How much would you pay

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suzi

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I know it's been done before but I'm so confused and this has actually had me in tears over the last couple of days!!

I've found a horse I really like. I thought he was a little overpriced but there may be some movement with the owners.

I'm arranging to go back and see him again. Have spoken to a few people and some have said he's work way less that was I was happy to pay. He is towards the top of my budget and any spare money will go towards a new kitchen so . . . What would you pay?

6 year old 15.3hh gelding. Won and placed BSJA up to 1m. Makes it look easy. Real sweetheart to do. Found him very easy to ride and I jumped him over 3ft the first time I rode him (and I have my nervous moments esp on new horses).

Hacked out down really busy main road, didn't bat an eyelid at lorries etc.

Done XC schooling, not bothered by anything . . .

Sending cookies if you bothered to read this far!
 
He is worth what you, or someone else is willing to pay for him.

If he is the ideal horse for you then yes get him for the best possible price, but do not cut your nose off to spite your face, because someone else (who will never own, ride, buy him) thinks he is overpriced!
 
lexiedhb said:
He is worth what you, or someone else is willing to pay for him.

If he is the ideal horse for you then yes get him for the best possible price, but do not cut your nose off to spite your face, because someone else (who will never own, ride, buy him) thinks he is overpriced!
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I know!!! I just have so much doubt (not about the horse - I love him!!) in my own opinion as I got it rather wrong with a horse I bought a few years ago (long story).

He is rather nice . . . was hoping for some objective opinions as I've had 2 very different opinions from the 2 people I trust most with these things.

Don't think I'm explaining this very well!! Sorry.
 
He's worth, what he's worth to you. Yes every horse does have a 'market value', but you are interested in getting something that suits you and for me that would be priceless. So if he's the horse for you what difference does someone else's opinion of his value make.

Only you can decide what you are willing to pay for him, good luck :)
 
If he's perfect for you then you have to buy him at what you can realistically afford! It costs the same to keep a bad horse as it does a good one!

I'd rather pay a bit more for "the one" than a bit less for second best!
 
Offer them less be cheeky, then if they decline you can always go up (They can only say no) Youve got nothing to lose. Its a rubbish climate at the moment so you can afford to be that much cheekier hehe :)
 
If he was that good when hacking out and in traffic then he would be worth serious money to me. (Please get him vetted including a blood test for Ragwort poisoning).
 
I would pay what you can afford if you think he's the perfect horse for you. Try to haggle them down but if anyone else thinks he's overpriced then what does it matter?? It's hard to find a horse you really 'click' with - especially it you're a bity nervous so if he gives you confidence that's worth more than any money!

For the record I would say around the 4k mark but this could vary if he has much potential for more.
 
Make them an offer that you can both work with. You'll never know until you try!

A horse, as above is only ever worth what someone else would pay for it.
 
Also think back to when you set your budget, if someone had told you right then that you would find this horse for nearly the top of your budget, what would you have said?

We can all make the mistake of thinking what else we could do if only it was a bit cheaper. 'I think its called having your cake and eating it' lol not mean't to criticise that s just human nature
 
Is there an advert for him you could post a link to, to give HHOers a better idea?

its good that you are being objective about this and not just following your heart.

is there any reason why your two friends opinions were so different.

either way, get the horse vetted and go from there, and you can afford to be a bit cheeky on the asking price i suppose.
 
PerdixPerdix said:
is there any reason why your two friends opinions were so different.

QUOTE]

This is why I am so confused!

He's advertised at £8k, I've seen 2 other very similar horses that were advertised for £6.5k and OIRO £7k.

I also went to a dealer on my instructors recommendation and tried a very green mare that has only been over from Ireland 2 weeks. I felt so nervous I didn't even want to jump her (though she was very sweet). They were asking £4k for her (my instructor told me the pricec before I went).

Got a message from my instructor yesterday saying that she'd looked at the horse I liked and thought he was very over priced and that he was worth £4k - £4.5k maximum.

Phoned another friend (who has not long ago bought a similar horse for her daughter) and she said she thought around the £7k mark.

When I asked on HHO a few weeks ago what my budget should be people generally said £6k - £8k if I wanted something with a bit of experience.

I'm just getting so wound up over this as I've had lessons with my instructor for the last 18 years (since I was in Pony Club) and just can't see why she thinks the 2 horses are worth the same . . . . was actually in tears to the OH about it (I have flu at the moment too so am over tired and emotional!!!)
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Aw thats sucky.

If it makes you feel any better one of my friends went against her instructors advice buying her first horse and shes had him 8 years and thinks hes the business.

