If the market is so bad, why can't we find a horse?? Maddening!

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roz84

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We live in a quiet corner of devon (north!), and I have been helping my friend look for a horse for MONTHS!! We just can't crack it, it's driving me mad! Daily searching of every sale site to no avail. So far we have driven a 6 hour round trip twice to look at two horses in the depths of cornwall - one would have been perfect except for the canter, it was really very, very strange, and the other failed the vetting on a suspected leg problem. She has pretty clear criteria, just wants something super safe that won't kill her and can carry weight! Not interested in showing or anything, and has a fair budget too (2 - 2.5k) - just can't find a bleddy thing! not sure what i'm hoping to achieve here but needed to rant!
 
The budget is a little too low in all honesty unless you are prepared to take on a project or accept some negatives, a genuine weight carrier that is safe, educated and sound will sell for over £3k all day long even with little competition experience, if it is good enough to compete at any level then you would be looking at more money. Just because your friend does not want to show or compete doesn't mean the horses are not able to so will be priced accordingly.
If she can up her budget to at least £3k then she can look at some slightly over then she may be more successful, I was looking for much the same, apart from the weight carrying part we wanted a sensible non competitive pony, with a budget of £3k and had to spend it all then buy a saddle earlier this year, not that far from you in Somerset.
 
so that may be the issue - the budget! In my mind it is pretty decent, far more than I have ever paid for a horse, and I have no experience of looking for that 'type'. I will tell her to find more dosh!
 
I expect to pay double that for green as grass well conformed weight carriers as projects .
It's just too little money super safe sound horses are sought after .
 
Unless your friend is up to bringing on something green or 'in the rough' from Dragon driving (or similar), then the budget is too small. Super safe will always sell as it's what many people want - demand always seems to exceed supply. Add on the weight carrier too and you'll probably need to spend more.
 
Agree with the general consensus of opinion. High demand amongst adult riders for safe, educated,weight carrying, sound horses.
Unless your friend would be happy with an ex hunter for light hacking, -and there are some fab ones that just can't do the hard work anymore-, she may have to increase her budget unless you can source a nice horse through word of mouth.
 
I disagree - we bought lovely 14.3hh l/w cob for £2250. Only a 5 yr old granted, so green in his flatwork, but had hunted and done plenty of hacking with older children.

In the 9 mnths we have owned him he has hunted with both my 12yr old son and I, done some fun rides and has just come back from a RC camp where he jumped everything, and was giving older horses a lead.

We found him in the H&H last autumn and were the only people to call about him, despite being advertised for 2 weeks.

They are out there and I do not see the budget as unreasonable. The other thing to try is a 'wanted' ad and see what that turns up.

Good luck!
 
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Supply and demand. Looking on Facebook everyone is looking for this horse and seems to think they can pay peanuts. If you own such a star why would you want to sell for peanuts so people are hanging on to them and the ones that are advertised are a lot more money. I have seen one on a localish Facebook page, its cheaper because its bargy on the ground, so you have to compromise.
 
I also think that sounds like a fair budget, i paid 300 for my (19yr old at the time) he does have severe sweet itch, cushings and is a serial fence trasher but he is a super safe ex riding school, garaunteed bomboroof in any situation, cracking jump on him too, hes now semi retired but still perfect for lazy hacks with novice/nervous riders. I guess if he didnt have such high maintance issues he would have bin priceless (hes not for sale though lol) but similar horses are out there. Is your friend considering a vetran? Have you tried dealers? There are lots on facebook in devon or that will deliver anywhere. Maybe you just need to be prepared to travel a greater distance but you will definatly find one for the budget if you are willing to compromise.
 
Interesting to read what you have all said! She doesn't mind something a bit older (but not nearly 20 I'm afraid) or with sweet itch etc - I too like other posters think that the budget is reasonable and that the right horse IS out there somewhere and that someone would be delighted to find a permanent home for their horse in a climate where there are a lot that end up unwanted and worse- just feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall at the moment! I have suggested Ireland to her but that may be a step too far considering that it was difficult to get her to look beyond Devon - however I would be well up for a horse hunting trip over there and I have some family that live there so could stay with him!
 
