amateur riders and expensive horses

I have to say that FB's foal is in another league and even at this age you can tell he's going to mature into a stunning horse. He has the most wonderful arched neck already which is only going to improve, not to mention super paces. If you can afford this surely it makes sense?!

The thing is when you can see the horse has good paces so can everyone else, hence the hefty price tag. If you want paces for an 8 or 9 and a natural ability for the higher level work you're going to have to cough up. I would be very surprised if I came across a broken in horse I really liked for under 10k.
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
Agree with TS 100%. Obviously buying a foal is more of a gamble as there is so much which can go wrong in three years, but the point is that a super-moving foal, however expensive, will always be far cheaper than a super-moving 3yo (who in turn will be far cheaper than a super-moving young PSG horse and so forth). I have no doubt that if my Belissimo was an adult horse, endowed with the very same paces he has now as a foal, he would probably cost ten times as much.

Normally if a foal has got a really good walk, and a super trot and canter, and good conformation, these things don't tend to change. Temperament wise, again there are no guarantees but I think with enough research and advice you get to learn which lines you want or want to avoid. There will always be exceptions to every rule, of course - that also needs to be taken into consideration.

Let's call it an educated gamble. Still a gamble, of course :D
Click to expand...

I guess I'm not disagreeing with you FB. It will be cheaper as a foal because the pricing reflects the uncertainty factors to an extent and buying a foal is definitely more of a gamble. One goes on breeding because that is the best indicator but as the horse gets older and is backed and then progresses the breeding becomes less of a factor,you care more about the performance in front of you when you have the horse's credentials to consider rather than its parents'. Its an educated gamble but I have seen much more experienced people than me buy youngstock that notwithstanding good breeding was a crushing disappointment. I don't have anywhere to keep youngstock cheaply nor do I have the knowledge to assess foals' future capacity and so for me I wouldn't take that gamble. I guess what I'm saying is I would rather spend more on something older.
 
Thank you Dressager! :)

Agree re. your last point, I have never loved (as in, liked enough to want to buy) horses in that price range, in fact the last horse I actually enquired about (really loved him on the video and immediately thought "that really would be the perfect horse for me") was 200k euros :D Err, that's a bit too much for me right now :D
 
Hehe! It's funny how your eye just gets used to looking at decent horses and nothing else will do, it is either fab horse or no horse. At my current happy hacker type yard people often point out a horse and say "that's nice" but usually I really can't see it but its awkward to keep saying this about every horse! The only thing that makes an average horse "nice" for me is seeing it being ridden correctly to make the most of it's potential, but sadly I don't see that too often either!!
 
Very true! My own definition of "good paces" has changed so much over the years and is certainly very different from a showjumper's or happy hacker's definitions.

Incidentally an Italian showjumping friend recently commented, in passing, on "Rauti's amazing paces", which made me laugh out loud as Rauti is a very average horse by dressage standards (or at least by German dressage standards ;) ), with three modest paces (barely good enough to compete). But I guess in the eye of a showjumper they really must have looked above-average!
 
Ha ha, I agree with both of you on this to an extent at the risk of us all being exiled for being horse snobs. Though depends what horse is for and in current market you can get a nice horse for under 10k, but it probably wouldnt be a horse I would want for what I want to do. And obviously you can pick up bargains, esp if you buy and sell a lot. But am a big believer in you pay peanuts you get monkeys.. Used to be on a yard similar to what you are describing Dressager and in the end it was so depressing having the nicest horse on the yard because whilst I adore Seb and he has been great he is no world beater, just a good, trainable horse with ok paces. When I started looking for horse 2, I got sent some videos and the guy was like I have a few things along the lines of what you want, prices from 60k euros to 750k euros !!! LOL The latter was a fabulous horse but strangely a little little out of my budget ;)
 
You know Steff Croxford springs to mind Mr P was the ultimate bargain horse & Steff was an amateur, ok Mr P doesn't move like Toto but he has reached GP.

I'm sorry but if you have a good eye you really can buy talented horses for a lot less than 10k. A trainable temperament can take you a long way.
 
firewell said:
I'm thinking of dealers that buy in Ireland a straight youngster with fashionable clover hill type bloodlines for under 4/5k and then flog it to us amature Brits for 10-15k and we are happy to pay for something that someone else has gone to the trouble of finding for us. In that case I really do not think you are buying 'exceptional' talent! You could have traipsed across Ireland and found it yourself sitting in a local breeders field!.
Click to expand...

Given what I just paid for a straight moving, clover hill youngster, with a fabulous technique over a fence and a nature to die for, no way in he'll would I pay 10k for one!
Even if she had been broken in, she wasn't going to be advertised for anywhere near 10k!
 
dressagecrazy said:
You know Steff Croxford springs to mind Mr P was the ultimate bargain horse & Steff was an amateur, ok Mr P doesn't move like Toto but he has reached GP.

