Odd question to any dealers out there!

[matthew]

Hi- i was daydreaming the other day whilst in the car about how much i would like to be a dealer (in my dreams!!!!!)
Just got me thinking with the horse prices as they are at the moments were to dealers buy there horses from in order to make a profit- or is the only way to do it by re-schooling or taking horses as yearlings?
Do dealers pay the prices asked by private sales or do they look towards horse fairs and sales?

 

[gentle_giant]

The ones I know have contacts, pick horses up for under 1k and generally always sell it on for well over 2k.

x racers or failed racehorses, reschooled problem horses, youngsters etc etc

 

[matthew]

Thats what i thought- seems like it might be quite difficult- i could be very wrong though!
What about if you wanted a horse ready made? do dealers generally keep them for any lenght of time to bring on or is it all for a quick sale?

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

There are lots of places, auctions, abroard, riders wanting a quick sale for various reasons, breeders, horses with problems that they can sort out, there's a whole network of people that dealers build up over years of trading

 

[Tempi]

the people i know who come under the 'dealers' title are dressage trainers who buy the horses abroad, import them, school them and sell them on.

 

[Malibu]

The yard that i bought Rupert from, the girl who owned him trained/schooled youngsters from germany etc then sold them for ALOT over here , they shipped over 10 horse every few months

 

[Chex]

I used to keep Chex at a dealers yard. He generally bought horses that were underweight, green and in need of work. They would stay for a few months until they were looking good and being ridden well, then sell them for a healthy profit. He often got horses in form Ireland and Belgium and brought them on. He didn't buy many yearlings, they're a lot of effort!

 

[matthew]

Thanks everyone- i have thought it sounded like a great buisness-hard work though and it seems contacts are everything and there are those that have probably been in the buisness for longer that i have been alive!

 

[Tia]

I generally buy youngsters, always with fabulous breeding. I bring them on, teach them manners, spook-proof them and have them quietly trailing out. I tend to keep them for a year and a half to 2 years and then find the best possible homes for them.

I, almost exclusively, buy from Private Sellers and generally pay somewhere around their asking price HOWEVER I only go and look at once which I know are seriously underpriced - a lot of people over here do not know what they have therefore I do reap good returns because of their lack of knowledge.

I occasionally buy sad cases which I turn around with some love and feeding up but these horses generally don't make me any profit however they make me feel happy to see them go off to a loving family.

 

[henryhorn]

I don't deal nowadays much but for a time I made a living from it. My best deals came from private ads, people who wanted rid quickly and for cash.
I also bought two every couple of weeks from our local sales, schooled them for a couple more weeks and sold them on after trimming, clipping etc. I made good money on some part exchanges, often we could straighten a horse out with basic schooling and swap it for a nice sensible quiet older one.
Down here it would be very easy to make a substantial profit on local horses, the prices are ridiculously low compared to anywhere else.
It's common to see horses for under two thousand pounds in our local paper.
You need to be pretty tough as there is no time for months of schooling I'm afraid, a good eye for ailments and lumps and bumps, and very capable rider. I had a great girl groom who I split the profits with, I did all the long reining that taught them how we wanted them to go, she rode them afterwards. I did the presentation and wrote the adverts, dealt with the customers etc.
The other basic requirement is your own facilities, without them you're stuffed...
Oh and the realisation that sometimes you will lose money on a horse.