If you paid £2500 for a "normal" horse, what would you expect?

I got a 7 year old small hunter that has won championships, done inter-hunt relay and RC stuff for that... I travelled over 100 miles into Wales to see her and absolutely adore her. Well worth the journey!
 
Depends doesn't it. If you are in the right place at the right time you can get a cracking animal for tuppence. I just got my daughter a 15yr old BS pony including all tack except a saddle for less than meat money. He's got another 15 years in him and a total super star. How he got into that situation I will never understand but will not look a gift horse in the mouth either! One thing is for sure he will never be sold again.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Depends doesn't it. If you are in the right place at the right time you can get a cracking animal for tuppence. I just got my daughter a 15yr old BS pony including all tack except a saddle for less than meat money. He's got another 15 years in him and a total super star. How he got into that situation I will never understand but will not look a gift horse in the mouth either! One thing is for sure he will never be sold again.
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Amen to that.
 
We're selling one for about that, inc tack and rugs.

He is a 16ish ISH, 8 years old and green as grass. He is totally safe though- the only way you could fall off was if you threw yourself off!

He hacks in company, has hunted, and done xc. Will jump anything.

Can be tricky to hack alone (not naughty but combination of no confidence from horse and rider combination).

Is good on the ground to shoe/vet/load/handle.

Very sweet young horse who just hasn't done anything.
 
I would expect a decent horse with no major problems for that price. Not a world beater but a good rc horse. I would never spend that much on a horse!! I'm quite shocked that the majority would expect a major flaw but I guess it is possibly to do with where you are in the country
 
you would get a good quality RC type for that sort of money near me. Something jumping easily around 90cm safe sane and straight. Like others have said it all depends on the area. I'm amazed at some of ridiculous prices I see for bog standard horses advertised for in parts of England!!!
 
Interestingly my horse was sold as a just backed 4 year old and bought back as a no issue 6 year old for that. Now rising 11 if I was selling her I'd probably want the same price.
She's a common x breed, has no hang ups, a usable height, can carry a bit of weight, is a sane hack, pops a course of novice jumps and scrubs up well enough to hold her own in a small county show class. She does not have much comp history and will never be a world beater but she is sound, safe and pretty!
 
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Nice, boring-looking RC allrounder, I would say. Probably not anything 'special' in terms of showing/competing potential, but a nice sort that'll turn a hoof to most things and behave reasonably predictably. Might expect a bit more class or talent if prepared to have a youngster/oldie, but not a world-beater unless it's a very quirky one.
 
teddypops said:
I would expect a decent horse with no major problems for that price. Not a world beater but a good rc horse. I would never spend that much on a horse!! I'm quite shocked that the majority would expect a major flaw but I guess it is possibly to do with where you are in the country
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If you consider what it costs to breed and produce, say, a five year old that can manage RC activities and hack safely, the horse logically must have something "wrong" with it to reduce its value. If you breed and produce something to sell at 5 at £2,500, you're only making back £500 per year - that won't even cover outgoings, let alone time invested!
 
Goldenstar said:
Any nice adult horse who is five years old is being sold at a loss at £2500
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And a big loss! It costs me at least £2,000 to get a foal to weaning if I only counts the costs of THAT foal - and not the purchase and keep of its dam - or any I 'lost' one way or another. Then around £750 a year to rear by the time you allow for grazing, winter feed, foot trimming and worming. So I lost quite a bit on a very nice rising 3 pure-bred gelding I sold yesterday, for just over that. But he had a big flaw - very parrot mouthed. He will need dental treatment every 6 months for the rest of his life. If judges spot it in the show ring, they might 'drop' him altogether - or it might just be the difference between 1st and 2nd. Excellent manners for a youngster (he loaded for the first time in his life yesterday and it took about 3 minutes.) Excellent conformation, lots of presence, clean legs, and no sarcoids. With a perfect mouth, he would have been £1250 more - and backed - I'd have wanted £5,500 for him (and they jump off the shelf at that price - particularly geldings - which seems wierd to me, but then I love mares.)
 
