Opinions please....

[Halfpass]

sorry me again. You can all see what I have been upto today, trawling the internet looking for horses. Quite like this one, would an unbacked 6 year old be a problem? The sweetitch worries me slightly too but seems a reasonable price.

http://www.horsemart.co.uk/AdvertRef/HM637CHEC/Web/DisplayHorseDetail.asp

 

[Petrie]

They say she has been backed (or 'sat on') last year before she had the foal. And if she's done as much long reining and lunging as they say, she should be OK.

She looks sweet, quite big and chunky though.

Sweetitch can be a real nightmare though.

 

[juliehannah58]

I really like the look of her but think she is overpriced really, but then I'm a skint flint!!

 

[Tufty]

sounds good except for sweet itch can be a pain to deal with also sounds like you will have alot of hard work bringing her on but only you know whether you can do that and manage the sweet itch. Reasonable price I would say

 

[AmyMay]

Really like her, and reasons seem sound for the later start. Sweetich is not something that would worry me in the slightest - and would be keen to look at her if I were on the hunt. I like the price too. Hopefully a little room for negotiation - but if not I would pay it.

 

[Snowberry]

way overpriced imho - sweetitch is a pain in the arse and unbroken to boot!! Where do people get their prices from??

 

[KarenX]

I like the look of her.. she's really nice. It says mild sweetitch so may be ok and easy to manage. My old horse had sweetitch and you could never tell to look at him. I put benzyl on him and that took care of it.

Good luck if you decide to go ahead.

Karen

 

[riotgirl]

I looked at her before! She seems nice enough, but as the others say - a bit over priced.

 

[S_N]

*thud* She looks LOVELY!!! Totally my kind of horse!!

 

[EllieBeast]

Just my kinda horsey, i love my middleweights, i do. she makes a lovely picture.
Sarah

 

[Zebedee]

My initial reaction was WHAT..........unbroken AND sweetitch - are they mad?
Then I clicked the link. Wow!
I'd buy it if I was looking. If you can manage the sweetitch which is supposed to be only mild (homeopathic remedies are brill & Boet (sp?) rugs are expensive but supposed to be the dogs c*jon*s for controlling sweetitch) I'd say you were on a winner. This only leaves the unbroken aspect. Can you finish the job yourself? If not do you have the finances for it to be professionally done?
Pricewise I think she's a bargain - provided you can cope with the points mentioned above, & I have a feeling that if she is as described if you don't pay it someone else will!

 

[Soph83]

I think that is a ridiculous price! But a horse is worth what people will pay...

 

[Blackhawk]

She's a looker, isn't she? In your shoes I'd ring up and ask some questions and see if they would be open to negotiation to the right home.

 

[kildalton]

Lovely, and a sensible price.

 

[KarenX]

I cant believe some people think she is expensive! I thinks she's reasonably priced. Once she's broken if she reaches her potential she could be worth a heck of a lot more than that!

 

[KatB]

I like her, and also think theyre being realistic.

I'd be pleased they have mentioned the sweet itch, shows honesty, and to be honest I have known so many horses get sweet itch this year that have never had it before, a mild case really wouldnt bother me. Good luck!

 

[piaffe]

I agree with you. if she is what they say she is, i think she is def worth the money.

not my type at all, but i think she is nice

 

[sojeph]

No idea about price etc but I would find out more about the sweet itch. It may be mild where she is now but could be severe in a different area. My cob had severe sweet itch in Surrey but is almost itch free where I am now due to open fields near the sea. Check out how midgy your fields are. If it becomes severe it can be a nightmare. My cobbie was unridable through most of the summer.

Interesting that she's for sale now (end of summer ie less midges).

 

[Tia]

I'm really sorry and I seem to be alone in being a party-pooper.....but I really do not like the look of this horse. Her front end is really full-on and she has no butt whatsoever. She looks like she has a dreadfully long back and she is sort of dragging herself along.

Sweet-itch - this can be a real pain to deal with.

Unbroken at 6 years old - this might or might not be an issue. Personally I would be very wary! I have been bitten with a couple of older mares and when I have gone to back them they have been absolutely perfect with all the groundwork, happy to have saddles on their back, excellent at long-reining but the moment you get on it is a different matter altogether. I spent months re-breaking one of my mares and it was the same thing every time - perfect on the ground, the minute you mount it was something else entirely. My own preference now would be not to even bother looking at a horse of this age which has not been broken.......questions always pop into my head that if they took the time to do all the groundwork, get the saddle on and someone has "sat" on them then why the heck haven't they finished the job properly??

Maybe I have just seen too much in my life and am now far more cynical than I once was.

 

[vic07]

Tiaribbon - I can agree with this.

As far as bring unbroken at this age I would be wary. From advert she would seem to have been put in foal as a 5yo, as she is now 6yo. Therefore it would seem fair that she was broken before being put in foal. I would check very carefully about how she is to get on etc....

 

[Halfpass]

Yeh thats what I was thinking. The horse seems as reasonable price for a normal 6 year old, however If iput on top of that time and money to back her and get her going plus treating the sweet itch its gonna be expensive. I owuldn't mind spending this on a 3 year old as you are clearly getting a good few more years out of them (sorry don't mean to make a horse sound like a car but you know what I mean).
The horse that I buy will be one for life (hopefully) so I think if it needs backing I would rather spend a little more on a younger one with no problems. I just thought she looked a nice sort.

 

[Zebedee]

It doesn't necessarily follow that she was broken prior to being put in foal. My six year old was broken this year as I simply haven't had the time to do it myself, or the money to pay anyone else to do it!

 

[vic07]

I didn't mean it in that way, I just meant I would want to know why it wasn't broken before being put in foal! As most horses are broken at 4yo and would want to know why it has been dealt with differently! I actually read my comment back and thought I hadn't made myself very clear!

 

[beaconhorse]

NEVER buy a horse with sweet itch when the sumer is gone! It is way too easy not to realise just how bad it is. Also a lot of hroses can get much worse depending on the area, so you could move her and find your area makes her much worse and I really dont think you should breed from a mare with sweetitch there are enough horses without it to chose from

Also as others said way too over priced, double in fact I would say

 

[Sal_E]

I think she looks lovely! I can see where Tia is getting her criticism (re conformation) from but I think it's so hard to tell in the photos - especially as she's a coloured & it can trick the eye. The sweet-itch wouldn't bother me if mild - if it's bad enough to be hard to manage then you should see signs of that as it's only been a few weeks since the itchy weather... I do believe that some areas are worse than others for midges (i.e. you'd be in trouble if you were near a swamp...), but if you don't think you're in a problem area, I'd consider her at that price.

 

[JoBo]

She's gorgeous! I love her markings. I think she is a reasonable price as well.

Call, call, call!

 

[Bossanova]

WAY too much money for an unbroken 6 yr old with problems!!!
I wouldnt pay more than 1k tops, even if it is coloured!!

 

[mrdarcy]

There are warning bells sounding to me. I do like the look of her but I'd be wary about her not being properly backed. Someone I know had a beautiful IDx... they'd had it from a yearling, tried to back it at 4, found everything fine until they actually tried to get on it... then it would just lay down and refuse to move. They sold it on as 'unbroken' - very naughty of them.