over priced horses!

muckypony said:
I completely agree, but whats to say there's nothing wrong with a horse that has done nothing for the past 4 months? Whether there is a valid reason or not, I don't think you can trust a lot of people nowadays. As I said before, I got a bargain at £600, but he was difficult to get right. I was told he'd had x amount of months off due to 'lack of time'. Had I paid £1,500, I would have been seriously miffed. As I paid barely anything (it was really just £600 for bloodlines and a 'pretty' pony...) I can't complain and was wanting a challenge anyway.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's the difference between you and I, even for a £1500 horse who had been out of work I'd still expect to see it ridden and have a full 5 stage vetting. I wouldnt expect the ridden work to be spectacular or the horse to be at all fit but a RC all rounder should be able to cope with a period of time off without explosion etc.
 
Last edited:
conniegirl said:
Maybe that's the difference between you and I, even for a £1500 horse who had been out of work I'd still expect to see it ridden and have a full 5 stage vetting. I wouldn't expect the ridden work to be spectacular or the horse to be at all fit but a RC all rounder should be able to cope with a period of time off without explosion etc.
Click to expand...

I would expect exactly the same. I think the issue here lies with the fact that the OP wants a ready to go RC horse, which you won't get for £1,500.
 
There seems to be a huge range at the moment, lots of horses for sale, and I feel like they are generally cheaper than a few years back. I think you could get something reasonable for 1500 but it may be rough n ready, a bit green, older, or ex racehorse/TB types. I agree that if you want something more ready to go, with no quirks, you'll be lucky to find that and there will be more around 3-4k mark, or at least something starting with a 2 anyway.

Even with the 3-4k ones I saw, they were nice enough but perhaps not quite the fancy finished off model I was looking for (although saying that I've gone for a younger one, so what do I know eh?!)
 
As a for example I paid £3,500 (including, saddle bridle and head collar) for a laid back 15.1" 4 year old heavyweight cob about 3 year ago.
 
I recently paid around £1500 for a barely handled 4 year old highland pony. I thought that was a good deal. He does have good breeding though and potential for showing etc. i wouldn't expect to get a good ready to go horse for £1500. £3000 seems more likely.
 
I paid more than £1.5k for my yearling! Appreciate this particular horse is spooky/quirky and hasnt done much, but really anything under £2k is a clear statement from the owner that the horse is a project and needs work. So no in this case dont think it is particularly over-priced, sounds about right really if this horse is rideable (i.e. has been backed and no illnesses/injuries).

For a ready to go, well schooled horse that can do RC activities you are looking at £2.5k-£5k I think, anything sub £2k is a project and will need work/have issues.
 
I paid 1.5k-ish for my fabulous little all rounder. More than capable of a little dressage, loves jumping and is capable of local level SJ/XC and brave with it, hacks well in company and alone, completely unfazed by life...

Except that it was 3/4 years ago I bought him and he was 15 months old at the time :p

pennyturner said:
Lol. So true.

The secret to a happy life is to be quietly satisfied with your own ass... whilst enjoying the process of resolving any quirks it might have:P
Click to expand...

Are you calling my ass quirky? :eek3:
 
kc100 said:
I paid more than £1.5k for my yearling! Appreciate this particular horse is spooky/quirky and hasnt done much, but really anything under £2k is a clear statement from the owner that the horse is a project and needs work. So no in this case dont think it is particularly over-priced, sounds about right really if this horse is rideable (i.e. has been backed and no illnesses/injuries).

For a ready to go, well schooled horse that can do RC activities you are looking at £2.5k-£5k I think, anything sub £2k is a project and will need work/have issues.
Click to expand...

I've been ripped off too I paid the best part of 5k for an Unbacked unhandled 3 y o be still think I got a bargain ...
 
This is a really interesting thread to read. I am just going back to breaking and producing pony club ponies (got to be some advantage to being 5ft diddly squat!). My opinion of what makes a pony valuable is twofold. One, you have got to have the basics; good conformation, doesn't need to be show quality every time but must be workmanlike and well put together enough to cope with its workload, a brain that is trainable and an attitude that is willing.

The second part, which really adds the value, is the experience/mileage. Its all very well for a horse/pony to have 'potential', what people are and should be willing to pay for (in my eyes anyway) is the knowledge and proof that the animal has been out, done the things that you wish to do with it and proved itself to be safe and sane. That is where something goes from £1-2k to £4-5k.
 
