Horse prices

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

hi just wondering are horse prices still high at the moment? Do you think they’ll ever come down? I understand that breeders deserve to get paid for what they breed but the problem is my mid/ high four figure budget even seems to be too small for what Im looking for… which is a fun little all rounder to do up to about BE90…

I also wondered what sort of price a horse like this is going for at the moment- 15.3hh 1/4 tb, 1/4 Welsh d x 1/2 Connemara 5 year old. Very green, known to throw a buck now and then, no record or competition experience, slightly fizzy, but amazing talent, easily pops 1m at home, beautiful floaty paces, sweet and relatively safe, amazing ability to jump up. The yard I keep my current horse (semi retired hence Why I’m looking for another) breed horses now and then that they often sell later on, so before she goes on market I thought about offering for her but what is a good price to offer for a horse like that?

 

[bouncing_ball]

hi just wondering are horse prices still high at the moment? Do you think they’ll ever come down? I understand that breeders deserve to get paid for what they breed but the problem is my mid/ high four figure budget even seems to be too small for what Im looking for… which is a fun little all rounder to do up to about BE90…

I also wondered what sort of price a horse like this is going for at the moment- 15.3hh 1/4 tb, 1/4 Welsh d x 1/2 Connemara 5 year old. Very green, known to throw a buck now and then, no record or competition experience, slightly fizzy, but amazing talent, easily pops 1m at home, beautiful floaty paces, sweet and relatively safe, amazing ability to jump up. The yard I keep my current horse (semi retired hence Why I’m looking for another) breed horses now and then that they often sell later on, so before she goes on market I thought about offering for her but what is a good price to offer for a horse like that?

How green? Able to W, T, C in school? Hack solo?

 

[ycbm]

I've just been offered £5k for a barely backed 4 year old 15.2hh all rounder, so I'd say prices are still sky high and the horse you described is worth a lot more than mine.
.

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

How green? Able to W, T, C in school? Hack solo?

Yes able to walk trot canter, often not straight and sometimes throws a few shapes going into canter lol but she can do it

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

I've just been offered £5k for a barely backed 4 year old 15.2hh all rounder, so I'd say prices are still sky high and the horse you described is worth a lot more than mine.
.

Do you think they’ll ever come down?

 

[Kaylum]

Horse prices just haven't risen in line with everything else. We were breeding Irish draughts 25 years ago and they were going as 2 and 3 year olds for 7 and 8k no bother. We had a waiting list. For quality irish draughts the price has always been good.

 

[I'm Dun]

I bought an ex racer as I couldnt afford normal horse prices. Hes an absolute gem. 16.1hh, lots of bone but lots of quality, moves well and loves to jump. Hacks alone and in company and will even plod round with a novice. Hes a bit lazy walk and trot but goes up a gear when we start cantering. I think hes one of the nicest horses I have ever met never mind owned.

Still cost me 3.5k with small sarcoids which feels like madness when a couple of years back ex racers with a year off the track were a grand! but he was worth every penny. He would fly around a BE100 with a good rider. I am confident he will get me round a BE80 and I've not done any jumping for decades.

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

Horse prices just haven't risen in line with everything else. We were breeding Irish draughts 25 years ago and they were going as 2 and 3 year olds for 7 and 8k no bother. We had a waiting list. For quality irish draughts the price has always been good.

my mums horse is an pure Irish draught we bought as a 6 year old for 4K and he events up to BE90 and is bombproof, That was in 2014 though, I’d say since covid they have risen… maybe we got lucky but I’m prettt sure pre covid I saw many for sale around £5-6k now I think you’d be incredibly lucky to get one under £10k maybe rightly so, but unfortunately for me I can’t afford into the 5 figure prices

 

[irishdraft]

Yes they are still very high, I've seen horses for sale with all sorts wrong with them still 8/9 k, whether they sell who knows. Tbs are reasonably priced from what I've seen

 

[Sossigpoker]

Well there was a thread here where someone was looking to buy an unfit and fat cob from the field for £10K ??

 

[twobearsarthur]

As long as they are rideable with no major issues/health concerns, five figures seems to be pretty standard since covid kicked off and as long as people are willing to spend that much (which they seem to be) I can’t see them going down any time soon.
I’ve seen a 20 yo pony for sale for £12k the past week and challenging horses with numerous “quirks” sell for around the £10k mark. There’s still the odd one for sale for £6k-£7k but tbh pre covid the same would have been nearer £3k. That’s one of the reasons I ended up with a 6 month old not the 7 yo + ready to go that I was initially looking for and he was still high 4 figures.

