Choosing the Right Prospect


Training Issue Preview The sale is about to begin. You have your bid


Contributed by Frankie Gaytan


card and you are sitting in the audience ready to bid if something catches your eye. You are about to be- come quilty of not purchasing the appropriate horse. You are about to purchase an impulse buy. Savvy buyers do their homework


. Research Your Prospects What is a prospect? A prospect horse is a horse


that has limited to no experience, but based on cer- tain characteristics is thought to be good at a specific job. Weanlings, yearlings, and 2 year olds are con- sidered prospects. But older horses with limited ex- perience can also be prospects for new jobs. Shopping Do: Review the Catalog. By the


time you arrive at the sale, you should have nar- rowed your field of candidates. If you are not pur- chasing for a high-level show prospect, you don’t need an expensive horse. However, the research process is the same. If you are looking for a week- end show horse, eliminate all bloodlines that don’t fit. Every discipline has their list of desired per- formers and bloodines of choice. If the papers have Dash For Cash, think Barrels; Doc O’Lena, think Cowhorse; Hollywood Dun it, think Reining. Be- come familiar with the bloodlines in the discipline that you ride in. Eliminate any prospects that have hotter vs


cooler bloodlines in your discipline as well. If you are a Non Pro see what other non pros are riding. If you are seeking a young prospect, choose some- thing with a good family reputation. That means de- scendants of money earners. Shopping Don’t: Skipping this step sets you


up for failure. Yes, a seasoned pro can find dia- monds in the rough, but don’t fool yourself that you can. Without doing your research, you are setting yourself up for buying cheap and not smart.


Evaluate Your Prospects Each discipline has desired conformation that


leads to success. Even if you just want a horse for trail riding then of course you don’t need a horse with the ability to be a competitor, but good con- formation equals a horse built to do its job. Shopping Do: Arrive early to look at all of


your prospects. Is he is built to do the job you need him to do. Does the horse have a nice level topline, good shoulder slope, straight legs, short cannon bones, and a strong hind-end? Does the horse look balanced overall? Evaluate his mind. Is he alert, friendly, snorty, pinning ears, wringing tail? These are all clues to his attitude. Shopping Don’t: NEVER choose a prospect


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conformation. As you see, she has nice straight legs and is stronger in her hind end. This is very important for a good stop and recovery in the turns specifically needed in cutting.


by a color preference. This can be one of the biggest mistakes you can make. More times than not, you will be disappointed, when the horse does not be- come the horse you had in your head. This mistake is further compounded if he is also


bad minded. Putting more time into his sour atti- tude thinking he will get better, rarely happens. Re- member safety is always a priority.


Bidding on Your Prospects Before you arrive, you should already have a


base price in mind based on his pedigree. Once you’ve evaluated him in person, that number may go up or down based on his evaluation. Shopping Do: Armed with your purchase


number, put your top price on it and stick to it. If you like everything about a prospect, chances are others are going to like him too. Remember, if this is the appropriate horse for the job, it is sometimes better to spend a bit more upfront to get the right horse. Shopping Don’t: Don’t get caught up in a bid-


ding war. If the horse has gone above your top price, stop bidding, and move on to the next horse on the list. Don’t bid on horses that aren’t on your list. Just because no one is bidding on a horse and he’s about to sell cheap does not equal a good deal.


Training Your Prospects Buying a horse at a sale is always a roll of the


dice. When you get him home, seek a professional to evaluate your prospect. Every trainer has his or her program and his or her time frame. It’s unreal- istic to think that you will go from unbroke to fin- ished horse in 30 days. Shopping Do: Choose a trainer that specializes


in the discipline you are pursuing. He may cost more upfront, but long term your horse is being evaluated and trained for the job you need him to do. I always tell my customers let’s see how it works in 60 days and we will go from there. At 60


24 SouthWest Horse Trader June 2018 This yearling is a great example of good


days, the discussion should be if the horse will work for the intended job. That means that he is exhibiting some talent combined with a good disposition. If yes, it makes sense to keep training. At 90 days, we start to see what kind of horse


was an open caliber kind of prospect. Lots of abil- ity and you can see how good she will look on the cow once she be-


comes a show horse. She has a small nice cannon bone and as preferred a small or short back.


he’s going to be. In cutting for example, at 2 years old, a horse called open caliber is a very talented and smart horse. You have one of those better horses. This horse would head for the futurities with a professional. A 2-year-old horse that is called non pro caliber is going to cut the cow. He may not be too pretty doing it and will most likely lose points on eye appeal. But he’s going to do a decent job. This horse would also head for the futurity but would be shown by you. A young prospect not heading to one of the fu-


turities does not have to be in a full accelerated fu- turity program. At 90 days, he can go home and have a month off in the pasture and then go back to work. There is no rush. You can take the time to allow him to mature and learn at a slower pace. Wet saddle pads and road miles make these horses good solid performers as they age. Shopping Don’t: If your new prospect isn’t


going to do the job you need him to do, sell him. If he’d be better off in a different discipline, trust your trainer and let him go excel somewhere else. This holds true if he’s an open or non-pro level prospect but you have no intention of owning a futurity prospect. Let him go. You should be able to get your investment back at this point. If the horse just plain isn’t going to work, if he’s


bad minded or just wants to be a ranch or trail horse, throwing more money at him isn’t going to make him an appropriate horse for you. He will get better because he will be more broke, but that doesn’t mean he will work for you. Always keep your goals in mind and if the horse isn’t going to be able to


allow you to achieve those goals, move on. w Fourth generation horseman Frankie Gaytan, originally from


Jalisco, Mexico, began Gaytan Performance Horses after two decades of experience working under some of the most renowned cutting horse trainers in the industry. Learn more next month in our Training Issue.


I started this good filly. Note the alertness and her overall look. This


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