I'm sorry but if you have a good eye you really can buy talented horses for a lot less than 10k. A trainable temperament can take you a long way.
Click to expand...


I'm not disagreeing with this, if you buy and sell a lot you are much more likely to find a bargain and if you are prepared to search high and low for that bargain yes it is possible. But, most of the top horses were not from these kinds of origins and are being sold by people who know what they are worth and have a price tag which reflects that. If you want a horse that will go GP its easier to find one from a source who knows what they are selling and that costs. These bargains are the exceptions, not the normality.
 
Mr P and SC are a wonderful combination but he is not your typical dressage horse, from paces to conformation, and this is why he cannot be truly successful at international level. To me he is the exception that proves the rule, but definitely not something that can happen very frequently!
 
I advertised my 2yo as a foal for 7k, no interest at all, despite his stellar bloodlines, and I'm a way I'm glad no one bought him, but i've been told i'd advertised him for too little money considering his lineage so people would assume there was a problem, however i thought 7k for a foal was a fortune, till i read some of the prices at the zangersheide sale and some other auctions abroad!
 
I am most definitely an amateur rider who is hoping to work up the grades with my horse.
My 3 horses at the moment I have not paid more than £1700 for. Fair play, 2 of them arent worth more than that even now (tb is coming 18 years and exmoors arent worth that much) but my spotty boy in my sig is amazing! when I bought him I didnt really know much about paces as I was into doing anything at the time and his owner didnt seem to know much either which is why he was so cheap, that and his breeding isnt well known or anything.
However, i did see something special and since then, and learning more and more about dressage as I am really keen to excel in this discipline, I have realised how fantastic his paces and confo and temp is! His walk is huge and lots of people comment on it and his canter is enormous. he is only 15hh but when i rode him when i backed him, it honestly felt like i was on a 16hh+ horse. I know this means that he will probably find collection harder but I have seen him do a slower canter with more jump to it in the field and loves to do tempi changes around the field :P
I think getting him was totally by chance though, if i was to go looking for another spotty horse with paces like his and a temperment like his i would be looking for a very long time!

Thing is, I dont think I would pay more than £4000 for a horse, especially a foal, as i would be sooo worried that something would happen to it before it could be ridden. I think if i was to get a foal, for that reason, i would prefer a mare because then if something happened, at least you could breed.
I know, with such a limited amount i could pay, it is looking a bit for a needle in a hay stack to find such a good horse but I think its worth it and I think a lot of riders have found good horses for what would be regarded as little and worked up the levels. and hopefully my little spotty boy will get me to PSG!
And what a risk breeeding your foal to totilas at $8000 dollars, you gotta hope nothing goes wrong with the mare whilst in foal or anything! to me, that would be risky unless I had a lot of money!
 
Rowy - just because he might do "tempi changes" in the field, unfortuantly doesnt mean he will do it under saddle.
 
I paid 18k for a 12 year old Intermediate eventer and she has been worth every penny! She was produced slowly by a male pro and was sold because she can't go top level but has so far taught me alot in all 3 disciplines. She isn't a schoolmistress and it has taken a bit of time learning which buttons to press but then that is like so many horses!
 
I'm sure there are lots of horses that are definitely worth that.... and also some that are not- a friend of mine was going to buy a lovely potential eventer that was up for sale for over 10k as a 4 yr old and it failed the vet with a leg problem that would have taken lots of time and money to rectify, with no guarantee it would actually end up eventing at the end of it and a top vet advised her against purchasing it.

I'm an amateur I've never had nowhere near that money to spend so I've always had to try to make the best of what I've got instead (and make them look like a million dollars lol!) , and i find it more fun as well, rather than being handed it on a plate. Saying that if I was given a horse with a big price tag and that was nice enough i wouldn't say no! money isn't everything though.
 
Last edited:
It's the first time I have ever spent that sort of money on a horse as I have always bought cheaper and produced them through the grades myself, however it gives you a lot of confidence coming down to a big fence on a horse you know can do it and for me (maybe not for others!) it gives me the same satisfaction making a breakthrough on a good horse as it does on a youngster doing something for the first time.
 
wench said:
Rowy - just because he might do "tempi changes" in the field, unfortuantly doesnt mean he will do it under saddle.
Click to expand...

yea i know. when i say tempi changes i only mean like 3 time. gives you some idea though, more than if you saw a stiff horse unable to change in the field, dropping back to fast trot on the forehand.
He's only 3 1/2 so we will have to see! plus i have only trained my older mare up to elem level at home so far so will be big learning curve with him but will be exciting to see what happens! its just a dream really that we may be able to make it up to PSG.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top