I sold a middleweight for this sort of money a couple of years ago - I don't think your budget is unreasonable - however mine was four. But I'm a great believer that sensible horses are born that way.
 
Funny thing is I've never spent more than £2k on a horse, but they took some finding and this time I went to a trusted dealer friend, who was on an Ireland trip so picked a few up with me in mind, but that she knew would sell regardless. Ironically enough I didn't buy any of them, all wonderful, but another that she had sourced locally from another dealer. He was a diamond in the rough and the best £2k I have spent in a long time. I did travel from Suffolk to Warwickshire to get him and he had come over from Gloucestershire. Word of mouth is the best way to get genuine types.
 
she is looking for about 15 - 15.2! I too have never spent much on a horse, my current one was given to me and she's ace!
 
I agree with the others, your budget is restricting you. I was looking for a 14.2hh-15.2hh all rounder that has done a bit of everything, good to handle, back out, forward going but safe ride, preferably 10 years or older and my instructor said for something like that I need around £6k! Budget at the time was £3k which dwindled after having three fail vetting so I've ended up with yearling. You either need to up your budget or compromise somewhere. I learnt that after viewing 23 horses!
 
The failed vettings are a pain - so expensive and disappointing! Mixed opinions really as to whether the budget is right
 
Due to a suspected problem with the leg - I'm not sure as I wasn't there, vet apparently said it could be due to farriery or something else - friend went home to think about it and sellers immediately flogged horse to someone else who I presume wasn't going to vet
 
I think you budget is the problem too. I'm very close to you and looked at 12 horses over 6 months with a very similar criteria and found that safety costs a lot and everyone wanted it particularly between 15hh and 16 Hh. I was looking around 5k and really struggled and still not sure I got it right. I also have 2 other friends looking for the same in devon and they can't find anything unless going much older or younger.
 
OK, this is interesting and correlates to a recent experience I had. I had the horse have a 5* vetting, it failed. I didn't know what to do so trawled HHO and came across a gem which read "if you weren't going to walk, why did you bother having the vetting?" (I know people do, and I see the importance if you're aiming high) - so I decided to have the joint in question x-rayed (a further 150 quid). X-rays came back clear (different vet) and the vet was happy with the level of wear & tear for the age of the horse.

To summarise - I'm glad I investigated further because if I'd have walked I'd have lost a rather special horse - I felt he was well worth the punt of the x-ray. BUT... it was all so stressful I'm not 100% sure I'd go for a full vetting again.

I always joke (haha bit me on the bum!) that a horse can get injured falling out of the lorry on the way home and that a vetting is no guarantee. My superstar horse was home less than 2 weeks when he took a kick to the knee...

So I think as your friend is looking more for a "happy hacker" than something which will passage down the hickstead bank, she needs to have a serious think about why she's vetting if she's not going to walk away with head/heart intact - and what she would find manageable at home.
 
I agree that budget is your problem. Your friend does need at least £3k

However if she is prepared to wait and wait one may just come up. But you would also have to be there within hours of advert going up

If she is prepared to accept something that weaves etc she may well find a gem
 
The market is never bad for good horses, they always sell. Unless your friend wants a horse with health issues/young or old horse -or something pony sized, she'll probably have to increase her budget.
The horses that sell cheaply are often poorly educated or badly put together. It depends what compromises your friend is prepared to take.
That said, you can find the occasional diamond for a bargain price, but unless you hear about it from contacts, the professionals get in there with the cash and a lorry while a private buyer is still thinking about it.
 
I think you will probably find something for that budget, but it will take longer than if you had £3k+. Bear in mind it's lovely weather for hacking and mid show season, so people may not sell things for a couple of months.
 
I, too, have been struggling to find a horse after losing my perfect horse two years ago. I have just taken a horse on long term loan - I would never in a million years have been able to afford to buy him but fortunately for me his mummy has too many horses to bring on and he wasn't getting the work as he is the school master. Has your friend considered a loan? Sometimes that can evolve into a sale if everything goes well, and she might be able to then negotiate a wee bit more on price.
 
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