looking for advice on buying a mare in foal at Goffs

Good luck with your enterprise ovalu, I'm sure you have realised the pitfalls of your ambition through reading on here as much as anything else. But it's a great game when it works out - when - just keep your investment at the same depths as your pockets!

If you are going to board your mare for foaling/covering I would definitely send her straight there from the sale or certainly if she has an early cover. I don't think any more upheavels when she has done the sales experience would be a good idea.

Once you have settled up your authority with Goffs you will get a pass out for you mare and you could walk her under the tunnel with a piece of bale string if you so choose - although someone might get a bit agitated So ofcourse there is no problem with you doing your own shipping. I always do and it's never too early to start saving money, after all your going to start losing it soon enough!

You presumably have a good source of practical help to fill in the gaps in your experience?

Have you any lots in mind i could tell you about a good one

These last two posts just show what the industry is like,open your eyes ovalu,plenty of mistakes on the way just be aware!

If you've a box free then take it, means you get your pass out and you're gone.  Plenty to do that job for you but you'll be at mercy of their timescales and costs.  If its a march and you're not near the stallion then get her to the stud or boarding.  Foaling at home isnt for everyone esp. if you're not sure of her history or your vets. 

At bottom of market try to get a live family with something to run or a good pedigree with an unsexy cover.  Do homework, make a plan but be prepared to stick your hand up if you see an opp - auctions ebb and flow without much rhyme or reason and you might get a bargain. GL  410, 396, 369, 297, 276, 271, 260, 253 - all may be sub 10k

thanks for the advice, I've had  2 racehorses in the past, neither of which even made the track, so I'm well aware  that anything to do with horses can be a botomless pit, but I'm only investing what I can afford to lose, and if I dont get something fairly cheap I wont be buying at all. Looking at the brochure there seems to be a lot of nice lots but it will depend on the strenth of the market on the day if I'll get anything I suppose.

Any joy ovalu?

No, I didnt pick up anything unfortunately, I was probably a bit green in hoping to pick up something better than my money could afford, I was close with lot 382 but didnt  have the nerve in the end, the fact that she was a windsucker  spooked me, also I had to pop out and missed lot 288 who was on my shortlist and went for a  price I could have managed, though I may have been outbid in any case, but I thought that one would have gone for more, so some regrets there

I presume you are based in Ireland?  So this probably won't interest you but it came up on a Point-to-point forum under their classifieds.

http://pub31.bravenet.com/classified/show.php?usernum=2595317530&cpv=2

If that doesn't work it the Jumping For Fun site - click on classifeds on left hand side. 

The mare Heidi's Dash (Green Desert - Child Prodigy) is a winner and comes from a very high selling family (think she went for £140k at one stage) - tried to look into family and her dam is half sis to Kutub.  Shes not in foal but could go for peanuts.  Just an odd place to advertise a mare with a pedigree.  You never know!