Help with pricing a horse...

[SatansLittleHelper]

Ok so many of you will have read my posts about the cob my friend bought that turned out to have WLD, lameness and sarcoids etc.
He's been given the all clear by our vet who has said he will be a useful happy hacker with a few fun rides type of guy.
ETA: he's 13 years old
Good points:
* He's 14.3/3 so a decent height
* Built like a tank with alot of bone
* Good manners, good for vet, farrier, dentist, loads/travels well, good to clip
* As bombproof as you can get out alone or in company
* Lives in or out


Not so good points:
* His feet are now fantastic but our farrier feels he may always need shoes all round
* Has had laser surgery for sarcoids, no issues but obviously a small chance they could return
* Gets super itchy in the warmer weather but controlled easily with appropriate rugging
* If living out 24/7 can sometimes be a bit naughty to catch...he's better with a routine
* Short in the back but does take a 17" saddle

He has been on loan for a couple of months used as a happy hacker for a couple of kids and has done really well but they are no longer in a position to buy.
He's like a cuddly Teddy bear and just incredibly easy all round. Can be a typical greedy cob of course. Has an incredible amount of mane, tail and feather which looks fab but we've also had him hogged and defeathered and he still looks great. Ideal home would be an older person who wants to plod about without doing anything too strenuous, he's really quite lazy but can step up a gear.
My friend is incredibly reluctant to sell but sadly needs must and would like to put a sensible price on him that will not price him out of the right home and possibly allow her to be a bit choosy.
He will go with his full wardrobe, Inc fully fitted T4 saddle.
Advertising will be my job apparently lol so she's trusting my judgement on pricing...I have no idea ?‍?‍?‍?‍

 

[Sossigpoker]

How old is he? Sarcoids will reduce the price considerably and he's got other issues so my gut is saying about £1K?

 

[eggs]

How old is he and can he jump at all?

For absolutely safe hack alone and in company maybe £2 - 3 K

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Just added, he's 13. We haven't jumped him so not sure.

 

[AmyMay]

How old is he? And how green/educated is he?

Ultimately he could be a fantastic buy for someone.

 

[coblets]

Given that he’s coming with wardrobe, 3.5k (but welcome to offers from the right home)

 

[twiggy2]

Does your friend have to sell or is long term loan an option?

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

He will have to be sold as we aren't now in the position to have him back if a loan fails.
As far as we are aware he has been a driven horse and happy hacker most of his life from what we have been able to piece together of his history.
He's not particularly schooled and I don't feel he'd be suited to someone who wants to do schooling. Ideally he would go to a happy hacker type person. I'm pretty sure he'd pop the odd small jump but not much beyond that.
Because he's had so much to deal with over the last couple of years we are very keen for him to go to a home where he will be someone's pride and joy. If he could stay he would never leave but my friend is only in a position to keep one of her ponies so it's been some tough soul searching. She's genuinely far more concerned about finding the right home than the money but in the current market we don't want to price so low that he's in danger of being sold on immediately and no so high that it is beyond the range of the type of home wanted, if that makes sense.

 

[Polos Mum]

The market (for everything from timber to horses) is silly at the moment, Covid, Brexit, who knows why.

For £1k there's a real chance someone would buy to make a fast buck, people are devious and talk a good story so hard to weed out those types.

Would there be a possibility of a loan with view to buy in 3 / 6 months - then all parties can be happy the pony is in the right home.

IMHO the cost of purchase is a drop in the ocean vs. running costs so a home where he will be pride and job shouldn't struggle to find £3k
You could always try at that level and have "open to offers for the right home" and spend a lot of time digging on facebook to try and weed out the dealers

 

[Nicnac]

What Polos' mum said ^^^^ I'd go £3.5k

 

[Melody Grey]

I wouldn’t personally have said that a 14.2 taking a 17” saddle makes it particularly short backed to be honest, so I wouldn’t consider that a negative.

otherwise sounds like a really useful type. We have one similar, although without sarcoids/ itching and I think we’d struggle to replace him for £3-4K at the moment from what I’ve seen.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Just be prepared that with sarcoids and lameness issues what people will pay can vary a lot. Although in this market anything with 4 legs seems to be sought after !
I updated my fb profile pic with me cantering in a field on my lovely cob and within an hour had a message from a random person offering me £7.5 K for him. He's not even for sale !

