No silly prices

[Ample Prosecco]

Following on from the 5* home thread- does anyone choose to sell for a ‘silly’ price? Those wanted ads put me off immediately. It’s a phrase that really winds me up. I guess it’s meant to mean ‘I know the value of horses so don’t think you can rip me off’ but to me it just reads as passive- aggressive. Or meaningless.
Or am I just being grumpy ?

 

[Annagain]

No, unless I'm grumpy too as that winds me up as well. I always think of suggesting £3742.86 as that's what I think of as a silly price! I remember seeing a really aggressive (not even pass-ag!) advert for a horse of sale and posting on the ridiculous things on Facebook thread a few years back. I'll see if I can dig it out.

 

[AntiPuck]

It's a completely pointless thing to say. Often attached to the end of an ad like this; "wanted, 17.2 ISH, 4-7, big jump, must be 100% bombproof, no mares, no bays, no greys, no quirks/vices, no injuries, no rearers, budget low 4 figs (starts with a 2!), bonus if tack incl, owner will need to deliver, don't have own transport".

 

[Birker2020]

Following on from the 5* home thread- does anyone choose to sell for a ‘silly’ price? Those wanted ads put me off immediately. It’s a phrase that really winds me up. I guess it’s meant to mean ‘I know the value of horses so don’t think you can rip me off’ but to me it just reads as passive- aggressive. Or meaningless.
Or am I just being grumpy ?

Well there are people selling horses for silly prices. Sorry but that is the grim reality. I think Covid had made a lot of people greedy, as lock down started and people were working from home the price of both dogs and horses went threefold and puppy breeders were importing dogs from abroad to suit demand and horses were being sold for stupid amounts of money.

I enquired about a horse that had less experience that the horse I'd just lost and they wanted 50K for it, another horse that had done a bit of jumping (a couple of unaffiliated outings) and was good to hack out on its own 30K.

So yes, I agree with the words 'no silly prices'. I accept that I might not know the price of a horse down to the last pound but at the same time I don't want my intelligence insulting by trying to pass off a 'run of the mill horse' for 30 or 50K!!!

 

[ihatework]

It means never sell them a horse because they don’t have the experience to accurately assess a horses value, don’t have the experience to manage/ride a cheaper horse and will 100% plaster your name over dodgy dealers if the horse you do sell them so much as farts

 

[Birker2020]

It means never sell them a horse because they don’t have the experience to accurately assess a horses value, don’t have the experience to manage/ride a cheaper horse and will 100% plaster your name over dodgy dealers if the horse you do sell them so much as farts

And you interpret all this from someone who write ' no silly prices' on a wanted ad for the simple fact that they don't want to be contacted by a chancer chancing their luck and trying to fob them off with a horse that clearly isn't worth the ridiculous amount of money they are asking.

Tad unfair don't you think to tar everyone with the same brush?

You only have to look at the adverts on Horsemart, Horsequest or gumtree to see some over inflated ridiculous prices for a horse that pre covid wouldn't have fetched more than about £7K or £8K. That's the reality.

 

[ihatework]

And you interpret all this from someone who write ' no silly prices' on a wanted ad for the simple fact that they don't want to be contacted by a chancer chancing their luck and trying to fob them off with a horse that clearly isn't worth the ridiculous amount of money they are asking.

Tad unfair don't you think to tar everyone with the same brush?

You only have to look at the adverts on Horsemart, Horsequest or gumtree to see some over inflated ridiculous prices for a horse that pre covid wouldn't have fetched more than about £7K or £8K. That's the reality.

Not really. It’s pretty clear who is clueless

 

[Birker2020]

4 adverts I've just picked from a selling website. 100% genuine adverts.

A 16.1hh mare. She's gorgeous with a temparment to die for. £22,000
A 6 year old mare blind in one eye. Broken as a 5 year old, potential to go all the way. £21,000
4 yr old 16.2 good flatwork and confident jumping. Huge potential. £17,000

OR

A 10yr old 16hh which had confidently evented at BE90/100 with scope to go higher. She has been placed in top 10 at affiliated events and top 5 at unaffiliated. Recently evented unaffiliated 90cm, double clear, placed 7th. She loves cross country and always makes the time. Multiple double clears on her record. She completed her 4 double clears at novice BS last year, taking first place on numerous occasions, £15,500

Now I know which one I'd be tempted to buy.......

 

[ihatework]

But it’s not all about you ?
It’s about the overall market.

