Ricardo Z mare for £3500..suspicious??

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blackhorse37

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ON my horse search i have found a 7yo mare by Ricardo Z. She looks fantastic, have seen pics and videos and poss going to try her on sunday, but im a little sceptical. Surely there is a catch with her at this price??
What do you think??
 
You could buy a Ricardo mare in ireland for a lot less than that so no not particularly surprising. Is she well-schooled (the finished product?), good conformation etc - all will have effects on price but you'll only know if you view her.
 
She has been jumping novice in ireland and BSJA here, video of her jumping 3ft 3 class, she has a lovely clean scopey jump. She is also well schooled (flying changes etc) and has a good easy outline. So you think im worrying for nothing?? Should say she is at a dealers yard too, came in from ireland 5 months ago apparently.
 
Just give her a good try in every situation; up the road, in a field etc. and get her vetted. I would recommend one of the senior partners from Bell Equine ie. Caron Coombe, Tim Mair, David Sinclair, Julian Samuelson, Rob Pascoe.

Good Luck!
 
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That breeding, although i know it, wouldn't mean much to me at all to be honest. Doesn't necessarily mean said mare is that fantastic. I think £3500 is reasonable.
 
She might be scopey but not that scopey if you know what I mean. Lots of Ricardo z offspring available over here for next to nothing. Go for it, if you can take her on trial, do. There's no harm in trying.
 
Also, watching the vid of her she actually looks very green. A tell tale sign is that the vid of her jumping the course has been 'cut' between fences rather than watching her jump around the whole thing.

Assuming I'm looking at the same horse..... :)
 
Thanks all, feel slightly more hopeful now that it wont be a completely wasted journey! (its a long way to go!!)

Foxy, are you seeing a bay mare in the vid?

Will post again when i have seen her, again, thank you all
 
Ricardo Z - not great on the breeding front - not a well proven sire so would ignore the breeding completely - apart from remember you are looking at a wb x, even if they call her an ISH!
 
Yes bay mare; I read your other post and put 2 and 2 together.....

Good Luck though, she looks a nice sort
 
I wouldn't give anymore than that for a Ricardo horse...especially a 7th old with nothing done! Disregard her breeding and look objectively at her...green 7 year old! She could be gorgeous but certainly not worth more than that price I would say. What do they mean when they say she jumped "novice" in Ireland? There is no such thing as novice in sj over here
 
I really like the look of her and if she has been at the dealer's for 5 months now they should have trialled her pretty well and be able to tell you all about her.
 
5 months is a long time for a horse to stay at a dealers. The one I knew shifted them asap as always had new stock coming in. May be able to barter price down quite a bit if you decide you like her, as they don't seem to have people queueing up to buy her.
 
hmm, having seen the video, she seems to show a straightforward enough temperament, but schooling and jumping wise, there is a multitude of problems there: the canter is unbalanced, she drifts to the right whilst jumping, chucks her head about quite a lot etc, etc. It might be she is just green, but you would have thought that in 5 months, the dealer would bring her on more.
 
I think what they do is 'give' the horse to one of the teenagers on the yard to project so won't have had any formal schooling in the 5 months, just been ridden about (not a bad thing IMO)

I would be making an offer on that price if I liked her.

Have to say I can't imagine her managing a flying change in a month of Sundays......?!
 
Tricky. I know a horse bred and backed by Carl Hester which was bought for v little and ma be worth up to £30 grand if they can stop his napping. I was gobsmacked cos he doesn't look like much but I saw him trotted up and understood!
 
I think she's a bit lovely :)

Well horses are particularily expensive in my area, but I struggled for months to find a sound, sane young horse with potential for less than £4,500! So she does seem cheap, especially as the other horses on their site are priced at £10,000 plus!

So, due to her price and long stay at the dealers, I would assume that there is something going on, could be something fairly harmless like she knocked her confidence jumping or sustained a minor injury and had to be off work for a little while. However, it could be something more sinister. I would go to view her, I would go with my eyes open, and ask the dealer questions which have a yes or no answer, like "has she had any health issues since you've had her?", and "can I bring my instructor to see her" and "is it woth me getting a five stage vetting". If he clams up or refuses to give a straight answer, you know to be suspicious.

I have bought suspiciously cheap horses before, and horses I knew would probably not pass a vetting, some have been disasters (but then the most expensive horse I ever bought ended in heartbreak!) and others have been superstars, worth their weight in gold! Buying any horse is a gamble, and there is nothing about this mare's video or advert that would discourage me from viewing her.
 
She is sharp - she's being very carefully ridden, and the video is cunningly edited. If you are competent on a difficult horse, then go for it, otherwise leave well alone.
 
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