Recently backed 7 year old - what price to buy at?

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Bangagin

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A good friend is looking for a solid, sensible horse to buy. She has found one locally - a Welsh Section D - but she is not sure of the story that comes with the horse.

The lady has had this horse since June and has backed it on behalf of its elderly owner. When asked what the horse had been doing previously, she had not been a brood mare, but had been bought for his wife to ride side saddle but they have never got round to doing anything with her.

She is described as having been "extremely easy to break". On the second day she was taken out for a hack alone and behaved perfectly. So it sounds as if she has been well handled for some time prior to backing.

The lady is selling her on behalf of the owner, as she doesn't have the time for her (has another horse and just wanted the challenge of backing her) - if she doesn't sell her she will go back to the elderly owner and probably just be a field ornament - but she feels she is too good for this.

The first question is - she is obviously a very green 7 year old. When younger horses are backed they are turned away for the winter. Is this normally done with older horses, or wouldn't you bother as they are more mature.

Secondly, at what age do Sect D's become fully mature. My friend is quite a nervous rider and is worrying a bit that this newly backed mare may become more opinionated as time goes on.

And lastly - what would you pay in the current economic climate for a very green Sect D mare? She is very pretty and looks like she moves very nicely from the photographs. But coming in to winter is not a great time to sell.

All advice gratefully received please. :D
 
All I will say is they do become more opinionated when you have to have a discussion with them when they are older :) and as good natured as a horse can be ultimately there will be a time when you have to have that discussion or 5,especially when they are just learning!Personally i would tell your friend to look around for something that is proven,yes you may pay a little more,but at least she wont overface herself!
 
Have you looked online to see what green sec d's are selling for? What are her bloodlines? How much are they asking for?

I know you haven't asked for opinions but if she's a nervous rider does she really want to be getting a newly backed sec d?
 
i backed my 7 and half year old shire x in april and she was the easiest horse i have ever backed and mainly because she is more mature so i only had to do things a couple of times and she picked them up the only thing she doesnt like is the school but thats not a major problem as she hacks out and is really good on the road and we do transitions ect when we are out not as though we are going to be doing grand prix dressage but i did pay less than a 1000 for her and have to say was a bargain probably one of the best horses i have ever owned
 
The story doesnt quite make sense, it was bought for elderly owners wife unbroken to do sidesaddle but was then sent to be broken in June and is now for sale. So what did it do until it was 7 ???
I would think without seeing it your friend can not tell if it would suit her but if she is very nervous it will probably be too green and inexperienced imo.
If she does buy there is no reason to turn away as she should be fully mature by now.
As for value it depends, is it registered, the market is not good for unproven, potential allrounders although still a demand for a proven easy type.
 
missieh said:
And another horse ruined: novice horse + novice rider...why???
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Harsh dont you think...she is looking for advice,surely "I wouldnt recommend a young horse for a nervous novice rider,maybe look for......" would have been more constructive!!
 
hadfos said:
Harsh dont you think...she is looking for advice,surely "I wouldnt recommend a young horse for a nervous novice rider,maybe look for......" would have been more constructive!!
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Agree the lady is asking for advice and to be quite honest i would let a novice rider hack my now 8 year old mare out now as she is very sensible and she was only backed in april depends on the horse they are all different
 
missieh said:
And another horse ruined: novice horse + novice rider...why???
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doesn't always have to be so. I am a first time horse owner with a novice horse, I love him to bits and have risen to the challenge and we are both doing great. Don't think you have to rush to judge in quite that way.
 
Thanks everyone. Not offended by the comments as not personal to me! :)

I never said she was a novice. She is a very competent rider, but can lack confidence in herself and her abilities. She worries about falling off and injuring herself as she is self employed and so doesn't get paid if she can't work.

It wasn't sent to be backed - the lady who seems to be selling the horse wanted to back it as a challenge as she had never backed a horse before. It sounds as if they bought her unbacked and then never got round to doing anything with her. But I'm not sure how bona fide this story is - who knows?

I think it is worth her going to look and have a chat as it is so local. They are asking £2500 ono for the mare. She is meant to have Nebo bloodlines but that is all I know. Only advertised on Gumtree, Preloved and Adtrader rather than any of the usual sites.
 
To be honest she sounds expensive to me. I have bought horses for less than that who had already done a bit xc, hunted etc (one had SJAI points & had prenoviced).
 
