DRESSAGE HORSE PRICE HELP ( BUYING )

[pennyh]

firstly sorry for going a bit mad on posts today!

but i would really appreciate some help

situation is i am looking for an advanced dressage schoolmaster to progress my riding with

i have seen one this weekend that i really like ( seen a few before)

he really was the schoolmaster i expected , & a lovely sensible & mannerly chap

he also has competed up to psg

he is 15 going on 16 years old , seems to be in good health & i am told no previous problems or injuries

his owners are looking for a bit quieter pace for him just based on his age

he does windsuck & is on a supplement for this & on cortaflex as a precautionary measure

now , my instructor has curled her nose up at the asking price , she thinks its too much money

i do realise his upkeep costs will be higher than my other horse , & that shoud i ever wish to sell ( not part of the plan ) that i will loose £££ based on his age ( most likely i would keep him for the rest of his life though) & that he may only work at the level he is now for 2 or 3 years

i admit i have seen a broad range of prices for horses like this

<font color="blue"> would you be so kind as to give me a cold &amp; calculated view as to a reasonable price for a horse like this? </font>

 

[_jetset_]

It very much depends on how well he has done at PSG... has he been placed? Has he done any Nationals/Regionals etc etc at any of the levels?

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

I must say my friends horse still competes at 22yo at Grand Prix level !!! x

Price i couldnt say as beckie said depends on how well he has done ?

 

[pennyh]

sorry , not competed since 2006 , was scoring low 60's at psg , 2006 qualified &amp; competed regionals at AM with respectable placings but not qualifying for the nationals

 

[Worried1]

A true schoolmaster is worth their weight in gold and what you save on purchase price you invariably end up spending on them to keep them going.

Having said that though it would depend on previous competition record and exactly how established they are. If you are looking at a horse with piaffe and passage and one time changes you will expect to pay a lot more than a horse who can only manage 3s or 4s and only has the starting of piaffe and passage.

IT is really hard to say without knowledge of the horse to put a price on it.

The rumour is that a well known supermarket chain recently bought a schoolmaster for his daughter and spent £1,000,000! I also know another GP schoolmaster which was bought for £85,000.

Personally I think £15,000 is a reasonable amount to pay for a safe schoolmaster working at PSG with a reasonable competition record.

 

[Taboo1968]

If its any help, we bought an advanced schoolmaster, needing a quieter life, aged 19 for my OH to hack on and me to still compete lightly, and he has no vices apart from fence walking!!! and we paid £3k for him and ALL his stuff!

 

[pennyh]

blimey ! i'd love to find one for £3k but don't fancy my chances!

its the fact that my instructor thinks its too much money that has put the dampeners on me , but no point having experienced helpers if you go ahead &amp; ignore their advice

the last horse i wanted she thought was great &amp; just about worth the money so was happy for me to go ahead, but the vet proceeded to put an end to that one

 

[seabiscuit]

Mm judging on the scores you say that it has achieved, I would say that a) its nothing flashy or b) its not particularly highly trained (like carl hester trained!) so I would say that aything from £8k, max £12k

 

[pennyh]

i think you have the nail on the head there , its got nice paces but not huge &amp; flashy ( which is what i need as i have to be able to sit to it!) nor is it trained or ridden by a big name

 

[nickyb]

so what are they asking then????

 

[Imonone]

There is one advertised like that at our yard for loan, where are you near

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

yep come on how much is this one x

 

[Tempi]

Id say around 9k, as you say its nothing flashy, the scores that youve written arent particularly high. He sounds lovely tho and also just what you are looking for. The fact that he windsucks would put me off im afriad tho, hence why i definately wouldnt go over 9k.

 

[Daisychain]

If he is what you want then bid them down, or at least try! the fact that he windsucks will put loads of people off, if they havent got a quewe of people waiting then i would make them a sensible offer using your instructor as a guide line, at the end of day something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay...

 

[nickyb]

at the end of the day if this is the horse you really want and it ticks all of your boxes then it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks about it or about the price, you obviously have the money otherwise you wouldn't have looked at it, like daisy chain said, put in a bid and fingers crossed. the whole horse buying thing is a gamble full stop unfortunatley.

 

[kerilli]

i'd want to know why he hasn't competed since 06. is there a history of unsoundness? are you going to have a full vetting? a good vet will take his age into account, obviously. i would definitely get him vetted, he's no good to you if he won't stand up to the work.
other than that, if you think he's the horse for you, and you can afford it, then go for it! if your trainer doesn't like the horse though, you might be up against it in that department...

 

[pennyh]

thanks everyone , much appreciated , i don't want to state the price as i think its not appropriate incase anyone happens to know the owners or horse &amp; the asking price is not something that is already in the public domain eg on an advert

he does tick my boxes but is more than i was supposed to spend

i don't think my trainer doesn't like him by any means , just that she's baulking at the amount of money

&amp; to be honest the price that most people have said they would expect to pay is more like the original budget &amp; the figure my instructor would be more comfortable with

futher opinions welcome , not sure if i'm trying to talk myself out of this or into it at the moment!!