You've got to remember that even though your instructor knows about horses, she isnt an expert and some people have massive differences in what they would pay for a horse.
You might go to someone who is just as knowledgeable who might say the price is bang on.

Have a look on all the sale websites and pages and compare the horse you are looking at for similar. other than that i dont knowwhat to say.
 
As most others have said, horses are like houses they are worth what YOU want to pay. You have a budget, stick to it, after that its up to you. I bought an Anglo as a 2yo (now rising 7) he was totally my cup of tea:D I offered a grand less than the asking price, which of course she didnt accept, but then we bartered and I got £500 knocked off. To me he is worth what I paid, to somebody else he may be a rip off. I dont care. Nearly 5 years later I've got (alongside my old boy) the best horse I could wish for who is priceless.
One thing I didnt do however was ask for anybody's opinion, by that i mean a knowledgable friend came to give him a once over for soundness etc but she hates Arabs, so I wasnt bothered by her opinion of what she thought he was worth. He passed the vet and came home 3 days later.
I wasnt even looking for another horse at time:D
 
I think that the asking price is not that out of the way, tbh.
I mean, he is young, already been out and shows good promise - more than just RC horse, safe hack and easy to do, XC schools and shows potential... £8K might be a bit steep, but I don't think paying £7-£7.5K for him, subject to vetting, would be a bad buy.
He is the ultimate RC allrounder £5-6K PLUS scope and proven record affiliated, and would possibly event... Does the £8K still sound that much?
 
Slightly Foxed said:
I obviously haven't seen the horse and I don't know what you want to do with him, but £8k does sound like an awful lot of money to me.
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I want to do BE / BSJA up to about 1m / 1.10m. Needs to be an angel to handle as my mum looks after them if I'm at work and good in traffic and to hack alone / in company.

I've found nothing in my area with proven experience that meets the description for less than £5.5k - £6.5k that I've been happy to jump. I've seen quite a few that were cheaper but I'm looking for something that gives me confidence when I jump as that's where I've had issues before.
 
martlin said:
I think that the asking price is not that out of the way, tbh.
I mean, he is young, already been out and shows good promise - more than just RC horse, safe hack and easy to do, XC schools and shows potential... £8K might be a bit steep, but I don't think paying £7-£7.5K for him, subject to vetting, would be a bad buy.
He is the ultimate RC allrounder £5-6K PLUS scope and proven record affiliated, and would possibly event... Does the £8K still sound that much?
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This was my thought. I've spent ages looking at ads online - even ones out of my area - to get an idea of prices.

I think people are right that good horses are holding their price, and I'm shopping for a good horse!

He made 3ft feel easy and I've not jumped 3ft on a horse I've never sat on before for ages (back when I was at uni).
 
Sounds like a LOT of money to me but then my last purchase was 16.1 4 yr old I.D x unbroken for £850. Sadly there are a lot of people out there with financial problems being forced to sell horses and the market has pretty much gone throught the floor. I agree with the others that he is worth what he is worth to you and if he is absolutely the right horse and you can afford that sort of money you should go for it but I would certainly start with an offer considerably below what they are asking. Not a huge amount of people about with that amount of cash to flash in the current climate (not where i live anyway!). maybe you could travel a bit further afield to look, you may find what your looking for at half the price!? Good luck anyway:)
 
TED2010 said:
Sounds like a LOT of money to me but then my last purchase was 16.1 4 yr old I.D x unbroken for £850. Sadly there are a lot of people out there with financial problems being forced to sell horses and the market has pretty much gone throught the floor. I agree with the others that he is worth what he is worth to you and if he is absolutely the right horse and you can afford that sort of money you should go for it but I would certainly start with an offer considerably below what they are asking. Not a huge amount of people about with that amount of cash to flash in the current climate (not where i live anyway!). maybe you could travel a bit further afield to look, you may find what your looking for at half the price!? Good luck anyway:)
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I'm not saying it's not a lot of money (I know it is) but that's partly why I'm so concerned - it's my first major spend on a horse and I don't want to make a huge mistake.

I've seen some that are £1k or £2k cheaper but they are hundreds of miles away. I don't have the time to travel that far (other horses, job, OH, cats, house etc etc) and by the time I've been up there 2 or 3 times to try them, stayed over night etc and then paid to bring it back I can't see that I'd be saving that much.

I'm not confident enough at present to bring on a horse from scratch so couldn't (sadly) go down the unbroken route. Good RC allrounders seem to be going between £3.5k - £6.5k depending on the scope the have and how much they've done.

This one does seem to have that little bit more . . . . .

