Is a horse with shivers worth 3k?

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clairencappelli

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Im just curious would a horse diagnosed with shivers be worth 3K?

He is a havovarian x tb and is a 10 year old gelding and is a good 17.1-17.2 hh. He is obviously not right on his back end when you look at him and is unsteady to pick his back feet out a bit and for farrier.

He is very well schooled and has previously competed at unaff elementry and is a lovely horse to handle and good in all ways just a little diff to hack alone.

The horse is currently on loan to a friend but the owner wants to sell and has doubled her asking price almost and the loaner has been told buy him of she will have him back to sell and has arranged with little notice someone to come and view him this weekend and is expecting the loaner to show him. Im not really up on this but shouldnt the owner of the horse attened the viewing and show him to potential viewing of would this be upto the loaner?

Im not that aware of market prices for a horse like this but with the shivers he would def fail a vetting.

Does this seem like a good price to for this horse in this condition?
 
I would not pay that for a horse with shivers. They can ably compete on the right diet but at the end of the day it is an unsoundness that gets progressively worse. To be honest i would not buy one with shivers. If i was buying a horse it would be for a reason and i would want a healthy one.
 
No definately not! Is there no notice period for the loan agreement? Seems rather unreasonable that the owner expects the loaner to show the horse off.... quite frankly I would get involved.... has the owner been completey honest about his condition to the potential purchaser???? If not you could end up being embroiled in a law suit if this is not disclosed at the viewing/sale!!!! Tell owner its her horse, she should take responsibilty for it and show it to potential purchasers!
 
i dont know anything about shivers but sounds like a serious condition and my guess is that the owner knows she will have trouble selling so is emotionally blackmailing loanee to buy him .Loaner needs to call owners bluff on this and tell them be to come and collect horse and show him to potential purchasers herself. Im sure there are horses out there who can do the same as him without shivers for that sort of money.
 
As far as I know, and someone will (I'm sure
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) correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a progressive neurological condition, so not treatable and likely to degenerate.

I wouldn't personally take one with shivers for free, but if your friend is attached she should make an offer she feels comfortable with - I seriously doubt the owner will be able to sell him for anything like that amount of money.
 
My Husband diagnosed shivers with my then, promising youngster 8yrs ago after he tore ligaments in his hip jumping off an 8ft wall, he is NOW trained up to advanced level in dressage and is schooled 5 days a week and I also teach 3 people on him. He is now 14yrs old and I maintain him on a sachet of bute a day. The only time he has a problem is when I pick out his hind foot or for the farrier, he is sympathetic to his problem so keeps his leg as low as possible when tending his foot. I have been offered £5k from one of my clients and keep being told by another to name my price!!! he is an absolute saint to hack on his own also and you can put a total beginner on him. I have had him since he was 4 and have produced him myself so for this reason would never part with him, oh he also has kissing spine too!!!! I dont think we can say a horse is not worth £3k without knowing the whole of the horse's story because £3k is nothing to someone that wants a truely honest horse that you can do whatever you wish and brings you happiness whilst riding without hastle. I would say, if she really like him then go for it because you could pay £10k and find 6 months down the line he has a problem that ends your dream, at least you know this horse's problem from the start.
 
Yes they have a contract drawn up and either party has to give 6 weeks notice it the event of wanting to give/take the horse back.

A price had been agreed for the horse and they were talking about setting up a standing order soon if she is happy with the horse the the owner has almost doubled the agreed price and tolds her she wants to sell him for 3 k and if she cant sell him him put him out in a field. Hes not cheap to keep as hes big and very messy and needs a lot of oil in his feed and supplements to maintain his shivers.

I know the owner is the right to call the horse back but the loaner is literally heartbroken and whilst she knew this could happen it was sudden esp after talking about starting to pay for him etc.

She has never mentioned any of this to the loaner about upping his price so much or selling him but has just had a baby and is obv wanting some money so i do understand that.

Its just odd how she is suddlenly selling the horse and has a viewer all in the space of a day- surely if she was going to sell and advertise him it would be polite to let the loaner know.

The loaner is prepared to hold back her tears and show him to a potential buyer becuase she wants the best home for him but its seems very unfair to me that the owner is expecting her to do this without much warning of the situation knowing how upset she will be?

I do wonder if she is calling my friends bluff to give her more money but maybe im just a suspissious person.

I just feel for my friend as its devastated her but a loan is just that so all i can do it be there.

I dont know what the owner has told the viewers but you can see the horse isnt right a long way off so if they know thier stuff they will see its not right.

I just feel that the owner should be there to show him off and sell him and it shouldnt be left to the poor loaner.
 
LOL if I was the loaner, I would happily show the horse (VERY BADLY) to any potential purchasers, whilst loudly pointing out all his faults!!!!
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I know someone who was offered a blank cheque from a top eventer for their horse that is a shiver.

Any horse is worth what someone is willing to pay at the end of the day.

Though I do feel that the owner in this case is being unfair.
 
Its a shame but the loaner just has to accept that he is wanted back. At the end of the day i guess thats loans. I thought the owner and had her baby but i dont think she has so that maybe why she wont be present and the loaner will be present.

She just wants the horse to be happy so hopefully the people will like him and take him so its over quickly and she can move on.

Its interesting hearing peoples views on it tho as i am not that aware of market prices.
 
Shivers has not proved to be progressive. Often it can reduce when managed correctly, depending on its cause. If it is EPSM related then a high oil, high fibre, low sugar/ starch diet helps tremendously. It is thought that the muscles cramp and cells are damaged because of the way glycogen is metabolised, but if you remove as much sugar from the diet as possible and replace it with slow releasing energy, vit E and lots of protein, it seems to reduce the problem. Other shivers are caused by neurological problems eg from a fall that damages the spine, but if it is breed related ie large warmblood or draft types, these have been closely related to EPSM issues. In addition to diet, the more exercise you do to build up muscle mass the better, and the less the condition seems to manifest itself.

I recently bought a horse for a lot more than 3k with shivers and had a 5 stage vetting which he passed. I am absolutely delighted as his condition is improving every day with the correct work and diet. My farrier commented that he wouldnt even know there was a problem with him last time he shod him. During the vetting my vet discussed the condition in depth and gave me lots of reference material and said his condition would not affect his performance if it was managed correctly. Shivers is only a performance problem when the farrier cannot get shoes on, but there are barefoot boots and the like that you can consider in this case.

I have been doing a lot of research into diets recently, so PM me if anyone needs the info.

x
 
We paid 5K for our 17.2hh gelding Herc, who has had shivers from a young ages. He hunted 8 seasons, teamchased and hunter trialled, and only when he was 15/16 was he getting worse, and that was because he wasn't ridden regularly. You could always feel he was stiff when he was being hacked, but in fast work he was sound as a pound and loved his job.
 
If I read this correctly, the owner had agreed a price with the loaner - now wants to sell it for double that AND wants the loaner to show him to potential purchaser????? The owner has reneged on an agreement and wants HELP from the loaner?? She's in Cloud Cuckoo Land!!

Loaner should say she is happy to pay the agreed price. Full stop. It is NOT her responsibility to show the horse off for the owner and the owner has a bloody cheek to ask!! Loaner should say that if her offer is not accepted, the horse should be collected by the owner now! I suspect the owner might change her tune - she's taking the pi**!!
 
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