And I couldn’t possibly comment on the first 3 because a few words mean nothing. It’s all about the horse in the flesh. And that’s what demonstrates someone’s experience or lack thereof

 

[Leandy]

Its a meaningless phrase just like only to a good home. Noone thinks they are selling at a silly price or that they are a bad home. From my observation "no silly prices" tends to mean I can't I afford what I want but I'm expecting you to sell it to me anyway ie totally unrealistic. They then complain about the number of lame horses with issues they are seeing and can't understand why noone has yet come forward with the perfect, genuine example of the type everyone is looking for.

If a person actually succeeds in selling their horse at the supposedly "silly price" then it wasn't a silly price, it was in fact realistic albeit higher than many hopeful buyers might like to see.

 

[webble]

The one that bugs me is nothing too expensive. Everyone has a different idea of what expensive is

 

[Red-1]

Well there are people selling horses for silly prices. Sorry but that is the grim reality. I think Covid had made a lot of people greedy, as lock down started and people were working from home the price of both dogs and horses went threefold and puppy breeders were importing dogs from abroad to suit demand and horses were being sold for stupid amounts of money.

I enquired about a horse that had less experience that the horse I'd just lost and they wanted 50K for it, another horse that had done a bit of jumping (a couple of unaffiliated outings) and was good to hack out on its own 30K.

So yes, I agree with the words 'no silly prices'. I accept that I might not know the price of a horse down to the last pound but at the same time I don't want my intelligence insulting by trying to pass off a 'run of the mill horse' for 30 or 50K!!!

I sold my mare during lockdown. As I was at some point going to want to buy another, I needed to market her accurately, or I would have not enough money to re-buy. I don't see that as greedy.

If someone would give me 20K for a horse, why would I not accept it?

Anyway, she sold easily the day the advert went up. so I suspect it was a silly price, but possibly through being too low!

Any horse is worth what people will pay. I was made a 'silly offer' on my baby horse, more than three times what I paid 6 months before. The person offering seemed to think it was large enough to tempt me. Was it a silly offer? No, obviously not, as he is still here, in my stable! It was not enough. Replacing him would be incredibly difficult. Besides, he is family now.

As long as both people are happy with the deal, it isn't anyone's business apart from the 2 parties.

I interpret someone writing that on an advert as someone looking for a bargain. If I had a bargain to sell, then I may reply. Usually, if I do sell, the horses are going and looking well though, so unlikely to be sold as a bargain price. Maybe if life changed and I needed to sell quickly? I don't know. The mare was sold because life changed, but I put her on schooling livery for 6 weeks and got top offer from a top home.

 

[sbloom]

I get it with the saddles I fit, they're far from the most expensive saddles out there but they're not cheap either. The number of rude responses I get when someone enquires as to the prices, or comments on social media posts. Anything without a set price list is worth what someone will pay....and even with price lists, they're set with an eye to what people consider value, so I agree that "silly prices" is a comment likely to send me running.

 

[Birker2020]

But it’s not all about you ?
It’s about the overall market.

And I couldn’t possibly comment on the first 3 because a few words mean nothing. It’s all about the horse in the flesh. And that’s what demonstrates someone’s experience or lack thereof

I know its not all about me but what I'm trying to convey is that people are trying to sell a half blind horse for £21K that has potential. In 2019 you would never have dreamed of selling a horse with a disability for that price much less garnering any potential buyers.

I'd rather spend money on something with proven results like the last horse on my reply but the market is so mental at the moment that people are buying horses unseen just so they can have a chance to get something because demand seems to be higher than supply at the moment, in the same way people are being drawn into spending much more than they need to in order to buy a horse because for every horse for sale there are about five buyers! It seems so unfair.

 

[Cortez]

I know its not all about me but what I'm trying to convey is that people are trying to sell a half blind horse for £21K that has potential. In 2019 you would never have dreamed of selling a horse with a disability for that price much less garnering any potential buyers.

I'd rather spend money on something with proven results like the last horse on my reply but the market is so mental at the moment that people are buying horses unseen just so they can have a chance to get something because demand seems to be higher than supply at the moment, in the same way people are being drawn into spending much more than they need to in order to buy a horse because for every horse for sale there are about five buyers! It seems so unfair.

