Are horses being sold too cheap?

C

ChestnutConvert

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 September 2010
Messages
1,135
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
I know we are in a third recession but horses seem to be either really expensive or too cheap.
I saw an ad for an ex racer type done a bit of everything etc but only £500. Are there genuine people out there that just really need to move a horse on or are they all problem horses?
I'm willing to take a chance, but also willing to wait until i have a decent amount of money, but while i have time and guts (!) was wondering of it really is achievable as i know of a couple of people that have bought cheapies and are going great with them.

And no I'm not looking to get them and just sell them on, i was just wondering about the current prices!
 
I actually can't believe the price of ponies either, was offered a Shetland youngster (3) well handled, good breeding for £50 .. his younger brother for £25. and I know of a good 15.2 10 year old all rounder that was sold for £450 (nothing wrong with him).

I was looking at some dogs for sale and they were 8/9/1000 quid :o , I said to my hubby we could get 5 ponies for that price lol
 
All mine are cheapies - have never spent more than 1k on a horse and I never would! I don't want a competition horse though. Mine have turned out lovely little allrounders.

I do agree though on some horses being too cheap it's encouraging numpties with no knowledge to buy on for the kiddies as it's cheaper than riding lessons,and that's where problems can start.

If you time, resources, patience and experience there is no reason not to take a punt on a cheapie - just go in with your eyes wide open.
 
£500 is a reasonable price for an ex racer - I bought same at Ascot a couple of years ago for £400 and he has turned out to be a teenagers dream horse (winning forst time out at XC and SJ) -but at the time he was the scabbiest animal of the entire sale and I took that risk. The market dictates. I have at the moment a horse on long term trial that the owner wants circa £2K for - he is not as nice as the £400 Ascot horse - but because he is home grown, the owner thinks he is worth far much more - and that is the problem really........
 
Of course they are going cheap - massive over breeding has seen to it.

I dread to think how much of the black and white pony stock up here was heading for a certain knackers in W. Yorks, but I bet they have no idea how to get rid of them now.

Such a sad problem :(
 
December 2011 I bought and unbacked, hardly handled 3yo. Iam just backing her now and she is turning out to be a real star that with the right work will be a special little lady, I payed £350 for her! what a bargain.
 
Hmm i think i will take a risk at some point, I'd rather be giving a horse a home and a chance. I'm the same - not after a comp horse just a good all rounder that can school, jump and have fun with a few shows and hopefully i can give this to a horse rather than it going into the wrong hands.
 
They are too cheap from the pov of general welfare. As said, supply outstrips demand. Cheap horses can turn out worth their weight in gold, but only if you have the time, patience & experience to put the right work in. And don't forget all the expense of keeping them whilst you're putting the work in.
 
Of course I am going to agree with the problems that this can cause as people have listed above and will no doubt make many more comments on.

However, I try to look on the positive side of things and tbh, the fact horses are going so cheaply may mean that many people who could not otherwise have afforded their 'dream horse' can now do so. Horses that a few years ago may have been unattainable to perfectly competent people are now going for a lot less and it may more realistic for people to buy them.

Please don't think I do not understand the gravity of the situation the country is in with the 'horse crisis' at the moment, but I think there is always a little silver lining :)

I do however think that it is disgusting that any sites you look on for animals for sale that dogs now seem to go for a lot more £££ than horses :/
 
Littlelegs said:
They are too cheap from the pov of general welfare. As said, supply outstrips demand. Cheap horses can turn out worth their weight in gold, but only if you have the time, patience & experience to put the right work in. And don't forget all the expense of keeping them whilst you're putting the work in.
Click to expand...

Absolutley - and a cheap horse costs the same to maintain as an expensive horse - I have possibly paid more in shoeing the horse I have on loan - then his actual value - and that is the crux of the current recession - whilst the value of horses has dropped considerably, the supply chain (feed, farriers, vets and clothing/ tack companies) keep rising / keep pace with inflation - until these guys realise that they also need to drop their prices - we are very much in a catch 22 situtation.
 
It's not the cost of buying its keeping them. Sadly the days of disposable income is a very distant memory for most.
In answer to you op, yes they are too cheap and by people being desperate to sell and lowering the price is just dragging the market down sadly.
You see posts on here where some people seem to think that anything over 2k is extortionate.
Ex racers shouldn't be over £500 and cobs are 10 a penny when in reality ex racers and the 'DD cobs' actually , well mostly ;) are worth their weight in gold for most riders.
It's a sad day that people pay more for a dog or a meal out than for one of our equine friends :(
 
But what else do you do ?
We have a 13hh pony club allrounder for sale , we have no rider for her at the moment although my son hacks her out a bit. We have reduced her price so many times, we just want a good home for her. She is a genuine mare but forward going so not a first pony. We are lucky in being at home so no livery cost but if we did have we would probably be pretty desperate by now.
 
Agree with bigbenji. The one-off cost of a horse is nothing compared to the the yearly upkeep. Round my way, north of London, it is ridiculous. But there is still lots of monies round there (sadly not in my house). So horse prices are depressed here, but still quite large if from a respected producer and has done a bit - £10,000-ish for something that will do maybe one-star.
 
As with anything horses are only worth what people will pay for them. Supply and demand will always mean that if there is a lot of something available, then it will be cheaper than if it is scarce.
 
I remember in my teens (the 90's) being really shocked at nice ex racers going through for under 1000guineas. We all thought wow, so cheap for a tb. What's really sad is that almost 20yrs later, they cost less. And its the same at low end sales, everything goes through for less if anything than in my teens. One of my friends has a teenage cob that she bought as a very young barely weaned colt at auction. She was joking about him being the best £80 she ever spent, & a lady that has only been round horses a few years asked why he was so expensive, because you can buy similar for less now. Which sadly, is true.
 
