Cricket is a beautiful 8 year old bay dun AQHA mare. She is built like a brick house and comes from ranching and roping lines. Physically she looks like a great rope horse, but in my opinion she doesn’t have the brain for that. I am selling her as a broodmare or recipient mare. Willing to lease also. I had planned on leasing her out as a recip mare this year, but all the individuals who were interested in her this year were unable to get their donor mares bred so Cricket was never able to play her role. She is a maiden but very motherly. She tries to adopt any young horse she can. She is a dominant mare but not mean about it, she is usually only pushy about her food. She is an easy keeper and does best on just grass hay. In rocky terrain or hard paddocks, she does require front shoes to keep her comfortable but I think she would be able to be barefoot in a pasture with good footing. She ties well, loads and hauls like a champ, great for the farrier, no kicking or mean behaviors whatsoever. She can be touched everywhere and belly/udder scratches are her personal favorite. Her favorite trick is smiling.

Cricket is quite trained in riding but has always been a horse that can be overly reactive at times, and on her worst days she’s been known to bolt and buck. I had her checked by a vet head to hoof this year trying to find an explanation. No kissing spine, no ulcers. She did show some very low grade lameness in her right front when trotted in a tight circle on hard ground but was nearly imperceptible on arena footing. She did not improve with either a nerve block or on equinox. This combined with her reactive nature is why I’ve decided to pursue her being a mom. Honestly, I think that’s what she wants to do too. I do not have the facilities or space for breeding so I am regretfully listing her for sale/lease. My main concern is her finding a good long term home. I know many broodmares have fabulous retirements but also many don’t. Anyone interested in Cricket would need to be transparent about their facilities and overall plan for her. I don’t care about money, I care about her and how the rest of her life looks. I will happily take Cricket back when she needs to retire from breeding. I will require a right of first refusal contract if she is sold. I want a sincere home for her and I won’t entertain people who aren’t clearly ethical horseman who do right by the horse and who have the space for keeping broodmares and raising foals.

I’m located on the central coast of California but will be hauling to southern Oregon in mid July, then to Reno NV, then to Salt Lake City, then to southern Wyoming by late July. So if you’re out that way, we could coordinate a drop/pick up.