How much would a very large scar reduce price of a horse?

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zoon

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I went to see a 3 year old today. She is well bred and nicely mannered. She is a nice blank canvas as has had nothing done with her yet. She was reserve champion filly at her breed grading as a foal.

Unfortunately, she has a very large scar down her quarters - over a foot long. She was apparently caught in fencing as a yearling. It is very uneven - has obviously affected the muscle underneath a little.

How would this affect her value? As a purebred of a rare breed I am worried it'll affect her at breed shows, and also possibly affect her as a performance horse - although I'll speak to my vet about that.
 
Tough one really, without actually seeing it. What do you plan to do with her? Can I ask how much seller is asking?
If it has affected her muscle, then depending on your plans, I think it could affect her... they use their quarters alot to jump etc!
Showing wise, local I don't think scars are too much of an issue... its not like she was born with a default. Obviously, county shows etc, I can't be too sure.
What breed is she?
 
It's hard as obviously in the showing world she would be marked down but if you want a happy hack, show-jumper etc then it shouldn't matter.

I think your vet and during the vetting you could ask if will affect her performance even after she has been in work and with her being so young when she has finished developing.

My youngster also has a scar from a fence incident when he was a yearling (must be a yearling thing!!!) on his leg and although doesn't look very nice i wouldn't reduce the price of him as it's your choice and if you know of the scar and issues then it's just down to if you like the horse enough - as a seller. Maybe the owner has already considered the scar and factored that in to the price?

As a buyer i might be put off and think, there are plenty of other horses out there.

Good Luck.
 
A pure bred knabstrupper - so few and far between.

She's up for £3500, which is the average price for a weanling from a knabstrupper breeder. Not sure how much the price of a 3 yr old would compare - they don't come up for sale very often
 
Wouldn't touch her for showing, for other activites would be wary, would want a vet to have a good look as would imagine any scar tissue could limit her movement/make her lame in future.
 
You say it is a foot long - how wide is it? can you see how deep the original injury is?

How well bred is the mare?

Being honest, I think if you are wanting to do breed shows based on appearance rather than performance then I would forget it. Pretty sure a scar will mean she won't win any class.
If you are looking for a performance horse & she is very well bred (for breeding from later) then I would have a serious chat with your vet. If there is a lot of scar tissue it may become sore or stretched when she puts on muscle. If it is just superficial and the skin around it is healthy & elastic then it might be ok but you have to remember that skin changes when the horse gets older, loses elasticity, might get sun damage etc.

Tough call without seeing it, but there are a lot of horses out there without scars - if you can get her for a bargain price it might be worth your while, but resale value will be affected.

Good luck :)
 
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Personally a scar wouldn't matter a jot to me, coz I don't do showing and if I was eventing/jumping, it wouldn't matter anyway.

The main issue perhaps is whether there is underlying injury/damage which has affected her performance, which you won't know at this stage, and there is always the issue of what psychological damage has been caused as well.

I would say that if you want to take a chance on her, to haggle, haggle, haggle, and see if they'll drop their price sufficiently. If not, then walk away heh, and nothing lost.
 
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