 

[Kaylum]

my mums horse is an pure Irish draught we bought as a 6 year old for 4K and he events up to BE90 and is bombproof, That was in 2014 though, I’d say since covid they have risen… maybe we got lucky but I’m prettt sure pre covid I saw many for sale around £5-6k now I think you’d be incredibly lucky to get one under £10k maybe rightly so, but unfortunately for me I can’t afford into the 5 figure prices

When your a breeder the cost of everything even 25 years ago was a lot. . Staff to pay (good stud grooms can save a lot of money but are rare) feed, vets, dentist, passports, grading the list goes So for a 4 to 5 year old backed and ridden out a breeder isnt making a lot if money at 7k.
The price of horses dropped as so many coloured cobs where being bred and the market was saturated. Then the ex racer situation was also starting to take off with ror classes. Trends played an important part in breeding and pricing. As a stud we bought in new lines these weren't cheap.

 

[Bobthecob15]

I don't think they will drop, no. We've recently been through the process and ended up spending more than we set out to. Despite the price hike there seems to be plenty of people willing to pay these prices for horses so the demand is there, so no reason for prices to drop. The demand also seems to be driving up the prices of horses which are green, unbacked, those with issues etc...

 

[LEC]

I have a foal due which hasn’t even been born and it has cost me £3k. I don’t pay livery or for haylage either as cost would be even higher. I just think horses are finally at the prices they should be. Horses are elitist it might very well price some people out the market but that’s down to individuals choice in what they can/willing to spend.

 

[Bobthecob15]

I have a foal due which hasn’t even been born and it has cost me £3k. I don’t pay livery or for haylage either as cost would be even higher. I just think horses are finally at the prices they should be. Horses are elitist it might very well price some people out the market but that’s down to individuals choice in what they can/willing to spend.

I agree, horses have been the same price for decades it was inevitable they would catch up eventually

 

[LadyGascoyne]

9 year old bay mare, only recently backed and started, done next to nothing, might hack and do dressage. £10k.

 

[chocolategirl]

I've just been offered £5k for a barely backed 4 year old 15.2hh all rounder, so I'd say prices are still sky high and the horse you described is worth a lot more than mine.
.

It’s astonishing really isn’t it considering all you hear on the news is how skint everyone is with the rocketing cost of living?! I have to say, I haven’t seen any evidence of people struggling but maybe I am not ‘seeing’ it, but it is actually here if that makes sense? Usually the housing market is a good indicator, but that’s still going from strength to strength too, so I strongly suspect horse prices will continue in the same vain. Where is all this money coming from? Something just doesn’t add up to me?‍

 

[chocolategirl]

Horse prices just haven't risen in line with everything else. We were breeding Irish draughts 25 years ago and they were going as 2 and 3 year olds for 7 and 8k no bother. We had a waiting list. For quality irish draughts the price has always been good.

I agree, we’ve had them cheap for too long, it’s exactly the same with livery prices. I’ve just put mine up for the first time in 18 months, it’s still only £5 per day for fantastic facilities and all year turnout, but I’ve had 2 give notice already?‍ The horse market is a very strange one tbh, there are so many wild variables it’s really quite baffling ?

 

[LEC]

I was chatting to a professional producer of really high quality horses (international level) and he told me it costs them £10k a year so that needs to be added to the price, what they have paid for the horse and then add in profit. That 9 year old mare has still been looked after, medical basics and backed. Its just we are not used to paying true cost.

 

[teddy_]

I think if you're willing to buy green and untried, you may well get a sound horse for mid four figures. However, then there is no guarantee it'll do what you want it to. I am window shopping at the moment (planning to buy in spring), and this is what I am seeing across multiple platforms.

As other posters have said, a sound and sensible type that is proven at any BE level will be at least high fours, low fives.

ETA: I am referring to the lower BE levels.

 

[milliepops]

I agree, we’ve had them cheap for too long, it’s exactly the same with livery prices. I’ve just put mine up for the first time in 18 months, it’s still only £5 per day for fantastic facilities and all year turnout, but I’ve had 2 give notice already?‍ The horse market is a very strange one tbh, there are so many wild variables it’s really quite baffling ?

the horse world is so diverse though. i think there are a lot of people who scratch along keeping their horses with any spare pennies they have. and others have thousands a month to throw at their hobby. up to now it's been fairly possible to do either of those things. i expect the scratcher-alongers might start to struggle more and more now. but there has always been a bargain bin end of the market as well as the top end and that will probably continue for as long as there are bargain bin types of horses.