 

[SusieT]

me I wouldn't pay for him as there are a lot of issues there that could raise their head again. I'd aim for 1200 and vet homes carefully

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think with his issues not a lot £2,000 tops and then I would worry that he would be re sold and passed around this is why I am crap at selling horses.

 

[ihatework]

For me this horse would be dodgy dealer bait. I’d LWVTB personally

 

[TheMule]

I would not advertise this horse to sell. As above, given his complex list of veterinary issues, he is worth very little and there is a huge amount of potential for him to end up being passed around. I would LWVTB and accept a minimal sum of money once he was confident he was in the right home

 

[Spottyappy]

I would advertise at 5k, happy hackers are like unicorn poo and you woudl probably have someone snap your arm off. One with no health issues woudl likely fetch c15k (yes, friends have sold recently and achieved that), so i woudl think 5k you will still have people wanting him, issues and all- especially as they have been resolved.

 

[I'm Dun]

post him on the happy hackers group on Facebook and people will fight over him. I def would not advertise at less than 3.5k, but I would drop the price significantly to the right person. If I needed the money I'd chance my arm at 5k.

 

[Sprig]

I think there are lots of people out there would be happy to pay 4k for him. I would advertise him at that and be picky about where he goes.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I should clarify, He no longer has soundness issues, he does get a bit footy without shoes. The WLD isn't likely to return, it was a serious lack of care in previous home that caused this. There is a small chance of sarcoids returning but given that he had them removed by laser the vet said its a very low chance. The itchiness is an ongoing issue but manageable.
We will be disclosing these things as a matter of transparency and honestly but the vet and farrier are confident that he is suitable for the purpose listed above.
Unfortunately loaning is no longer an option, this would have been a first port of call but sadly we are not really in a position to have him back if a loan fails....he has just been a LWVTB and they can longer keep him so he's coming back. We knew this could happen but due to the potential loss of some of our grazing we really aren't in a position to do this at a later date

 

[JCW]

I would advertise at 4K and would disclose his past medical history and be prepared to be knocked down to 3k. despite his previous medical issues, which have all been treated, he is sound and ready to go and would make someone a super happy hacker which are worth their weight in gold.

 

[Birker2020]

Sorry to be dim but what the heck are/is WLD??

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Sorry to be dim but what the heck are/is WLD??

White Line Disease/seedy toe

 

[Birker2020]

White Line Disease/seedy toe

Ahh okay, thank you.

 

[PSD]

There is also the option to respond to wanted adverts as opposed to advertising him. That’s how I sold my fell and she has the perfect home.

 

[J&S]

I agree with 4k as a good price. He sounds pretty ok to me for some one who might be on the nervouse side but wants a kind horse to look after and ride gently, surely all footy problems can be solved with shoes?

 

[bonnysmum]

Having paid £4500 for my horse I discovered there was a history of sarcoids (just one, many years ago & it hasn't returned, but skin conditions are now excluded on her insurance of course). I would be amazed if there wasn't something buried deep in the veterinary history for pretty much every horse on the market, even those going for double figure 000s. In this ridiculous market I would *definitely* not price too cheap because there would be hundreds of enquiries and I don't envy you trying to weed out the genuine purchasers from the dodgy "make a fast buck" types.

 

[Jenko109]

The seedy toe wouldn't concern me at all. It happens.

The previois sarcoids though....this would concern me enough not to pay more than £1500.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Thanks everyone.
We have decided the best way forward is to get him home tomorrow and this week he will get a new set of shoes and a full check up again from the vet to be sure he is definitely still fit for the purpose we are hoping to sell him for, possibly also a physio check up too. There is no reason for us to believe that anything has changed since the last vet visit but my friend wants the peace of mind of knowing that all is OK. As far as his feet go, he's like a completely different horse compared to the state of them when he arrived. He's also much more engaged with his surroundings etc....he was so shut down when he got here bless him...he now has the sweetest personality He's never going to set the world on fire but he has the potential to be someone's best friend and really enjoys having a person of his very own x

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

There is also the option to respond to wanted adverts as opposed to advertising him. That’s how I sold my fell and she has the perfect home.

We are thinking this might be a good idea. Possibly will advertise on a FB page for older happy hacker people as I'm Dun suggested above.