forever. Everybody was waiting for their decision. Melissa turned around and stared at them waiting for their decision; I was near tears but couldn't take my eyes off this spectacle. After a few seconds the other bidder withdrew and we plan we had won our Teddy Bear. Unfortunately our hopes were crushed when an additional one person placed a bid from across the arena. I quickly did my poor Euro to Dollar calculation, realized I was already way over and decided to jump. We placed our bid and won our Teddy Bear!
When the gift bearers came with a few bottles of Champagne I realized that I'd gone way over budget but was still very glad that I had. We were all in tears due to the stress and excitement but they were happy tears and expressed great relief. I was overjoyed that the gorgeous black Teddy Bear I had picked the first night was in effect ours. It just didn't seem real.
After we won the bid the reality quickly set in as the broker escorted us to the office to sign the sales agreement. No money was exchanged at this time and I learned that most habitancy fly home on Sunday and then perfect a wire replacement to the Verband for payment on Monday. But we had arranged a flight back later in the week and after advising the office of this found that they were very helpful and willing to work with us.
We returned to the arena and started to watch the rest of the auction but were advised again by Melissa that the protocol was to have the groom take the horse out for a photo and then return to the stable to enjoy the Champagne in the aisle with the previous owners - a barn party of sorts.
We took Teddy out to the green for a photo and I could have stayed there all day but he was too quickly taken back to his stall where we met the previous owners. They spoke broken English (a good things as I didn't speak any German) and during our conversation they advised that they mostly raised sport horse ponies and Teddy had been their first exertion into the bigger guys. The wife advised me that they bred their favorite mare to Latimer and dreamed of a tall black gorgeous stallion with a star. When he arrived they named him Latin Lover. I was amazed at the close relationship they had with Teddy, they were both crying the whole time. Later that night I learned that he had been their little daughter's favorite and thus selling him had been difficult for them all. I thanked them for breeding and raising such a extraordinary horse and for being willing to part with him. We then all decided to enjoy the Champagne and learned that Teddy loved to drink out of a glass but he was only allowed a sip. The barn party ended with our exchanging palpate data with the previous owners and promising to write and keep them updated.
We returned to the arena to see the last of the auction and saw the older gentleman who had kissed his mount on the nose, now bidding on and winning that same horse. After he won he hopped the fence and marched out to give the bay an additional one kiss on the nose. For us too, It had been a extraordinary night but there was still work to be done.
Our next step was to visit the gentleman in payment of the filming of the horses during training and the auction. For a nominal fee he collected all the video clips of our horse onto one Dvd for us. You may also request a Dvd of the horses radiographs or films which the verband will mail to you shortly after the auction.
We now had to palpate the vehicle enterprise to dispose a flight back to America for Teddy. Guido Klatte was our choice after researching clubs prior to the auction we considered them to be the most trustworthy and experienced. The Klatte palpate amount is 49-4472 94007 - 0 . For the flight back the horses are placed into a box stall while still on the ground. The stall can be and commonly is split into 3 individual stalls allowing for first class, enterprise class and coach transport. Most horses fly 3 per box and the pricing at that time was practically 7800.00. The box stall is filled with horses and then the whole stall is lifted and placed into the belly of the plane. A few seats are present in the plane and arrangements can be made to fly back with your horse. I didn't perceive this at the time so Teddy would have to fly without us. We scheduled his departure for the next Wednesday and we would still be in Germany for most of this time. This was a nice time to allow us to get to know Teddy over the next few days when the chaos of the auction had died down. It was exciting to watch all the "brender-up" style trailers pulled by Mercedes come to gather horses for rides to their new home. The barns quickly emptied to the few horses going to the U.S on the same plane out. The time for us to depart came too quickly and we kissed Teddy (now firmly his name) goodbye and left for home knowing he would be there shortly. Upon arrival we made the requisite wire replacement and then waited for his arrival to California Lax airport. Jet Pets is the receiving enterprise and have to be paid for caring for the horse during the 3 day gelding quarantine. We were able to dispose all this straight through Guido Klatte along with reservation and payment. Stallions and mares entering the country have to go to a detach factory called a Cem quarantine factory and have a longer stay.
Cost for mare quarantine is practically 50 and stallions are 4500 for the stay and testing. For geldings the cost is much less because they only need the 3 days with Jet Pets and all testing and paperwork can be completed prior to arrival by the vehicle company.
Teddy arrived in the U.S early in the morning and we received a call from Jet Pets advising us that he had arrived safe and sound. They would be taking his climatic characteristic daily to ensure he was not spiking a fever and if all went well they would release him in the expected 3 days. I was also able to get data on a local hauler from Jet Pets and arranged the hauling from Lax to Arizona. I received a call from Jet Pets daily with regard to his status and on the 3rd day received a call that he had been picked up and was on his way home. We were overjoyed but had to continue to function as general and work that day. After work I raced to the stable during a freak thunder storm and found that my educator had already received him and placed him in his new stall. I entered the stall completely in awe that I was in effect seeing him there and he turned around and presented his rear end to us! I wasn't sure what to make of this as this wasn't the Teddy we know and in effect he didn't have his ears back or seen angry. I rubbed his tail while mental this over and he leaned in for a good long scratch. Teddy liked to have his bum scratched! It is a habit that he continues to this day. Any available object makes a good bum scratcher but he still likes us to do it for him. He was ultimately home and was the Teddy we remembered.
Jill M. Patt, Dvm
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