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I often hear about international dressage riders buying foals in hopes of someday owning a dream horse they couldn’t otherwise afford. It’s a proven strategy, especially if you buy more than one foal. But selecting a foal can be tricky, and certainly different from looking at a dressage prospect under saddle. Buying a foal comes with a lot of risks. Will the foal stay sound? Will it have a great feel under saddle? Will it have the talent you need to compete at the highest levels of dressage some day?  Because of those inherent risks, you need every advantage as you evaluate foals for sale and ultimately choose which to purchase. Here are a few tips that may improve your chances of success:  Evaluate the foal when it has just the right amount of energy. Sometimes when foal shopping, we’ve arrived at the breeders only to discover the mare and foal outside, where they’ve been for hours or even days (with a shelter). This is a problem because foals typically don’t present themselves well when they are tired. When you ask them to move, they’ll just jog along. When stimulated a bit more, they gallop. Tired foals often have trouble showing you their potential. They may even look a bit clumsy when in fact, they’re not. Ideally, when you arrive at the foal’s location, the breeder has kept the mare and foal inside from the day before and overnight. When you see the foal turned out after a nice rest, it will be fresh and ready to show you its best. That’s when you’re most likely to see the foal's potential.  But be careful. Foal adrenaline can make even any foal look better than it really is. When the foal is very excited, you may see a lot more activity in the hind leg, freedom in the shoulder, and impulsion than will be expressed in the foal’s actual working trot. When the foal is holding its tail straight up, you will have more difficulty getting a look at the actual technique in its gaits.  Look carefully for that narrow window of time beginning after the foal lets out its initial burst of energy, and before it quickly grows tired. If you’re videoing, that’s the time to be sure to capture the foal’s movement.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

In my retirement years as a dressage professional, I’ve discovered an activity that is really enjoyable; foal shopping in Europe. If you want a back-stage tour into the horse world in its most raw form, travel around from farm to farm and meet small breeders. Every address is a new discovery.  I especially enjoy meeting the breeders, typically down-to-Earth people who often invite you into their homes to enjoy coffee. They are so proud of their foals and pleased to show them off to you.  More times than not, you have to look at the foal in less than ideal conditions. That’s where you have to be careful. Sometimes you have to be sure to see the foal on the right footing.  Having shopped for decades and been in more than 1000 different circumstances, I can attest that horse shopping puts you in some pretty crazy circumstances in which to evaluate horses, and not all are ideal. A friend and I still talk about the time we showed up to look at a 2 year old filly. It was with a group of at least 15 other 2 year old fillies. It took the barn managers 45 minutes to catch her, a round-up that entailed her escaping into the large indoor stabling complex and her exploring places in that facility horses typically wouldn’t go. She outsmarted 3 determined Dutch horsemen who ended up exhausted, bruised, and humiliated. It was like capturing a wild deer.  The point at which my client said, (after 30 minutes into the high speed chase), “please, don’t go to any trouble,” left us laughing so hard at this ridiculous situation, we couldn’t speak. By the time they caught her (she ran into an empty stall which made it possible to get her halter on), she was too tired to show, so they just put her away. We did our best to keep a polite composure and showed gratitude for all their trouble, but when we got in the car, we laughed so hard we couldn’t drive.  While not all circumstances are that bad, there are a few common situations you often get into when foal shopping. The most common problem you might encounter is a poor area to present the foal.  A smart seller will show you a foal in deep grass, deep mud, or deep sand. Foals will lift their knees and articulate their hocks in an exaggerated way to compensate for the unnatural footing, and it will make them appear to have much better movement and a very different natural technique than nature actually gave them. You can be easily misled by this type of presentation, in person, or on a video. Be careful.  Ideally, you will want to see a foal in the same type of footing that they would perform a dressage test. That might mean a turn-out paddock, or a field where the grass is mowed.  The size of the turn-out area can also make a difference. Sometimes, when a foal is turned out in a very large field, it will start galloping. By the time it stops running, it is a bit tired or too far away to evaluate properly. So, very large fields often don’t work out. Longing pens tend to have deep footing and foals might not show you their best movement when confined to a circle.  The ideal area to see a foal can be an indoor arena. Typically, you’ll have the depth of footing that is ideal for the foal to show you its natural ability, and in a safe environment. Also, the size of many riding stables’ indoors (20m x 40 - 60m) is perfect even if it is an outdoor paddock of a similar size or maybe a bit smaller.

