OMG, horse prices in the USA!

showpony said:
So was speaking to an old friend this evening in the States who is an avid horse rider - & we got talking about horse prices etc - hadn't spoken to her since I got my mare, horses literally going for 4 times their price than they are in the UK & Ireland - it seems to be a " Sport for the elite" over there hense why prices so much higher... She also told me that a friend of hers imported a horse from Ireland to the USA , horse cost 2,000 & she went & sold it for 12,000 dollars 2 mths later!
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Just a quick question - how much DID it cost to transport horse to the USA???

$12,000 = £7,600

From what I know, transport costs around £5,000... if not more. So that's really only a £600 profit. Hmmm...

No, seriously... I'd be interested in how much transport did cost. There's a chance we may move abroad (U.S. likely) years down the line, and I'd like to know this.
 
rhino said:
Have a look on www.dreamhorse.com or other US sites, it's certainly eye opening :eek: There are still plenty of cheapies, but anything decent (and I don't mean top level decent, I mean RC level decent) is astonishing! Ponies too; they don't have the same history with native ponies as we do so they tend to go for a bomb! Gypsy cobs as well, and I thought they were stupidly overpriced here :D
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Just had a look on that site and the first horse I looked at was this one http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1815497 and after watching the video I felt really sad, that horse looks so so sad... and they want $15000 which is about £9500... gob smacked!!
 
I think it does depend on the horse and area. We looked at buying a house near Yosemite in California and a nice riding horse was about $2-4k.
 
Might be different if it's arranged in the UK without all the agent fees added on; but the price that seems to be about usual from Ireland is 8,500 USD for all transportation, quarantine, and import fees. With all fees (and hidden commissions) an American can pay from 10 to 12K to import. It's gone up at least 15% in the past 4 years.

One thing that you have to remember about American horse sales is that a lot of sellers go through trainers and agents, and there are very unscrupulous ones out there who will not only get their commission on the sale but set a different price for buyer and seller and pocket the difference. Then there are layers of commissions to be paid; by the time all the commissions have been paid, a horse can go from a seller's 10k horse to a buyer's 15k one.

It's a very, very corrupt system over here.
 
candyflosspot said:
did you watch the videos? The horse looked like it was walking in an odd manner (maybe lame??) in the first video :confused::(
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I don't think that's a walk. I think that's meant to be a "lope" which is basically a 3-beated gait... like a very, very, very slow canter - to the point that you may as well walk. Only ever saw this done in the USA, and don't know exactly what it's meant to be good for as I'm not a Western Rider. Look at this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-XNE-mEQ5k&feature=relmfu
 
candyflosspot said:
did you watch the videos? The horse looked like it was walking in an odd manner (maybe lame??) in the first video :confused::(
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She doesn't walk at all in the first video...i think you're referring to the jog she did post lope. That's the way they want them to move in western pleasure classes, very flat at the knees. Though, I must say, at the end of the first video, that turn on the haunches was quite good. She didn't move her back leg at all really, just spun on the spot. And for a horse that has won pleasure/trail/etc. $15,000 is VERY cheap! My pony is a pure QH, some points in western pleasure and reining (not many though), was a 5 year old that had been chucked in the field for the last while due to lack of time when we bought him and he was $10,000 and was only going to increase with training! :eek: That said, he's the best horse mum and I (we share him) have EVER owned! He's a perfect gentleman, unbelievably smart (learns a jump course/dressage test after the first go:rolleyes:), can turn his hoof to anything, confidence builder that hacks out alone/in a group, all that jazz. Horses like this are worth their weight in gold and you pay for it!

Anything that wins state+ level in english/western pleasure or jumpers or dressage is gonna cost 20,000+. I've seen dressage horses advertised for 50,000 and english pleasure/hunters for 30/40...and those are just the ones I see browsing! My first horse was an off the track thoroughbred who was seriously underweight and had a bad case of lyme disease that we bought for 3,500. We sold him on for about 6,500! I think it's crazy how cheap they are over here!
 
I have relatives in the USA and there are lots of ordinary horses around for ordinary money, you don't have to pay lots - and these are not bad horses either they can perform with good training.

I think it is to do with what is fashionable, and some showing horses can win a lot in prize money, which doesn't happen here does it?

There are obviously a lot more people in the USA with money to spend, and others are always very willing to take it off them!
 
Transporting to the US is roughly £5,000 when you add in the quarantine, stabling and transfers, as well as the pre-flight vaccinations, etc. This depends on whether it's a full or partial pallet, tho (shared loads are cheaper), and where in the US you are flying them to - east coast cheaper than west, etc., also potential breeding animals (colts, mares) have additional vet requirements which cost more too. The flight itself is around £2 - £3K.
 
tasel said:
Really? Which company, and to where in the U.S.?
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Tim Dutta. We flew NY (Newark) to Stanstead (via KLM) and the only thing the price didn't include was my vet's fees for the blood tests/vaccinations. The return quote was more or less the same, plus about $1k for the three-day quarantine.

I did a huge amount of shopping around and Dutta was least expensive by thousands.
 
For most things...anything 'native' to another country, then is more 'uncommon' in another
Country, especially one halfway across the globe from another, so anything deemed as 'rare' will get the big price tags from breeders over here or vice versa. It's the bloodlines and colour they go crazy for as it's such a novelty breed.

But, the 'elites' of the breed, are never normally sold...usually the 'almost top' or flashy youngstock to serious breeders overseas.

Not too dissimilar to the Spanish imports to here...
 
Out of interest what would a lovely 6yo 14.2 that looks like a mini horse fetch over there? He has worked at medium dressage previously and building back up to it so next summer hopefully be competing elementary poss medium. He'll pop a 3ft course happily and would go higher quite easily we just haven't pushed him yet. Safe to hack alone and in company and you can put a complete novice on him and he would look after them.
 
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