 

[windand rain]

The prices have levelled up to where they should be but it is a demonstration of just how elitist horse ownership is. Is it good well yes in some ways as the keeping a pony on the allotment/garage/garden brigade have probably been priced out of the market but no as it means the average horse obssessed person will not be able to pay. Will it stay that way probably not as it will reach saturation point and then they will stablise or possibly fall as people bring in foals bred to make a profit its literally true supply and demand

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

I don't think they will drop, no. We've recently been through the process and ended up spending more than we set out to. Despite the price hike there seems to be plenty of people willing to pay these prices for horses so the demand is there, so no reason for prices to drop. The demand also seems to be driving up the prices of horses which are green, unbacked, those with issues etc...

at the start of covid people said this was just because too many people were at home and once things return to normal again they’d all be up for sale… that hasn’t seemed to happen (which I am happy for the sake of the horses) but I guess I’m just confused why there’s been a sudden demand for all these horses… where did all these people with money and looking for a horse come from…

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

It’s astonishing really isn’t it considering all you hear on the news is how skint everyone is with the rocketing cost of living?! I have to say, I haven’t seen any evidence of people struggling but maybe I am not ‘seeing’ it, but it is actually here if that makes sense? Usually the housing market is a good indicator, but that’s still going from strength to strength too, so I strongly suspect horse prices will continue in the same vain. Where is all this money coming from? Something just doesn’t add up to me?‍

this is what confuses me too… where did all these people with five figure budgets come from… why’d they all suddenly want horses now

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

I was chatting to a professional producer of really high quality horses (international level) and he told me it costs them £10k a year so that needs to be added to the price, what they have paid for the horse and then add in profit. That 9 year old mare has still been looked after, medical basics and backed. Its just we are not used to paying true cost.

£10k a year to get to 9? So would she be worth £90k? Being honest I never understood how breeders did afford it before! But I also don’t understand where all these rich horsey folk with money suddenly came from, as I’d say the large majority of people can’t afford five figures… seems like a constant loosing battle of high cost of breeding that barely makes any money and high cost of buying that most can’t afford… horses just seem like a constant loosing battle lol

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

I think if you're willing to buy green and untried, you may well get a sound horse for mid four figures. However, then there is no guarantee it'll do what you want it to. I am window shopping at the moment (planning to buy in spring), and this is what I am seeing across multiple platforms.

As other posters have said, a sound and sensible type that is proven at any BE level will be at least high fours, low fives.

ETA: I am referring to the lower BE levels.

I don’t mind green, I’d even consider unbroken, but even decent quality unbroken horses seem to be £10k plus

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

The prices have levelled up to where they should be but it is a demonstration of just how elitist horse ownership is. Is it good well yes in some ways as the keeping a pony on the allotment/garage/garden brigade have probably been priced out of the market but no as it means the average horse obssessed person will not be able to pay. Will it stay that way probably not as it will reach saturation point and then they will stablise or possibly fall as people bring in foals bred to make a profit its literally true supply and demand

Unfortunately my salary has not levelled up at all haha, on top of trying to buy a house in this market I think I may just have to put the riding hobby on the back burner for now

 

[teddy_]

I don’t mind green, I’d even consider unbroken, but even decent quality unbroken horses seem to be £10k plus

What do you mean by 'decent quality' though? From what you say, it doesn't sound like you need a highly bred warmblood which yes, may be getting into the £10,000 region but even then, I think you could find a raw untried one of those for < £10,000.

As another poster said, ex-racehorses seem to be sensible money at the moment. I bought one in August from Newmarket for £2,500. He is sound as a pound, great conformation and will easily fly round a BE90 with some schooling. He has been seen several times by my vet physio (has also worked for FEI) for check ups, and he loves him. You don't need to spend £10,000.

 

[Bay.chestnut.coloure]

What do you mean by 'decent quality' though? From what you say, it doesn't sound like you need a highly bred warmblood which yes, may be getting into the £10,000 region but even then, I think you could find a raw untried one of those for < £10,000.

As another poster said, ex-racehorses seem to be sensible money at the moment. I bought one in August from Newmarket for £2,500. He is sound as a pound, great conformation and will easily fly round a BE90 with some schooling. He has been seen several times by my vet physio (has also worked for FEI) for check ups, and he loves him. You don't need to spend £10,000.

Something sound and with fair confirmation, I don’t particularly care about breeding/ proven lines either, I also don’t think I need a big fancy warmblood either, would consider a cob x tb or like I say Welsh x Connie at my yard that I’m thinking of offering for, but I can seem to find any like this for under £10k?

 

[teddy_]

Something sound and with fair confirmation, I don’t particularly care about breeding/ proven lines either, I also don’t think I need a big fancy warmblood either, would consider a cob x tb or like I say Welsh x Connie at my yard that I’m thinking of offering for, but I can seem to find any like this for under £10k?

Apologies, I didn't mean to sound judgemental about what you need.

I think anything with Connemara in it seems to be pricier. Have you thought about a Welsh Section D? Some of these are super sporty and will do the job you're after. You will definitely find one for less than £10,000. A reputable showing yard are selling a HOYS quality Section D mare for £9,500.