Looking at foals can be like looking into a room through a keyhole. You can’t see the whole picture, only parts of it. While there is no certainty in selecting foals, here are some things I get excited about when I watch a foal move: I like to see the foal's body shift uphill as a result of the hind legs’ impulsion. I know I put more emphasis on this than some other horse people and I attribute it to my background as a grand prix rider, trainer, and clinician. I never liked horses that don’t raise their withers as a natural reaction to the rider's leg. Saying it in a positive way, I love the feeling of a horse that feels like the shoulders come up as a result of the rider’s driving aids. Some horses have big leg movement, but don’t shift to an uphill posture. It’s just not for me. I like to see a good articulation of the hind joints and a free shoulder, even in the foal’s normal trot. Nothing’s worse than riding a horse with a clumsy hind leg, no matter how much impulsion and presence it shows you. I know this is a bit of my personal preference coming through, but I feel in today’s competitive environment, nothing is more disappointing than a piaffe and passage with no bend at the knee. Twenty years ago, that was ok if the horse had good impulsion and metronome type rhythm. Today, judges and audiences want to be wow’d. While it can be tricky business to see these qualities in foals, they are characteristics in a foal’s technique that I focus on. I like to see a foal with presence. You often hear breeders of international dressage superstars say, “we knew he was special, even as a foal.” This is hard to describe, but great foals seem to know they are great, and they exude a presence that normal foals don’t have. It is easy to be fooled, especially by foals who are “late bloomers.” I rarely disqualify a foal if it doesn’t have a presence every day, but I do get excited when I find a foal that has that rare and inspiring presence that gives it something extra.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

Breeders and professionals with knowledge of dressage horse bloodlines can be a terrific help. This is one of the great advantages that breeders have in Europe. By attending the stallion inspections and young horse championships, they have early knowledge of which young stallions are producing the next generation of great riding horses. It’s not uncommon for me to hear Americans talking about a stallion they are excited about, when in Europe, people are already breeding to that stallion’s best son, or even grandson! Typically, people focus on the stallion when discussing a foal’s breeding, but I recommend focusing on the mare line even more. As temperament is one of the most predictable traits that mares and stallions pass on to their offspring, prioritize foals out of mothers who competed successfully in sport. If you’re buying a potential breeding stallion, look for mother lines that have produced other approved stallions.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to buy a foal out of a good mother-line and this is also why I’m a huge advocate of shopping in Europe for world-class foals. The number of world-class mother-lines in Europe per square mile is exponentially higher than in the United States, where we have a much smaller percentage of exceptional mares and they are scattered far and wide.  Certain bloodlines produce certain traits, good and bad. Knowing the bloodlines helps you know what to look for. For example, I can think of one stallion that often produces crooked legs. Knowing that, I’m very careful to look at his offspring’s conformation. Some bloodlines are known for producing foals that are prone to cribbing, or easily develop uneven heel height. Some stallions produce fabulous young horses, but they rarely make it to the FEI levels.  Be careful not to be completely dismissive about any particular bloodline. Some stallions that are reportedly difficult to train are fabulous in the mother line. The famous Amor was an example of this. His direct offspring were mostly difficult, but he produced many mares that became famous producers of horses that didn’t have Amor’s difficult nature.  While I’m a strong advocate of picking good bloodlines, I’d caution buyers to pay a lot more attention to the horse itself. I’ve seen many, many terrible horses by famous stallions. I look for a fabulous foal that has the brilliant traits of its parents. There are plenty of mediocre horses with great pedigrees. I see them advertised on Facebook every day. Be careful not to end up owning one of these by being too enamored with the foal’s papers.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

