do you get what you pay for?

diggerbez

diggerbez

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i was talking to a friend the other day- she is after a dressage youngster and is convinced that she needs to spend 10k on one to get one with a lot of potential- i'm totally convinced that you don't need to spend this much on a horse to be able to get a decent horse with a lot of potential... i can see that if you are buying a schoolmaster type then you might be paying more for a good record or whatever, but i'm primarily thinking youngsters- what do you think?
 
You certainly can pay that for a dressage youngster, but if it was broken at 3 and doing novice at 4, it might be a field ornament at 9!

If she is after instant results, better to buy something established - about 7 or 8 years old that she can progress with - or get a quality youngster and bring it on, investing the time and money in high quality tuition.

JMHO
 
I have bred 2 youngsters out of our Kiltealy Spring mare (who has international & olympic eventers as brothers). One for eventing (by Ben Faerie/Welton son) other by Catherston Dazzler so could event or dressage (has uphill dressage movement). For some reason people think in this climate they can buy them for nothing. We ask prices in line with studs of simillar lines, so not extionate but realistic (not 10k, Dazzler filly only yearling). Agree that would want schoolmaster for that price. Can buy very high quality youngster for lot less, & bring on slowly yourself so no it wont be run into ground & field ornament by 9. Depends if you have the patience or in a rush wanting short cut but risk horse being pushed too fast too young so it's ready for your friend to buy.

Dressage prices seem too high compared to other affiliate disciplines. It's not like your going to win a load of prize money or raise the breeding value of your horse (geldings no use, many mare owners don't have facilities to breed). Be realistic about level your going to aim at & either buy sound school master (may be 10k) or youngster that hasn't been rushed (shouldn't be 10k unless going for 'fashionable' breeding). I'd beware of those shipped over from continent. They are a business where they need a return on outlay, so may be more inclined to push them quicker to get to sale ready earlier & minimise outlay. Not saying evryone does, but would be careful personally.
 
I would say that £10k is a fairly average price for a well bred 4-year-old German or Dutch dressage horse that has been produced correctly (probably by a professional) with well recognised and proven bloodlines - that moves well and has the ability to go to PSG.
 
boxcarhorse said:
I would say that £10k is a fairly average price for a well bred 4-year-old German or Dutch dressage horse that has been produced correctly (probably by a professional) with well recognised and proven bloodlines - that moves well and has the ability to go to PSG.
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I agree with above.

But personally i do think we pay inflated prices on Dressage horses especially im not sure why either apart from there does seem to be a lot of money thats involved in the sport.
Most of the young horses that do get sold for 10 - 15k never reach PSG level.
Ive bought my next horse for a lot less than 10k but she's a Foal, so im taking a huge risk that she may not end up what i wanted but i would never afford the same horse as a 3 or 4yo.
 
Personally I dont think you do need to spend that type of money for a youngster - I know there are a fair few 3/4yrs olds advertised at 9-15K but I do think thats excessive! Obviously pro riders are looking for something different to amateurs (assuming thats what your friend is? Apologies if not!) and so really dont need to spend that kind of money for something that will move nicely and corrrectly.

I've just bought my new boy and while he is definately not a GP horse he has the basics to go to medium at least and he was less than £5k and is a lovely person to boot, however I bought him to event. I think, in this market, you should look to spend between £5-8k for something that has the potential to go to GP or you may be lucky and get a bargain like I did :D
 
depends what age youngster she is looking to get- a wellbred dressage foal could be £4-6k, then if you add £1k/year for upkeep and £1k for breaking costs you get near to £10k very quickly.

I buy all of my horses as weanlings now as I simply cannot afford the quality I want if I were to buy a 4yro.
 
thanks for comments :) do you think there is a reason why dressage babies are so much more expensive than eventing/ sjing babies? i honestly think that sometimes people feel that they need to spend silly money on a horse- fine if you have GP ambitions, but if you are an average amateur- realistically you aren't going to ride above medium level? also agree that imports from the continent concern me- i do wonder how much the dealers pay for them in the first place and how much profit they add on after relatively little work...surely all warmbloods can't be GP potential and worth 10k? but if you look at websites of prolific dealers in young dressage horses you never see one below about 8k....
 
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