Overpriced Warmbloods

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Rambo

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Okay, so we've had several posts in recent days regarding what people do and don't like, and another similar post debating the pro's and con's of WB's.

One view that seems to come through time and time again is that WB's are somehow overpriced.

What is everyone's definition of overpriced, and in relation to what !?

Is a WB jumping 1.20m's priced at say £10k overpriced ? Or how about a dressage WB priced similarly.

What do people perceive as being overpriced, and in relation to what
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See I think the prices of horses in general are just ridiculous these days. I have never spent over £1500, I just cant afford too but then I don't have huge ambitions. I do know of someone who has just spent £8.5K on a 15 year old dressage horse - its only competed at elementary level - and its just sitting in a field doing nothing - to me thats complete and utter maddness.
 
I wouldnt pay that for a wb but to say that im not eager to compete at that level. i suppose it depends on how competitive you are, If i wanted to compete at a high level at whatever then i probs would pay the money.
 
well all i can say is that i got my hanoverianxtb for a bargin, i knew that at the time but haveing learnt few more things now about his breeding and potential , i now know i got an even bigger bargin and i am very lucky.

horses are worth what people will pay i suppose and as wb are "in vogue", 10 k will be payed
 
I think it depends on the horse, its ability and temprament. I'd pay for for a sane SJ that does 1.30 than one that is difficult to ride yet has loads of cope. My WB was quirky and the price reflected this
 
I think it depends what the horse has done to be honest.

A horse jumping 1.20's consitantly, with a fair amount of winnings and qualifications i.e. scope, bluechip etc etc will be worth a lot more than a horse jumping inconsistant 1.20's with few winnings and no qualifications.

Also i think it depends on the scope, if the horse has scope to go on then i would be willing to pay more for it than a horse that is at its max at 1.20.

Saying that though i think a lot of people stick on a big price tag just because the horse is a warmblood!! And also if the horse has done a lot with previouls owners but nothing with the current owner for a few years they still stick on massive price tags. Ok the horse may be capable of doing it but its not competition fit and the price should reflect this.

Sorry ramblings over he he
 
When you look at what WBs are, I don't think they're that overpriced. They've been bred to be a consistans standard, and the price reflects that.

I do think that horses are getting more expensive in genaral though!
 
I don't think its just Warmbloos TBH i think most horses are over priced.

My WB was a bargain just because her owner wanted a good home for her. She advertised her in H+H for £10k 3 months before and got so many studs and competition yards phoning she took her off the market and then found me through a friend. I was just around looking for a horse at the right time.
 

Its not just here, it’s on the continent too. Bruce was bought over from Holland as a three year old by a person with more money than sense…for around £42k. This IMO is NOT his worth. He was bought for a decimal place move (i.e. much, much cheaper) by my friend when he refused to jump (or even go in the ring) with this person – because they over faced him as a 4yo and then gave up. They were horrible to him really. I didn’t pay over the odds for him (4 figures) and IMO I paid his worth – he is jumping 1.20 at home, does a nice dressage test and went double clear at British Novice next week – Discovery next.
So it is all relative really but I do think that the money people are asking for some horses is stupid.
 
i paid £2500 for my imported belgian WB, he has won dressage, ode, sj and showing is a lovely character and hacks great, worth every penny to me.

It does make you wonder how much these horses do actually sell at on the contintent though as this horse was imported by a dealer as a 6yo, sold to another dealer for £2000 then to me. The original dealer will have made money on him and had to pay importation costs so he cannot have been much more than £1000!!!!
 
Not in my opinion £10k for a 120m horse provided you know it is genuinely doing that and not someones idea that they might is ok.SJ's when they are doing that command a very healthy price but there are so many people who advertise that they will jump and the horse actually doesn't or has problems. Our own has pyschological problems in that he jumped too much too early but with patience we are winning however we will see when our jumping season starts over here in March
 
When I bought Bo from a dealer, my vet asked me how much I was paying for him (in the region of £7.5k). His words were...oh good....if he was any less i'd have been asking why ! I commented that the dealer was probably making a tidy profit on him, but said vet reckoned that he doubted there was more than a £1k profit in him...if that
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If I'm honest, I have to say any warmblood is overpriced if it is over one thousand! As you can tell, I don't like them, sorry!

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Not liking them is one thing, but I don't see how a horse can be overpriced if it does the job for a reasonable price in comparison to what else is available
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It sounds like you got yourself a bargain, people talk about dealers making a healthy profit but alot of them do it in turnover and yes they only take £1k or so per horse. £20k a friend of mine has just had to pay for a horse jumping consistently at 130m with the scope to jump futher (but he hasnt actually done that). I love warmbloods ours is so much fun.
 
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If I'm honest, I have to say any warmblood is overpriced if it is over one thousand! As you can tell, I don't like them, sorry!

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Not liking them is one thing, but I don't see how a horse can be overpriced if it does the job for a reasonable price in comparison to what else is available
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I can agree with your quote there but I still wouldn't pay more than a grand for a WB cos I just don't like them whether it can jump a house or not - but I also wouldn't pay much more for any horse either!
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If it was a WB, it would have to be truely spectacular for me to even think about buying it and I'm sure I could talk myself out of buying it very easily unless I could do a turnaround quick profit (as in take it from seller straight to new buyer, it not even setting foot on my yard!) My tongue is firmly in cheek!