Why unfair? There are always horses in varying price brackets out there, even free ones, if you are prepared to look for them. If a horse is too expensive, don't look at it.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I know its not all about me but what I'm trying to convey is that people are trying to sell a half blind horse for £21K that has potential. In 2019 you would never have dreamed of selling a horse with a disability for that price much less garnering any potential buyers.

I'd rather spend money on something with proven results like the last horse on my reply but the market is so mental at the moment that people are buying horses unseen just so they can have a chance to get something because demand seems to be higher than supply at the moment, in the same way people are being drawn into spending much more than they need to in order to buy a horse because for every horse for sale there are about five buyers! It seems so unfair.

I don't understand why this is unfair.

 

[Birker2020]

I don't understand why this is unfair.

Because there are lots of anecdotes of people on this forum that are unable to afford to buy horses at the moment because the prices are so high. There are others that have been forced into spending more than they can really afford due to the crazy market at the moment which has been driven by covid.

There are horses that can be bought for very little but they are low in price for a reason, because they have physical limitations which put people off i.e. sarcoids, cold backed, unable to be jumped, has a vet history, sometimes goes lame, makes a noise when ridden, etc, etc.

 

[Cortez]

Because there are lots of anecdotes of people on this forum that are unable to afford to buy horses at the moment because the prices are so high. There are others that have been forced into spending more than they can really afford due to the crazy market at the moment which has been driven by covid.

There are horses that can be bought for very little but they are low in price for a reason, because they have physical limitations which put people off.

Then people need to adjust their expectations. Horses are like any other commodity and the market dictates the prices. I have never paid anything close to the prices being quoted here - I simply don't have that amount of money - but I have never been short of horses, quite the opposite.

 

[Birker2020]

Then people need to adjust their expectations. Horses are like any other commodity and the market dictates the prices. I have never paid anything close to the prices being quoted here - I simply don't have that amount of money - but I have never been short of horses, quite the opposite.

Its a different market in Ireland though I expect?

 

[Cortez]

Its a different market in Ireland though I expect?

Oh absolutely, and that is one of the choices that people have if they don't want to/can't pay the prices in their local area. But I haven't bought a horse in Ireland in many years, I have had a couple from the UK though - and one of them was free.

 

[Dexter]

Because there are lots of anecdotes of people on this forum that are unable to afford to buy horses at the moment because the prices are so high. There are others that have been forced into spending more than they can really afford due to the crazy market at the moment which has been driven by covid.

There are horses that can be bought for very little but they are low in price for a reason, because they have physical limitations which put people off i.e. sarcoids, cold backed, unable to be jumped, has a vet history, sometimes goes lame, makes a noise when ridden, etc, etc.

If people dont have loads of money then they need to compromise. No one has to spend more than they can afford. They just have to accept they may not get a paragon of virtue and be out winning the next weekend is all.

 

[dominobrown]

Just to play devils advocate Cortez… how often do you/ or have you gone out looking for a prefect Allrounder, competition record, no vices, schoolmaster, perfect to hack, perfect vet and well bred?
Just you saying that you haven’t paid those prices, neither have I, though making assumptions I guess you have the skills and knowledge to take on a project and also like to make the horse you want? Sorry if I am wrong.

i have bought horses for next to nothing, though they weee definitely projects! One when I went to view it we couldn’t get within 20feet of it never mind tack it up. One was lame. Etc etc.

 

[SO1]

I don't think people are being greedy. Why wouldn't someone want to get the most they possibility could for their horse? For a lot of people an extra 5k could make a lot of difference to their life why throw that money away in order to help someone get a horse at an affordable price. If a horse is under valued the liklihood is it may get bought by a dealer or a chancer hoping to sell on for more to make a fast buck.

More of a problem is inaccurate advertising or not disclosuring behaviour or medical issues as people try and take advantage of the hot market to offload problem horses.

Well there are people selling horses for silly prices. Sorry but that is the grim reality. I think Covid had made a lot of people greedy, as lock down started and people were working from home the price of both dogs and horses went threefold and puppy breeders were importing dogs from abroad to suit demand and horses were being sold for stupid amounts of money.

I enquired about a horse that had less experience that the horse I'd just lost and they wanted 50K for it, another horse that had done a bit of jumping (a couple of unaffiliated outings) and was good to hack out on its own 30K.

So yes, I agree with the words 'no silly prices'. I accept that I might not know the price of a horse down to the last pound but at the same time I don't want my intelligence insulting by trying to pass off a 'run of the mill horse' for 30 or 50K!!!