When looking at a foal, it requires a sharp eye to see the important moments when the foal shows you its best movement. It requires an attentive eye. But that can be a problem. I’ve often come away from evaluating a foal and realized I didn’t pay enough attention to the mother. What if the foal grew up to be just like his/her mother? Would I still want to ride it or breed a mare to it? Does this mare have her own greatness? Does she have a presence and good movement? Are you drawn to her? Be careful to make allowances for her current maternal state. For example, she may be thin from producing milk. In most cases the mare won’t be in riding condition.  Amateurs often make the mistake of being too critical of a mare’s back conformation. The lack of muscling over the loin area changes the aesthetics of the mare’s topline and most amateurs say the mare is “long-in-the back,” when she isn’t. Sometimes mares are kept in training and are ridden, but most are not. Don’t be fooled by this because an unfit mare who is also nursing a foal may not be great to look at.  You can, however, see certain things in a mare’s movement. Look for an active hind leg, even in the mare’s “normal” trot. Look for freedom in the shoulder, an expressive front leg, and overall uphill movement.  I love to see a mare walk out of the barn and command attention with her presence. I love to see a mare’s positive attributes in conformation and overall quality align with her pedigree. In other words, you can say something like, “Wow, she really looks like a Jazz daughter!” This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

I have a 35 year old mare in our barn who everyone adores. She is smart, affectionate, and has always been the most wonderful riding horse. I’ve had this horse under my care since she was born and I rode her mother and her father.  She had a full sister that was born evil. When I say evil, I mean a special kind of evil. She was one of the most beautiful foals you could think of and had absolutely incredible gaits. But from the first moment of her life, she would try to kill you if you went into her stall.  There was absolutely nothing that ever happened in this foal's life to make her like this. It was simply the random arrangement of genes. She was extremely smart and she was mean. I was kicked more than once by that foal and she hurt me intentionally. I was a very experienced handler of foals, and was a professional at getting along with and handling babies and young horses. We sold the horse for one dollar to a professional, with full disclosure of her dangerous demeanor.  I tell you this story to make a point that many naive horse enthusiasts refuse to accept; some horses are mean, difficult, spooky, nervous, uncooperative, stubborn, cantankerous, from day one - and you won’t change that nature. Some horses require a level of strong handling that most of us compassionate horse people are not comfortable with.  All this to say, pay attention to a foal’s demeanor. Look for clues.  I like to see a foal that is alert and aware of things around them, but brave enough to walk up to them. I like to see a foal that will get itself excited and really put on a show, but then drop its neck and walk calmly back to the barn after it is finished showing off. If a foal gets wound up and can’t settle down, that might be a red flag.  I like to see a foal that lets you walk up to it and maybe even pet it. That can be a difficult assessment however, because some caretakers handle their foals, while others do not. If you need a nervous, hard-to-handle mare, be careful to look for the clues that the foal isn't also difficult. If the mare never had good rideability because of her temperament, don't buy one of her foals. There are plenty of others to choose from, so don't take the chance! This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

The prevalent myth that foals look their best at 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, and 3 years is not a hard, fast rule. I think it’s time to move on from that outdated advice. With modern dressage breeding, we are seeing foals with long legs that aren’t ready to look at when 3 days old. Some foals are too weak at that age or their long legs haven’t straightened out yet from their time spent in the womb. That said, every foal has its own growth/maturity timeline. The best time to get your first impression is when the foal is strong enough to handle itself with a degree of grace. That initial window of time can be different for each foal.  But don’t wait too long to form your first strong impression. There is a period of time typically in the 2nd half of their first year of life that foals go through an unimpressive growth stage. Their hind end might be outgrowing their front end, making them look clumsy and downhill. They may have shed out their baby hair in patches. They may appear to have terrible toplines and appear to have low set necks. Their movement may be far from impressive at certain stages, and they may become thin, even with proper nutrition.  But even the ugliest stages of growth eventually resolve. By the time foals are in their 3-year-old years, you can often (but not always) get a better picture of how they’ll turn out. When you get a first look at that 3 or 4 year old on the longe-line, wearing non-invasive side reins, you can get your first good look at the technique of the canter.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.