Getting back to original post, I think as a rule all horses are overpriced not just WBs but it's market forces and if someone's got a few grand to spend on a horse and the horse does the job they want it for and is a nice person to boot, then good for them, I would wish them sucess - whatever breed it is.
 
Horses in general are over priced unfortunately. Like your trainer I do wonder why some horses are so *cheap* say around £3k when they have done this that and the other.
Horses are only over priced because there are silly ppl happy to pay through the nose for them. If ppl didnt then horse prices wouldnt have rocketed!

I went to see a WBxIrish with YO just before they went skiing at a well known show jumpers yard. The horse IMO was very plain and hadnt had a bean done to it - basically has just been thrown out into a field and ridden a couple of times and done one show.
It wasnt at all appealing on the eye although jumped well he threw his head all the time and in the wrong hands he could be a disaster.
However they were asking £7k IMO over priced by at least £2k he had good breeding but so what - that doesnt always mean hes gonna be fab equally you cannot breed with him.
Anyway, he has now (in the past two weeks) been to a show and jumped double clear at in his first BN.
But still for a very green difficult 4 year old i think its still expensive.
 
I think the problem is not that horses are over-priced per se'. Some are definitely worth their money to certain people and these people will pay for something that is right for them, has a competition history etc. This in turn provides other people with the idea that because their horses have similar breeding, are able to perform to a similar standard (but often have no proof that this is consistent) that somehow their horses are worth the same. This to me is where the problem originates and unfortunately some horses just aren't worth the price that sellers are asking......but there will be someone out there with more money than sense so these horses continue to keep prices out of the range of many.

Having said all that - there are options for people who still want a nice WB but don't have money oozing out of their pockets - import! This is still by far the cheapest way to be able to purchase a quality animal who will fulfill most of the requirements of the part-time or low-level competitor. In Europe the standards are much higher and owners are expecting far more from their horses at younger ages than in the UK, so there are many over there who are destined for the scrap heap....when indeed they would be perfectly good enough, and in some cases, much more than a lot of people in Britain could hope for......and at seriously cheaper prices.
 
I absolutely adore the presence of a warmblood in the dressage arena, so when I started looking for a horse to take on loan I sort of knew I would end up with one. My other mare is IDxTB and although she gets all the movements right, is consistently placed unaffiliated and has nice paces, she does not the have the natural ability and flamboyance that my youngster does.

I think there are a lot of over priced horses out there, especially within warmblood lines such as Gribaldi, Voltaire etc etc. but I have seen some foals at silly prices that have no guarantee that they will produce the goods so to speak.

The youngster I have on loan was up for £2,500 as a backed (but not brought on) five year old. She is WBxTB and her grandsire is Greeton du Rezidal (sire Junola) and her dam is an ex-racer. Personally I think I have got a fantastic horse should I buy her at the end of the loan (for the original price) but I know deep down I would never have been able to afford a horse like her that was fit and ready to compete. I got her, rebacked her and have worked through her 'issues'... but I don't know whether I could put a price tag on her at the moment anywhere near what she was worth.

Realistically though, a horse is only worth as much as someone will pay for it!
 
Tia you speak a lot of sense!

I have now gotten fed up of looking at £8k horses wth "potential" when I can buy a Grade B, under 12, that HAS hunted, HAS jumped the tracks I want to, DOES have the attitude I desire and WILL tick all my boxes!
 
There are alot of over priced horses out there. A horse is only worth what someone is willing to pay & while some people are willing to pay a fortune for a horse others will price their horses accordingly. The asking prices are high but I wonder how many actually sell for that high asking price, you can normally get at least 20% knocked off.

When I bought my lad, Hann x TB with a well known sire I got a reduction in price & even then he was well under priced. The owner just wanted him gone to a good home, surpluss to her needs etc. i was happy, so was she. Whatever he's worth no with loads of training doesn't matter...he isn't for sale.
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It's a bit like asking whats the difference between a ford and a mercedes? Some like the steady drive of a ford whilst others like the quality and performance of a sports car. Like a sports car, you pay a bit more for quality and performance, and if you dont drive it right you will soon be found out.

Both do their job though.
 

I am sort of on the opinion that people over price the horse they are trying to sell to get ‘serious’ buyers interested and full expect you to offer on them.

My horse cost me a hairy cob (not part exchange, I had to go and buy the cob!) 2 Saddles and some cash…but I suppose that is an exception to the rule.

What I would say is that the cheaper ones are always the best as you never feel that you are loosing with them!
 
Got a Grade A (£36,500 winnings) mare, 16 yrs old. Had a year off after jumping/winning on the international circuit at 1.60m. Now fit and back jumping 1.30m with an amateur rider (only bsja reg a few months ago) so a real schoolmistress. Fit and healthy and paid under £10k!
 
Sadly, paying thousands for a warmblood is no guarantee of success in any field. i can think of a 4 yo wb recently purchased for 8 k who is already taking the p**s out of his inexperienced owner. his movement is fabulous - i am not a fan of them but even i can appreciate this - but i think it may end in tears unless a good rider gets hold of him soon.

i get more excited looking at the pages of trademe.co.nz where you can get loads of decent-looking potentials for a few hundred quid - much more like it!
 
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