Selling horses program from the Farm "Polonynske Hospodartvo", which is a breeding farm for Hutsul horses.

 

I, Olexander Ihnatenko, the owner of the Farm "Polonynske Hospodarstvo" and the herd of breeding Hutsul horses, will tell you about the terms of cooperation with us for the purchase of Hutsul horses from our farm.

 

We started selling horses around 2008. Each year, we sold about ten horses of different age groups. So, we have accumulated rich experience in this business.

 

But imagine a situation where 20-25 foals are born on the farm, while we already have 80-90 horses of different age groups. This becomes a significant burden for our operation and requires additional people to work, the payment of which is not covered by the sale of these foals. So, the situation arises where the more you work and the more offspring you have, the more losses and trouble you face. Yes, I didn't make a mistake. The main concern is not working with these foals, especially in our style of raising horses in the mountains, in their natural habitat. The main concern is how to manage this genetic resource to reduce the quantitative pressure on the farm. Since selling horses is not the same as selling muffins, the challenge also lies in finding suitable owners for them and conveying to these future owners what a horse is, how much time of their life and resources will be needed for it, and whether they really need one. Every buyer sincerely claims that they need a horse because very few people know what owning a horse entails, how much time and money it requires. When a happy horse owner realizes how much resources are needed, they often try to get rid of the horse, in many cases, even giving it away. This is how horses often change hands.

 

I can reassure everyone that this is not always the case. In most cases, people love, care for, and create the best conditions for their horses. However, there are precedents described in the previous paragraph, and these precedents are not isolated incidents.

 

So, the situation arises where I, in order to raise a horse, incur expenses in terms of time, nerves, and money, only for each owner to do as they please with them. In theory, this is correct because once a horse is paid for, it belongs to its new owner. What happens to the horse afterward is out of my hands. But I no longer want things to continue this way.

 

For the past two years, despite having 34 Hutsul mares, I haven't bred them. This has given me more freedom and removed some obstacles.

 

I started developing a cooperation scheme with future owners of Hutsul horses who will already have an idea of what a horse is, especially a Hutsul horse raised in the conditions of the mountain pastures. We will share this information and idea with them during our online and practical course on mountain horse tourism, where we will also meet in person. This aspiring horse enthusiast will come to the Training Camp not as a horse buyer but as an ordinary Training Camp participant who wants to explore, get acquainted, and learn to make an informed choice. After completing the course, we can discuss the conditions of horse sales and the price.

 

And the conditions will be such that the future buyer is not buying the horse from me but is raising it for themselves. It looks like this: The buyer expresses their wishes for what they need the horse for. I, as the person who knows my horses, recommend several mares to choose from (out of 34 mares, you can choose 😉), and the buyer selects one. We draw up a contract, make a deposit payment, and cover our future mare. Under this contract, the buyer immediately pays half of the amount for the future foal as a deposit, and they will pay the rest after receiving the foal at the age of six to eight months. The buyer takes the foal from "their" mare, regardless of its gender, whether it's a colt or a filly. After all, "their" mare gave them this foal.

 

I think that this technology, where responsibility lies not only with the seller but also with the buyer, will deter irresponsible buyers. The period of one and a half to two years allows for careful consideration and observation of "one's" horses and "one's" mare. It also allows for cooperation with the mare-mother of one's horse in our practical course, in order to make an informed decision later on. So, I haven't misspoken. Within these two years, the buyer can choose to relinquish the horse, but the money already paid for it as a deposit is non-refundable. This horse automatically becomes an unplanned addition to my herd, and the funds will go towards its development. I believe that this method of selling horses is fair to both the buyer and the seller. Both parties take on the responsibility of conception and raising of the horse. But most of all, the horse benefits from this arrangement. To wait for two years (since the mare carries for 11 months) and be ready to raise the horse as a foal for another year and a half before starting to train it means that the horse is going into reliable hands. If, within these two years, the buyer changes their mind due to various circumstances, the horse with the "dowry" remains in my reliable care. In other words, the buyer pays for the act of bringing the horse into the world and ensuring its well-being in my care.

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We only work according to this scheme!

Since 2021