If you are willing to compromise on things like age or specific things that need work on then you can get a bargain.

If you are not an experience horse person then bargain hunting is a dangerous occupation. Small things handling wise can make the difference to the outcome of any horse.

Personally I would far rather buy something around a grand and turn it into a genuine 6k horse myself. Luckily as jftd says, we aren't all the same.

People's circumstances change and a lot of people are wise enough to realise spending 3 k keeping the horse for a year while it doesn't sell is false economy. Right place right time you get lucky.
 
Last edited:
Haven't read all the replies, but couldn't read and run. I bred a filly last year and getting her to 4 years old will have cost the best part of 3000 euros. Nothing extravagent at all, just regualr farriery, vaccs, worming, good grazing or else ad lib hay etc. I don't even feed her expensive mixes, just a vit and min supplement. She is very well mannered already from stabling at night the past 3 months and will be chucked out soon again 24/7 in a herd. Would I get 3000 for her if I wanted to sell? No way! Definitely not here in Ireland anyway!

I have a new found appreciation for horse prices, £1500 for anything over 2 is ridiculous!
 
Wow- cant believe all the replies, this is definitely an emotive subject... Some insightful points, I shall keep an open mind on my continuing horse hunt I think. By the way, I wasn't expecting at all to be finding a finished article for my budget, but saying I would at least like to be able to try the horse to some degree before buying. I know you don't get a superstar for that!
 
The trouble is that the current horse market is quite down on its luck - and you can get a lot for your money.

Now if this post was made a few years ago we would all be saying that 1.5K is very reasonable for the horse in question. These days, it is a bit ambitious.
 
Matt_m, if you read all the comments you will see a lot of people think the price is reasonable for a mildly quirky unfit RC type who hasnt done much.

The horse market is bad but it isnt that bad!
 
20 years ago we were selling pure bred Ids for £5,000 plus, ridden away. Today if you go on the Id site you can see you can get a lot of horse for £5,000. So what I am saying it's the cost of keeping a horse that's gone up. Kids showjumping ponies were going for £12,000. Nobody puts the work in these days to get a horse up to sale standard but they expect a high price. The bottom fell out of the market many years ago and internet competition did not help with prices.
 
be positive said:
I think the sellers may be asking too much, they need to put in some work and sell the horse up and ready to go, not necessarily fit and going really well but it needs to be able to be tried and vetted in order to sell for a sensible price, basically they are too lazy, nervous, or whatever fits to the individual case, to get the horse in a decent state to sell, they then wonder why they have so many "timewasters" calling who don't buy.
Click to expand...

same boat here - no wonder why so many ads say 're-advertised due to time wasters'. Ive been to see 3 recently, all a couple of hours drive away and none even close to the description and basically as you say, horses not in a decent, even 'basic' state to sell. Latest was a 18 year old schoolmaster, hacked by a child, photos of it doing everything, 2k. Got there and they literally couldn’t even tie it up or lead it without it having histrionics, breaking free or ploughing over them. I was expected to view this horse standing in the middle of a field while they held on and with its chums mellying about us as they literally couldn’t even take it in! Tack was brought and when afore mentioned child was asked to jump on to show that actually once you were on board it was safe as houses , she burst into tears. I pretty sure i was branded a ‘timewaster’ but rather feel it’s me who has had my time wasted. Turns out pics were all 6 years old and from a previous home too. Over priced? Just a bit. Facebook and gumtree seem to be full of these ads which keep re-appearing over and over again for the same horse.
 
I haven't read all of this as it is a long thread but for me I think the original horse price was ok. Sounds like a nice little horse but just needs bringing back into work, 4 months isn't a long time to be off for & providing it wasn't for injury £1500 is very little to spend

I paid less than 1k for all 3 of mine atm but I bought my now event mare at 2 & think I got a bargain & my other 2 recently as 3 year olds & definitely got a bargain on both of them but hunted hard was very fussy & very lucky!!!

For a decent riding club horse I would think 5k is a reasonable budget.

People will pay for something that is safe & reliable !
 
With the ones we bred, we only ever negotiated on price if we felt they were the right prospective owners. One I virtually gifted to a friend as she was so perfect for her daughter. Many was the time we refused to sell to people we felt were wrong for the horse. Funnily enough it was always the ones who felt wrong thought they could walk in, offer silly money and be shocked when you nicely showed them the door. The ones we felt were right we offered them a lower price because the right home came first. Still in contact with them all, none been sold on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top