Cost's of buying a horse compared to the old day's!

[DollyCoblet]

Hi All,
I recently bought a lovely coloured cob mare, hasnt done competing or been over worked and she has only just turned 4. Filling out all her change of ownership it made me think about the cost of buying a horse these days.
16 years ago I bought a rising 5 16hh TBXCB potential eventer (had done local level ODE,XC,SJ), she cost me £3,250 (a lot of money for a horse like her then!) I saw her advertised in the local paper, went to view that evening she was stod in a stable, I tacked her up, then rode her in a field Menage, what was that? To prove she was road safe I rode by myself around the block then to prove she had brakes got taken into a 30+acre field and told 'to have fun', the record of her achievements were cut outs from newspapers and ribbons/tropheys. I liked her so asked to re-view with my experianced been in horses for years horsey friend, what she didnt know about horses wasnt worth knowing, she looked her over and liked what she saw, I paid a deposit and went back in 3 days to pick her up, where we handed over the money, got a written receipt, told if she wasnt what we wanted after 1 week to return her, shoke hands, and drove away with a lovely mare and a receipt and 16 years later we are still together.
NOW then I bought said cob mare recently, I trawled the internet (paper's what are these), I went to view her after emailing many photo's, she was lovely I checked her over, then she was ridden in her owner's menage, we hacked out with owner (owner to worried I would damage/run off with her if on my own!), then when we came back I checked again she was lovely. However I knew in my heart she had no problems and was 100% sound and vice free, but worried if I didnt get her vetted they would have scammed me and I would end up with a horse that would grow another leg/lose a leg, have allergies, have been doped/on pain relief. A born worryer I had the vetting done at a cost of £350, to my relief but of no surprise the vet found nothing wrong. I then picked her up, there was 2 typed reciepts that covered eveything, passport and microchipping doc. I have changed everything over at a cost of £32.50. She has cost me with fee's, vetting a total of £382.50 more than my old girl.
It's such a shame there is no more trust, vettings are a must, and whats with all the documentation? When did we stop having the knowledge to know what we were buying was sound/vice free etc without having to rely on vets?
Sometimes I wonder if the horse world has changed and not for the better.
Still this said cob mare is 100% wonderful!

 

[hannah28]

i no what you mean !

people just cant be trusted, i went to view a horse loved it had it vetted, failed on a leg problem which was serious enough to need tests to put right, needless to say i did not buy, 1 week later i see the same horse advertised as fully fit and absolutly no problems, and on top she raised the price ! i couldnt beleive it ! poor horse, later sold on to a dealer not sure what happened next.....

 

[JMSims2008]

I know exactly what you mean! I brought my first horse a good few years ago (he's now retired), and I tried him out the same way as you mention above. However, Ive since brought an ISH 6 YO, who hasn't done a lot, but paid more for him with vettings etc...I think all this extra expense is due to the culture that we live in now. People don't think twice about 'claiming' against another person if things go wrong, which is really sad, so I suppose its a way of back covering should things go wrong! Hope you have fun with your new horse!

 

[Three]

Ah, that takes me back.

I bought a horse 21 years ago from a 'Mr Smith' - rode him in the field for ten mins, my friend did likewise, we pronounced him rideable but rather thin.

I went back a week later with a trailer and handed over cash as requested.

We shook hands and Mr Smith gave me back £10 luck money (I still have it!) and a handwritten receipt.

The first visit from the vet (no vaccinations certificate, Mr Smith was vague about when/if he'd ever had any) he added 'at least' two years to his advertised age (10) and suggested he saw a dentist. The dentist then added another probably four to six years to him! However I opted to only acknowledge two of those!

So my 10yo turned into a 14yo in the space of two weeks. However, at 35 (or 37-39 depending who you believe) he's still with me.

 

[Letslip]

Completely agree and also remember the days when you used to buy a horse and it came with all it's tack, rug and boots etc, was reminiscing (sp) about those good old days with somebody just this morning

 

[flying solo]

I rememeber my parents bought me my first pony 18years ago! She was a Arab x and cost £1000 had done a little bit of everything, previous owner let me keep her at their yard until we got used to each other then I moved her closer to home. A couple of months ago I travelled 100 miles twice to view a 4 year old welsh x and he was fab, no broken but just what I was looking for. I arranged the vetting - he passed but when he arrived with me its clear he had been doped on both my visits to him and also whilst he travelled! I now had a pony which rears contantly and wont enter a stable, and I paid £1500 for the privilage

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The problem is that horses are being bought and sold by people who do not have years of experience with horses. Our first horse came from a professional driving yard which also ran a riding school. You can be pretty sure that sellers like this are honest, they have a reputation to keep! We recently bought a pony from the same yard, although run by the next generation, they haven't changed.
In the intervening 35 years, we have bought several horses from private owners. We have never had a horse vetted. I am pretty sure that I can recognise the problems, other than heart problems that the vet can see, neither of us have x-ray eyes. I do not want to compete at a high level in any discipline and do not insure the horses, so am quite certain that ,if it is sound for repeated viewings, it will remain sound enough, barring accidents, for anything I want to do with it. I am also happy to rely on my own judgement of the character of the seller.