Yes I do think there are far to many cheap horses owever I also think there are many over priced 12000 for an unbroken/just broken 4 year old I don't care what the breeding is it guarentees nothing my friend has a fantastically bred horse can't find its way over a pole and mopes about the school even though it can move well it's not interested just enjoys hacking. The problem with cheap ex racers is they r cheap but expensive to keep but often because they are cheap end up in the wrong hands. I have had two exracers first one was tricky to handle n ride but as cheap and as good doer as a native.SSecond one is a genuine as they come she has BE'd, bsja, showed dressaged above 68% over the winter could stick a two year old on her to hack down the m25 but costs a fortune to feed and look well and needs shoeing religiously every 6 weeks. But if she were an ISH I would get 6-7 k? Nope she's an exracer be lucky for 2k all wrong in my opinion luckily enough she's not and won't be for sale. That said I never spend a huge amount on a horse or not in my opinion anyway.
 
I think at Burghley 2 of the horses which were in the top 10 were ex-racers. This is the first time in decades that you could buy a horse for a few hundred pounds, that could take you round Badminton (if you had the time, talent etc etc), but still!
The horse in my avatar, whom I point to pointed was free. Previously I could of never afforded a horse to point. Decent schoolmasters (racehorses) were well upward of £10,000.
I also own an ISH who has 13 BE points (gained in 1 season, he is only 6), professionally produced. Yes he was not cheap cheap, but I few years ago I went on a horse hunt for something similar I wouldn't get it for £20,000 +
My little ex-racer is out of primitive rising mare. I have always wanted a primitive rising, and now I have one :)
As everyone says, it is the keeping them that costs stupid money. Feed is going up, the same feed which I fed last year is now nearly £5 more expensive a bag. I currently pay £45 for a round bale of haylage, and with 4 horses you can imagine how much that costs! Its scary to work out the keep :(
But what I was trying to say, it is a buyers market, and maybe, just maybe, we might look back and say "I can't believe I got that horse for free, he would be worth £50,000 these days."
 
I've mentioned before that I know of someone who was offered two colt foals for nothing, plus twenty pounds to take them away.

He did take them, but after buying a bale of hay was out of pocket and then had two foals to feed etc and stuck unable to sell them. No wonder there are horses been starved, neglected and dumped - easy come, easy go.

I think it's quite a selfish view to say that it is a silver lining that people who couldn't have afforded a horse now can; if you can't afford to buy it then you probably can't afford to keep it and it leaves horses very vulnerable to neglect and inexperienced owners buying them cheaply (remember the pony locked in a garden shed on a council estate and fed on vegetable peelings that had been bought for the kids?)

We live in a disposable society, which now sadly includes horses. :(
 
I can't complain about cheap horses. Got my ex racer for £500. He had been reschooled. He has now taken me around BE 90, is the most genuine horse I've ever had, never says no. My instructor reckons he'd go Novice - not that I would. I spent 4k on an ISH the yr before I got him who was a complete pig. I find with people I know that if a horse is under 5 k there must be something wrong with it, but not in all cases.
 
cheap prices means I now own a full bred 9yr old lusitano mare £300 I was told she had some behavioural issues....shes an angel!?! I got a belting young anglo although very malnourished at time for £700 not good breeding but my god that boy has the most beautfull floating paces I have ever seen and he loves jumping, perfect allrounder! And a ex riding school shire x for £200
 
For the horses that find the right homes it's a great situation - my boy didn't cost me anything, 10 years ago (if I'd have had the cash!) I'd have happily written a cheque for £10k + for him (only 14 when I got him 403 BE points some at 4* very easy to handle schoolmaster)

Sadly I suspect he (and some of the other examples above) are in the minority and too many end up not sold and dumped uncared for in big herds or sold to people who lack the experience/ cash to look after them properly - even though they are well intentioned.
 
I don't necessarily disagree with low prices as stated before my horses have all been cheap I have had them vetted though to check for underlying problems. I agree there is a tendancy to think if they are cheap don't look as there's a problem which in my in my opinion is if they are cheap and what you are looking for go and view and spend extra on vetting if you are concerned. The only problem I have with cheap horses is they often are neglected and bought by unsuitable people who don't know how to care for them just because they want a horse sadly it doesn't always mean the owner doesn't have money either just they don't have a clue.
 
Well if in the future anyone knows of a 'cheapie' going please let me know!
That sounds awful i know but i can't warrant spending thousands on a horse that will be some form of all rounder when i could help someone out and the horse. I have the time, means etc but if i have to i will wait and save more, if something comes along in the mean time when i have to retire my current then i might well grab the chance and make good of a horse that deserves it.
 
Some are far too cheap, some are way too expensive, it's the middle range that seems to be missing.

If your child has had a pony for a few years, has done well and now needs a bigger pony. Unless you are a dealer, why are people seeing the use, enjoyment and education the child has had from the pony (why it was bought in the first place) as a way to add so much to the price?
Same with horses.

If people are not going to sell ponies/horses that have done a bit for reasonable money (if they aren't dealers) then people will go for cheap. And that keeps making it worth the while for people to keep on overbreeding.
 
I brought my lovely coloured cob for £450 last year, he's 2 yes old but has the best temperament I've ever had in a horse and I'm sure he's going to be perfect for hacking about once he's broken in.
I'm hoping the markets not too bad as il be selling my show hack soon, Im not selling him cheap incase he gets into the wrong hands, although I sold a coloured show cob about 5 years ago for a lot of money and have recently learnt he's had two owners since and was left in a field for a year with no care by the girl who brought him from me (he's ok now) so I guess you can never assume they will get a good home just because you sell them for a lot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top