Theocat said:
If you consider what it costs to breed and produce, say, a five year old that can manage RC activities and hack safely, the horse logically must have something "wrong" with it to reduce its value. If you breed and produce something to sell at 5 at £2,500, you're only making back £500 per year - that won't even cover outgoings, let alone time invested!
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That is where the saying "fools breed horses for wise men to buy" originates!

Unfortunately it doesn't matter what something costs to produce, ask any farmer, you can only sell it for what people will pay for it.
 
I am absolutely shocked at what people expect, and are able, to buy for £2,500

I sold nice riding club all rounders, ex racers most of them, for more than that twenty five years ago. In inflation terms they should be twice that now. A particularly nice looking four year old with a sweet temperament and no competition record, sold for £3,200. An unraced three year old that had been backed a month went for £2,500.

Why would anyone breed for sale if people expect to get a decent horse for £2500?
 
The saying " horses for courses " comes to mind here. I paid the said amount for my horse because that's what he cost. I thought it was cheap but the dealer had seen what I had missed , that there was more work to do then I could see through the rosey mists. I'm actually up for that work because it's challenging and rewarding and the fundamental boxes are ticked......safe and sane. ( I'm now 50 and don't bounce) However I have no illusions about Kev. He is not star material, to be honest that would be wasted on me. He is a normal, bog standard, bargain basement nag. ( I still love him) If I had wanted star material and talent then I would expect to pay more . It's sad to hear that people are loosing money on quality animals just for a single flaw. A parrot mouth is hardly going to stop it working and jumping, although showing would be out, that's only one thing. Surely however, we are talking about "normal" horses here, not quality horses. My sister has a quality horse and she does exciting , sporty stuff , I have a " normal" horse and I slob around the lanes. She is doing 1* and I'm doing intro and there in lies the difference.
 
ycbm said:
I am absolutely shocked at what people expect, and are able, to buy for £2,500

I sold nice riding club all rounders, ex racers most of them, for more than that twenty five years ago. In inflation terms they should be twice that now. A particularly nice looking four year old with a sweet temperament and no competition record, sold for £3,200. An unraced three year old that had been backed a month went for £2,500.

Why would anyone breed for sale if people expect to get a decent horse for £2500?
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A lot of breeders are stopping though aren't they. They can't continue to make the losses that they do which is a shame as soon there won't be many good breeders left. Of course then it might change in that demand for quality is high so the breeders can charge what they want then for quality but that will take a long time to occur.

I can't say my horse came to me looking good. He would obviously look great once fed and his feet were sorted but he was thin and feet looked like crap through neglect. It was all cosmetic though so to speak, there was nothing physically wrong with him. The breeder had been asking for £4500 for him at the beginning of the year but no one would pay it because of his feet. Their loss, my gain.
 
Either a pretty looking, 'spirited' and very green gelding from Ireland at 4 backed but nothing else or a 6 year old able to do 90cm course but lots of room for improvement on the flat and something cosmetically wrong eg. A huge scar.
Being me I don't give a hoot about cosmetic issues so that helps.

I take my hat off to breeders as mum has picked up a couple of ponies for £40 a head at a year old off the mountains and they've polished up to make quite valuable childrens ponies without the paperwork you couldn't identify their humble beginnings. How do breeders compete in that kind of market I don't know.
 
Most of the horses selling for £2.5k or less have already been sold on, probably several times, since the breeder last saw them, some spiral downwards for whatever reason, a few stay in the same ballpark and probably even less go up in value.
I have sold a fair few over the years, many in the £2-3k range and the majority have been out in the world for some years, moving from home to home doing a job but never being good enough to move up the ladder so they remain in the same price range for years. They would have all been classed as "normal" no major issues, not particularly talented just straightforward RC/PC types, I have rarely sold anything below £2k and have sold a fair amount above £3k they have been the above average types, either talented with a decent record or with something else that puts the price up.