 

[pennyh]

mickey66 , i'm in the north , i am really looking to buy , to be honest i can't imagine many people would loan that calibre of horse?? where are you?

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

sounds like you are trying to talk yourself out of it !! have you found anything else in your price range that does tick all your boxes ??? xx

also if they want him to have a quieter life cant you make them an offer or would that be a little too cheeky xx

 

[pennyh]

i did find one going back to may ( 6 months ago ) , she failed the vetting , so i left alone , its taken me until now to find another one that i really want ( i did stop looking for a while as i was disheartened )

i'm thinking an offer might be the way to go , but i don't want to insult the owners or look like a time waster! &amp; the price that my head is telling me is a substantial drop

 

[Tierra]

Ex-GP horses going on loan is most definitly not that uncommon. Many riders cant justify the costs of keeping them but also have sentimental attachment that means they dont want to part with them.

Example? Kwadraat? Samantha Harrison's current ride is on loan from Gunthwaite dressage (home of hannah and becky moody). My old trainer in the UK also had her ex-GP horse on loan to another young rider but sadly, the horse went lame and was eventually PTS. Loaning is very much an option, but it usually goes on word of mouth and depends greatly on who you're trained by

As for the horse you've seen. Does he suit you? Can you afford him? If he ticks your boxes then id go for it tbh. Someone above said that true school masters are worth their weight in gold and id agree 110%. We bougth a PSG level horse three years ago from my trainer. He was 12 at the time and hes been amazingly good for me!

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

[ QUOTE ]
i did find one going back to may ( 6 months ago ) , she failed the vetting , so i left alone , its taken me until now to find another one that i really want ( i did stop looking for a while as i was disheartened )

i'm thinking an offer might be the way to go , but i don't want to insult the owners or look like a time waster! &amp; the price that my head is telling me is a substantial drop

[/ QUOTE ]

hmmm have they had much interest in her other than you though they might just be hoping for a higher price ?? you have to be a bit tactfull so offer without insulting really xx if you really dont want to pay the asking price dont pay it xx

seems like yoru trainer thinks its to much as well x

 

[Tanta]

You could just be honest and go back to the sellers and say you loved the horse but your trainer was concerned about the price, and as she was the expert you felt you should value their judgement, and see what they say. If they liked you - and presmably the home is improtant for them - they might come back with a compromise. I dont think it is often wrong to just say the truth to people - they usually appreciate it!

 

[Worried1]

I know that initially when we were looking to buy Diva we ended up increasing our original budget purely because we didn't see anything in our budget we liked.

It was a bit painful but I am so glad we paid more than we intended as I love her to bits and would have missed out on a great horse!

 

[pennyh]

i think the best thing for me to do now( aside from trying to catch up on what i should have been doing at work

) is to go back to my instructor &amp; have a chat &amp; also to have an honest chat to the owners about my concerns , i guess if they are genuine they will hopefully see where i'm coming from

i do want this horse but don't want to go getting all carried away &amp; make the decision against better advice

thanks everyone

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

[ QUOTE ]
i think the best thing for me to do now( aside from trying to catch up on what i should have been doing at work

) is to go back to my instructor &amp; have a chat &amp; also to have an honest chat to the owners about my concerns , i guess if they are genuine they will hopefully see where i'm coming from

i do want this horse but don't want to go getting all carried away &amp; make the decision against better advice

thanks everyone

[/ QUOTE ]

good luck let us know what you decide x

 

[galaxy]

I think my opinion would be, if you planning on never selling him (and therefore you not thinking about getting the money back) then I don't think paying over what your instructor thinks matters. If your instructor likes him in every other way, and you have the extra money to buy him and you are prepared to spend that sort of money for him then go for it. (I don't think your instructor will mind). Do you see what I'm trying to say?

 

[Tiffany]

If he's competed and been placed at PSG rather than just working at PSG I would say they would asking at least £15k. 15 these days is not that old for a horse although like us they do start to slow down. I would say go with your GUT FEEL and vetting of course.

 

[tixi]

I think if the horse is 100% suitable and you can afford him then u will have lots of fun and you should go for it! Yes you will be writing off the purchase price but if he gives you invaluable experience then he will be worth the money. The flashiest mover with the best results may not make the best schoolmaster as it might be more difficult to ride, handle and manage.

If its any help I am selling a 15 year old established at advanced medium, started tempis and canter pirouettes. Winning medium with amateur me! He will make the perfect schoolmaster for someone a he is very straight forward, safe and easy to handle! He's only in novice points as he's an advanced eventer too so only lightly competed dressage and have people interested in him at 15k. Does that help as a comparison?

 

[FMM]

So often trainers want their pupils to buy horses that they would like to buy for themselves. They don't even do it consciously. If you are comfortable spending the money and the horse is sound and you have had him thoroughly vetted, then go for it.