Horse prices?

Leo Walker said:
Prices are sky high at the minute. People are bored and shopping and the number for sale is reduced. The economic ramifications of this haven't hit home yet. Coming into winter is when things will start to bite and prices will start to drop significantly.
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Really good point. I had been worrying because I won't really be in a position to buy until the autumn (got to sell the current one first as I don't want to stretch to keeping two - fortunately he is is a specific breed and should make him easier to find a good home for) but that's probably not a bad thing, actually, if prices are going to come down from their current levels.
 
I'm looking atm, everything seems very expensive.
I'm just after a cheap project type, mainly to provide company to existing horse but to also do light low level competing eventually and to hack, will consider sane sensible ex racers.

15.2-16.2hh
4-12 years
Mare or gelding
No windsucking or cribbing
No serious behavioural issues
Nothing unbroken
Easy going nature

I can't find a damn thing! East Yorkshire if anyone knows of one!
 
This topic comes up again and again and many people seem to think horses are expensive, a few may well be others definitely aren’t and it will depend how necessary it is for the owner to sell. Some my be impacted by the cost of livery if not able to keep at home. If we look at the price of cars and consider the increase in price over the last x years then a decently schooled horse should be a comparable cost. Breeding is expensive and costs at least £2000 to produce a very basic equine, not taking labour/time into account, then there’s a very minimum £1000 year just to get to three years old, so starting cost for anything other than a foal from a ‘rescued’ coloured cob should be at least 5k.
 
Bruce17 said:
I'm looking atm, everything seems very expensive.
I'm just after a cheap project type, mainly to provide company to existing horse but to also do light low level competing eventually and to hack, will consider sane sensible ex racers.

15.2-16.2hh
4-12 years
Mare or gelding
No windsucking or cribbing
No serious behavioural issues
Nothing unbroken
Easy going nature

I can't find a damn thing! East Yorkshire if anyone knows of one!
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It depends on your definition of "cheap" I suppose.

I have a friend looking for what you describe, with the additional criteria that it be a Warmblood. The criteria listed above won't come cheap because so many are looking for that, IME, and in my area. It's the general description that I hear from most average (low level competing, fairly competent, some fun riding/hacking, nothing extremely serious) riders.
 
gallopingby said:
This topic comes up again and again and many people seem to think horses are expensive, a few may well be others definitely aren’t and it will depend how necessary it is for the owner to sell. Some my be impacted by the cost of livery if not able to keep at home. If we look at the price of cars and consider the increase in price over the last x years then a decently schooled horse should be a comparable cost. Breeding is expensive and costs at least £2000 to produce a very basic equine, not taking labour/time into account, then there’s a very minimum £1000 year just to get to three years old, so starting cost for anything other than a foal from a ‘rescued’ coloured cob should be at least 5k.
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But there is breeding, and then there is "breeding" I would not pay the same price for a pony of indiscriminate breeding, that has had minimal input to get it 4 years old, as I would for a pony that has been bred with thought and care and attention.
I also balk at paying £5k for a pony from a dealer that I know would have been picked up from a field for less than £500, given the basics of backing and flogged on as a novice ride!
 
I bought Deedee last winter and Dolly the winter before. Both times I was looking for a well started, well put together youngster with 3 nice paces, a decent jump and a nice, easy going temperament. I know what horse prices were then and for the 4/5k mark I had plenty of choice. After that horses either continue to be well trained and prices rise as they have been introduced to some competition, maybe done some training shows, developed a competition record, gone to camps, clinics, fun rides, seen more of the world etc. Or they start being untrained and develop (or reveal) quirks and issues - so prices drop. I could never afford the trained, reliable, proven 6+ year olds and I don't want the untrained or unreliable ones! At the moment I can't find anything that fits that description for less than 8k. I have viewed 2 5K horses and they were pretty ropey. I think people are off work/school/Uni, are getting furlough pay, have nothing better to do and so the private sellers are hanging on to their horses for now. Or if they are keyworkers are gar too busy to think about selling! And plenty seem to be buying too. So there are a small number of decent horses out there and they are selling for very high prices for what thay are compared to last year as far as I can tell.
 
scruffyponies said:
I haven't checked horse prices, but I did have a casual look at dogs. Wow! Definitely cheaper to buy a(nother) horse!
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A friend of mine who is on more of the facebook dog groups says the same. People are going silly buying dogs as they and sometimes their kids are at home.....we dread to think what will happen in a few months to a year's time when the cute pup has turned into a teenage dog or redundancy looms large. I know this doesn't apply to all dog buyers, but the fact that the market is going bonkers suggests a lot are not thinking too hard long term.:(
 
meltb said:
I bought unseen a few weeks ago, as my mental health/general wellbeing was rapidly declining (my lovely old pony who I owned since a child had sadly died, amongst other issues I deal with day in day out, life was unbearable). She's been an absolute treasure and worth her weight in gold - but I did pay full asking price, which imo was completely worth it.
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I've also just bought sight unseen and paid the full asking price. Utterly terrifying and something I never thought I'd do but my daughters pony died and my cob was NOT happy alone, plus my daughter needs all the non-screen-based at home activities possible at the moment. The pony came from a big riding school who were having to cut back, she's younger than I would like (which I obviously knew) and has pretty bad mallanders (which I didn't) but otherwise is working out well so far.
 
Berpisc,

I work in a fairly high end veterinary hospital. We're seeing a lot of new puppies. I'm guessing there will be a lot of separation anxiety when people stop working from home.
 
laura_nash said:
I've also just bought sight unseen and paid the full asking price. Utterly terrifying and something I never thought I'd do but my daughters pony died and my cob was NOT happy alone, plus my daughter needs all the non-screen-based at home activities possible at the moment. The pony came from a big riding school who were having to cut back, she's younger than I would like (which I obviously knew) and has pretty bad mallanders (which I didn't) but otherwise is working out well so far.
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aw bless her!! I hope it all works out, sorry to hear about your daughter's pony. I think I was incredibly lucky with my new one.. I was reading threads on here about buying unseen, it is a massive gamble and one of the main themes was not to spend more than you can afford to lose. I spent all of my savings so not wise but I don't regret it for a second x
 
ycbm said:
Yet.

There are 7.5 million people furloughed and not all those jobs still exist. AND 2.5 million benefit applications and some of those won't find another job that pays enough to keep a horse.

The horse market hit is yet to come.

.
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I agree. It baffles me that so many people are buying horses when everyone else in the real world is bracing for a recession.

Puppy prices seem very high at the moment. I know a few people that have got their first dog during lockdown (or have decided to). I wonder how many will end up in rescue in the future (speaking generally, not particularly about my friends)
 
I find horse prices crazy. Considering I couldnt sell my competition mare for £3,500 2 years ago and then dropped it to £2,500 and STILL got nothing - for a lovely natured horse with a good competition record at RC / BE90 level (and never faulted XC)?! Yet people are out buying nutty things for at least double that. I gave up.
 
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