In general prices have stagnated over the past 25 years, I was selling similar horses for much the same money when I first got involved with a few projects and sales liveries, I don't sell many each year, sometimes as few as 1 or 2, people are even more fussy now but often forget the important things in their eagerness to buy, yet pick up on something minor, nearly everyone seems to want an "investment" whereas years ago they bought them to do a job even if that job was purely as a pleasure ride.

I don't know how the good breeders keep going but it is just as well they do as the nice quality horses have to be produced somewhere although in real terms the prices don't reflect the outlay, I have 1 here who came direct from his breeder 20 years ago, he was 5 when I bought him to bring on and sell but he stayed, 1 livery was bought from her breeder , the other 8 have all moved about some numerous times and not 1 cost over £3k other than the exracehorse who did cost his owners dad around £10k for a leg.
 
You wouldn't get much for that in Essex in the last 3 or 4 years. It would be lame or have vices if it was any good at that price. (And middle aged, middle height, all rounder)
 
I paid £600 for this-





Granted she came to me 3 years ago, as green as grass, no established canter and had a hell of a nap in her, but she has been such fun to work with. I got her so cheap as the lady I bought her off had only owned her for a few months but the pony had proved to be too much for her young daughter and she had lost her bottle and now refused to ride her.

Best thing I have ever bought! She is the most fabulous pony and I have had a world of fun on her. We do dressage, farm rides, go out hacking, do a bit of schooling... and generally just have the time of our lives together. She is the best decision I have made in 30 years with horses.

On the flip side- I also have a sports horse that I paid a fair bit more for- very good breeding, had hunted, evented, showed at county level etc etc, and he has been nothing but trouble since the day he stepped into my life!
 
Theocat said:
If you consider what it costs to breed and produce, say, a five year old that can manage RC activities and hack safely, the horse logically must have something "wrong" with it to reduce its value. If you breed and produce something to sell at 5 at £2,500, you're only making back £500 per year - that won't even cover outgoings, let alone time invested![/QUOTE

Unfortunately that doesn't really come into the price the horse is worth! It should for the sake of the breeder/ producer but it doesn't as supply exceeds demand at this current time.
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teddypops said:
Theocat said:
If you consider what it costs to breed and produce, say, a five year old that can manage RC activities and hack safely, the horse logically must have something "wrong" with it to reduce its value. If you breed and produce something to sell at 5 at £2,500, you're only making back £500 per year - that won't even cover outgoings, let alone time invested![/QUOTE

Unfortunately that doesn't really come into the price the horse is worth! It should for the sake of the breeder/ producer but it doesn't as supply exceeds demand at this current time.
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Pretty much. £8000 might be what the breeder is owed after 5 years of upkeep and training, doesn't mean they will get it all of the time. Supply exceeds demand as you said and as many have shown you can a good horse for cheaper than that price. Up here horses at that price are more established and have been out winning a lot at shows. But your average horse is much cheaper.

Geography plays a part too. Certain areas will be more expensive than others. Just a fact of life. I don't think I would have paid what I did for my horse if he was in southern England.

They only paid £4000 for valegro too I believe. Price doesn't always mean its useless or better. I never go by that in life, its how you get ripped off from what I have found. The poor Germans paid an extortionate amount for totilas and did he even compete for them? Go based on what you see in front of you and what you think it is worth, not what others think you should be paying for it.
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I know of a nice little 14hh NF gelding which was for sale backalong, 10yo, been hunted, PC'd, hacked solo and in company, and generally been there done it.

Had been ridden by a child I believe, and was everything it said on the tin.

They were asking £2500 for that one.

It all depends on what the buyer wants: personally for that money I'd expect something at least half decent which isn't going to require a huge remedial "fix" or huge issues. It would be a good price which I would be prepared to pay for e.g. a good steady happy hacker, reasonably well put together cobby or native type which hacks solo and in company and has a leg at each corner, the sort someone like me could take say happy hacking, pleasure rides, pops a fence, good in traffic, and can deal with a quiet days hunting without the rider having a nervous breakdown! Unfortunately this sort is hard to find - but £2500 is what I'm prepared to part with for it, more if the horse is right......

Hope this helps.
 
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