 

[Cortez]

Just to play devils advocate Cortez… how often do you/ or have you gone out looking for a prefect Allrounder, competition record, no vices, schoolmaster, perfect to hack, perfect vet and well bred?
Just you saying that you haven’t paid those prices, neither have I, though making assumptions I guess you have the skills and knowledge to take on a project and also like to make the horse you want? Sorry if I am wrong.

i have bought horses for next to nothing, though they weee definitely projects! One when I went to view it we couldn’t get within 20feet of it never mind tack it up. One was lame. Etc etc.

Yes indeedy; I've never gone looking for a made horse and it's been my job to make horses into what I need. It would never occur to me to claim that this was "unfair".

 

[Birker2020]

If people dont have loads of money then they need to compromise. No one has to spend more than they can afford. They just have to accept they may not get a paragon of virtue and be out winning the next weekend is all.

your missing the point but never mind.
Compromising means buying something with a health issue as I've just explained.
Surely I can't be the only one that thinks horses are mega expensive at the moment and have been for the past two years? Where are all the people that have been saying over the last few months the very same as me, to back me up?

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/horse-market-has-simply-gone-nuts.819803/#post-14945659

 

[Cortez]

your missing the point but never mind.
Compromising means buying something with a health issue as I've just explained.
Surely I can't be the only one that thinks horses are mega expensive at the moment and have been for the past two years? Where are all the people that have been saying over the last few months the very same as me, to back me up?

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/horse-market-has-simply-gone-nuts.819803/#post-14945659

No, it doesn't necessarily mean that. I have bought: young horses, small horses, unbroken horses, horses which were too much for their owners, horses which were being sold because of divorce/change in circumstances, horses whose owners were suddenly unwell. I have never knowingly bought a horse with an untreatable health condition.

 

[dominobrown]

Yes indeedy; I've never gone looking for a made horse and it's been my job to make horses into what I need. It would never occur to me to claim that this was "unfair".

So I am again to make an assumption that you have many years of experience, have spent a lot of time and money with trainers and educating yourself and have worked with horses for a living. That is where the true cost lies. It’s like a builder who takes on a wreck of a house and makes into a desirable fancy home. The builder or developer makes a profit. People are happy to pay it as they can’t do that sort of work. With horses it seems the goal posts are not the same.

 

[ihatework]

Yes Birker2020 horse prices are high.
It’s called economics.

Same as house prices are high. Second hand cars are high etc.

A luxury hobby and a living animal. Nothing unfair about it having a value on its head. No one has the right to own one.

And FWIW I’m pretty damn tight about what I spend on a horse.

 

[spacefaer]

"Expensive" and "affordable " and "silly" are very subjective, depending on the bank balance and requirements of the purchaser.
Horses are higher prices now than they have been, yes, but that's basic Keynesian economics. There are a finite number of horses for sale at any one time. If you are specific about what you want, you'll have to pay for it

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Because there are lots of anecdotes of people on this forum that are unable to afford to buy horses at the moment because the prices are so high. There are others that have been forced into spending more than they can really afford due to the crazy market at the moment which has been driven by covid.

There are horses that can be bought for very little but they are low in price for a reason, because they have physical limitations which put people off i.e. sarcoids, cold backed, unable to be jumped, has a vet history, sometimes goes lame, makes a noise when ridden, etc, etc.

Horses aren't a necessity though. Owning a horse and buying one at a certain price isn't a right. I guess it's just such a "first world problem" that I don't feel much sympathy on the matter. I feel as though prices have been too low for quite awhile, and no one is forced to spend anything. Literally no one.

Of course horses with "problems" are going to cost less/be able to be bought for very little. There's always been that part of the market. Being able to afford the horse you want is not a right and there's nothing unfair about it. If people are "being drawn into spending much more than they need to" that's on them. No one is forcing them to. That's their personal decision. There's also often a lack of distinction when it comes to needs vs wants with horses.

If for every 1 horse there are 5 buyers it does make things difficult, but that's how many markets work. I actually think this is better than there being 5 horses for every 1 buyer, for the horses sake.

I don't see it as unfair, I just see it as that's how the market is. I cannot afford to buy the horse that I want and if I could someone might beat me to it. Is that unfair? IMO, no. I don't need to own that horse. If someone gets the horse then so be it. I wouldn't be going around saying it's unfair. Now if the seller told me I could have the horse then turned around and sold it to someone else, that's rather unfair, I suppose.