TJP said:
To be honest she sounds expensive to me. I have bought horses for less than that who had already done a bit xc, hunted etc (one had SJAI points & had prenoviced).
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yes seems expensive to me aswell considering whats about at the moment and thats loads more than in paid for an unbacked 7 year old in april
 
How many weeks of being ridden has it had? Whats it lke in traffic? We backed a 10 year old mare but she had been a broodmare and so very well handled and easy to do.
 
Kaylum said:
How many weeks of being ridden has it had? Whats it lke in traffic? We backed a 10 year old mare but she had been a broodmare and so very well handled and easy to do.
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I'm not sure. It sounds from the conversation my friend had that she had been riding her since June. The lady is booked in to do a clinic next weekend, and her TB is lame so she said she may well take the 7 year old instead. Sounds as if she is fine in traffic.

I thought it was expensive, but my friend had no idea what to offer really. I thought her tactic should be to go and see the horse ridden, try it, and then think if she wants to make an offer. Perhaps go in at £1500 and see what they say? She said on the phone that she didn't have anyone else interested in her.
 
I'm always suspect of previous injuries with horses whove had time out or are backed late.
As they say, buyer beware.
I was interested in a mare in a Lancashire paper, and it was the same week I'd put a wanted ad in Yorkshire paper. I received a call from a man offering the exact description of the mare I'd seen... But he was from the other side of the pennines to the mares ad. He was very plausible and I played along him telling me it was a heartbreaking sale and they'd owned her for a number of years.
Needless to say I called the advertised number for the mare and asked if she knew the man, turns out he had rung and arranged a veiwing and was offering a home for life. I left it with the owner to deal with this man, but it's made very synical ever since.
If the horse is just going gombe shoved back in the field, maybe arrange for a trial period, even if from the owners house.
Not sure it sound legit, but you never know :-)
 
Given that they do not seem to bothered about whether they sell her or not you could try a loan with option to buy say after 3 months.

The story does not sound strange to me, plenty of horses sit in a paddock and do nothing.

But i would say that i would make sure I had an instructor on hand, to help through the first three months and nip any potential issues in the bud, because any new horse can test their new owner.
 
It's hard to say whether the price is too expensive without knowing the size, breeding and conformation.

A 14.2 will sell for less than a 15.2, as would nothing to write home about breeding lines as opposed to good breeding lines.

Welsh D's can sell for a few hundred quid and some for the 4.5k to 5.5k mark.
 
Many Welsh Sec D's have Nebo Bloodlines, (technically mine is inbred as Nebo himself and a few others feature on both the dam's and sires sides).
As for the breed themselves they tend in my experience to be very intelligent, bold and trustworthy horses. I wouldn't however say the breed is particularly suited to an unconfident rider.

£2500 for a 7 year old Sec D with not a lot of education is a lot of money. Do you know her registered Welsh Sec D name? What height is she?

I think that she may be very much over priced and if your friend is not a confident rider and has £2.5k to spend I would suggest a lot of views of a number of different horses before potentially deciding on this one.
 
Keimanp - she's 15.2hh. Don't know her registered name. I wouldn't say my friend is unconfident. If she feels confident in her horse, then she is fine - it's just new horses. But she would be the same with any new horse, and has been said, they will all have a tendency to test their new owner!
 
Bangagin said:
Keimanp - she's 15.2hh. Don't know her registered name. I wouldn't say my friend is unconfident. If she feels confident in her horse, then she is fine - it's just new horses. But she would be the same with any new horse, and has been said, they will all have a tendency to test their new owner!
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I personally think an asking price of £2.5k is reasonable with a view to accepting an offer of £2k if the horse has good conformation, temperament and showing good paces with willingness to learn and work. If your friend has tried the horse and feels confident in her, that's worth alot more than money.

As you say any new horse will probably test their new owner, but most Welsh D's will push it that bit further, give an inch, they'll take a mile.

My Welsh D mare pushed things to the limit when I first got her and she still does have the odd 'moment'. They're probably not the ideal horse for someone who isn't confident but having said that, I had really bad confidence issues when I first got mine. We've worked through them and we've now got the beginnings of a great bond.

We'll always have 'discussions' on the ground and ridden but I wouldn't have her any other way :)
 
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