Buying potential!

frazzled

frazzled

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Whilst looking for ponies recently I have noticed extortionate prices being asked for ponies with potential but no proven competition record. Sometimes more than ponies of similar breeding and very successful records. Do you think you pay a premium for "potential" as it seems to be a very popular word in advertising horses.To me it just seems to be a way of padding an advert to make the pony sound like it has done more than it has. I hope this makes sense but am getting annoyed with having to "interpret" adverts into what is actually real and what is wishful thinking.
 
People that have a horse/pony and either lack the time/experience or inclination to do any proper schooling and transfer potential to reality are those that tend to advertise in this way.

I had a pony that had amazing potential (easily FEI potential) but I could not ride her, and am yet to find a rider good enough to ride her to the best of her potential - hence if she were advertised, she would still be advertised as 'lots of potential' - she has jumped 1.20m at home, 1m at shows, but not done any affiliated classes due to lack of a good junior rider (the shows she attended she was ridden by an adult).

I guess people selling 'potential' are those that know they have a horse good enough, that will be worth mega money if the potential is tapped, but they are loathed to sell it for what it's actually worth at the moment, knowing that in a year it will be worth that mega money (does that make sense?).
 
Very well put zoeshiloh. That makes a lot of sense
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I suppose the only thing with that is that its not proven, someone may say there horse jumps 1.20 at home but that might only be if startled in a prevailing wind or it could be so shot with nerves at a showground so doesn't jump anything. Also I don't think someone should pay over the top for potential when they will be the ones to realise that potential if its there.

The word is bandied around a bit too much atm and I think its fairer to use words like moves well, good conformation, great temperament because to me those traits are likely to produce something trainable and useful.
 
surely though if you have a young horse with good paces, scope and a nice temperament it has got potential though?

the ones i don't understand are the fugly horses described as 'stunning.'

or the horses who are 6+ years old and have 'potential.'
 
It makes me laugth actually, the way people try and use " loads of potential" to bag more money for there equines.

Its probably fair to say that most equines have potential to do something. Either good or bad!

I think that potential can only seriously apply to something young , well bred and well put together, with an trainable attitude. If i saw a 4 year old for sale that had not done much, but was well put together, was well bred and had a nice outlook on life and was trainable. Then you could excuse the fact that for its age it may not have a lot of experience, but there was enougth there to show that with time and the right training/rider they could do well.

Once horses get older, the word "potential" seems to loose its appeal. I have seen 10 year olds and older for sale with the words " potential" in there adverts. Having done nothing up to then. You have to ask your self why?

I feel people only add " has potential" to there adverts becasue they have nothing else to say.
 
Ha - we bought my pony (before the days of internet ads) and the ad in the paper said something along the lines of great potential with the right rider. What it meant was - "sure this horse has the scope and ability but not the brain to match and, if a rider reckons they can sort it then have a go!" Lol

There was no dount he was stunning (actually stunning) to look at, and had an amazing jump on him. Problem was he actually seemed terrified and it was all rushed. We foolishly thought we could work on that as he was only 7 and certainly had it all there.

Well, it never happened, sure we improved him and his nervousness improved but he was never reliable enough to compete as on a good day he'd jump clear round anything but on a bad day he wouldn't even start!

So I think you have to treat the word 'potential' with care - ok if the horse is a 3 or 4 year old so hasn't really had the chance to be ruined yet, but anything a bit older i would be cautious of.
 
Yes i see it all the time. People buy promising youngsters, spend years ruining them, never getting a tune out of them. In the end they sell them, clutching on to the words " they have potential".

The chances are that after you have bought this horse, worked througth its problems, it will either a)break down before you get a chance to do anything with it, or b) be too old to really change the bad habits that have formed over the years.

It also makes me laught when people sell on "bloodlines!"

we all know that bloodlines mean nothing a majority of the time. Look at the many racehorses bred each year from top bloodlines that end up on the scrap heap. A mare with good blood lines thats well put together with a nice temperment yes, fair enougth. But a gelding??

Or people who keep on colts and sell them as stallion potential becasue they look pretty! That makes me laugth. I have a friend selling a 2 year old colt , he is an appy x tb x arab. She thinhs he would be great stallion material.

I suppose for as long as people are around who will beleive this crap, then these sellers will always find buyers.

 
[ QUOTE ]
It also makes me laught when people sell on "bloodlines!"

we all know that bloodlines mean nothing a majority of the time. Look at the many racehorses bred each year from top bloodlines that end up on the scrap heap. A mare with good blood lines thats well put together with a nice temperment yes, fair enougth. But a gelding??


[/ QUOTE ]

i wouldn't agree with that.
there are certain bloodlines which have been proven time and again to produce the horses which consistently come up with the goods.

Primitve Rising in eventing, Donnerhall in dressage etc.

obviously if the horse has crap conformation etc then regardless of the bloodlines i would give it a miss.

but if there were 2 horses identical in looks, training, paces but one had good solid breeding, i would always be willing to pay a bit extra for the one with pedigree.
 
What i mean is , people seem to put bloodlines before anything else!

For me the horse would have to be put together correctly, Have the temperment, ect, before i looked at the bloodline. Many peoepl buy on blood lines alone. There are a few people on my yard with these wonderful horses horses with amazing bloodlines, that are sat in boxes lame, becasue of there crap conformation. They are also geldings. While i agree that there are bloodlines that seem to have a lot of successful horses in them, what percentage of that bloodline never made anything at all?

Its not always just about bloodlines, there is a bigger picture.
 
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