I think I'm trying to justify it to myself, plus am quite terrified now I've found one I actually like - maybe I'm a commitment phobic!?!?

Have arranged to go and see him again :).
 
horses are not selling partic well at moment but that applies less to the decent ones so am sure others will find this horse of interest. i would check out what you feel average price for this type is to give yourself an idea how much more this horse is. then decide if he is worth that little bit extra and then the important bit can you afford to pay it!!! i would not go making cheeky offers as i know as a seller i would get offended by someone haggling. however i would politely enquire if they are open to being made an offer because although he is just what you want and you would offer him a super home but he is a little above your budget. what annoys me most is if someone tries to pick fault in order to get price cut or pretends horse is overpriced.


best of luck
 
You will hear all sorts of people relaying random prices about what any given horse is worth.

The truth of the matter is that a horses value is such an individual thing to both the seller (i.e. how much they think of the horse and are prepared to sell for) and to the buyer.

What does matter is that YOU have the money and really like the horse. It doesn't matter that Joe Bloggs down the road thinks it's only worth £X.

I have just purchased a rising 5yo, 15.2hh gelding of accidental and unregistered breeding. On paper, for what he is I paid wayyyyyy over percieved 'market value'. However this horse ticked all my boxes in terms of type, temprement, quality, paces, conformation and so I have no regrets about the price I paid.

FWIW I think 8K is top end of market value, and if you can get them down to 7K then maybe you will feel happier about parting with the cash? Just remember you can't take it with you, so if you have the funds you may as well enjoy it while you can :)
 
Hmmmm,
If you like him and he's the one, you can afford him so there is nothing wrong with buying him no?
When I was horse shopping I had the same criteria as you, I went to several dealers and asked how much for a 6/7 yr old, safe sane quality top class RC with winnings at low level aff and scope to go on and the general consensus was around 6k.
He may be expensive and tbh it does sound as if he is a bit overpriced. 1m is first round Disco height which means he has winnings at BN which the majority of horses could easily do. However if you like him and he is worth the money to you it doesn't matter! You
could spend 4k on a complete dud and it be a waste.
I brought my ex-racer for 2.5k and he had done diddly squat. Most people on here would think that a stupidly high price when TB's are being given away! To me however he was an absolute bargain, he jumps clear all the time no matter how high/difficult, is gorgeous and gives me tons of fun and I come home from jumping/dressage/xc whatever with a massive smile on my face and lots of confidence. He is priceless to me. So if you really think this is the one who cares!! It can be hard to find a personality match in a horse and the right match IMO is something worth paying for. You could always offer less anyway and see what they say :)
 
suzi said:
PerdixPerdix said:
is there any reason why your two friends opinions were so different.

QUOTE]

This is why I am so confused!

He's advertised at £8k, I've seen 2 other very similar horses that were advertised for £6.5k and OIRO £7k.

I also went to a dealer on my instructors recommendation and tried a very green mare that has only been over from Ireland 2 weeks. I felt so nervous I didn't even want to jump her (though she was very sweet). They were asking £4k for her (my instructor told me the pricec before I went).

Got a message from my instructor yesterday saying that she'd looked at the horse I liked and thought he was very over priced and that he was worth £4k - £4.5k maximum.

Phoned another friend (who has not long ago bought a similar horse for her daughter) and she said she thought around the £7k mark.

When I asked on HHO a few weeks ago what my budget should be people generally said £6k - £8k if I wanted something with a bit of experience.

I'm just getting so wound up over this as I've had lessons with my instructor for the last 18 years (since I was in Pony Club) and just can't see why she thinks the 2 horses are worth the same . . . . was actually in tears to the OH about it (I have flu at the moment too so am over tired and emotional!!!)
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Before reading this post my feeling was around £6 k
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I think if you really like the horse and think he is right get what you can knocked off the price then buy him, I know people say horses arent selling but i sold one at the end of summer and could have sold him ten times over my friend has just sold straight away for full asking price also good horses always sell.
I know its been suggested to look further afield but you only need to look at a few further away and then pay the travel for a horse further afield and the money you would spend would soon eat in to £1000 and between 1-2000 seems to be the amount the horse may be overpriced by in some peoples opinion.
If this is horse is right for you buy him if its going to be a long term partnership its worth getting it right first time it could cost you alot more buying the wrong horse, i have nine i i break in myself sometimes dont pay alot for some but if i saw a horse i really liked and wanted and couldnt knock the price down i would still buy even if i had to pay over the top, dont get bogged down by a few hundred pounds i mean the buying of the horse is the least of the expense as horses go just make sure you get a full vetting.
 
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