Selling the imperfect horse

toomanyhorses26

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If you are selling a horse that has an issue with something in my case shoeing how much would you adjust your price by? I don't think it will be a lifetime issue has he has made massive improvements(needed sedaline to even take shoes off and managed to get one shoe on yesterday thanks to quite frankly amazing new farrier yesterday without any sedation) since I had him but the issue is still there and does need careful handling and management. Also how would you word this in the advert or would you wait until you spoke to them directly?
 
Wouldn't alter the price at the time of advertising but if an issue when they have been to view and you tell them that he needs a "sympathetic Farrier" and it's a sticking point then perhaps negotiate the price then.

If your selling a good horse at a good price then shoeing shouldn't be a deal breaker.
 
Whilst I agree this does not need to be mentioned in an advertisement, it should be disclosed before viewing.

If the perspective viewer is a barefoot enthusiast this is clearly not an issue. For those of us who shoe every 6 weeks, this may well be a deal breaker.
 
For those of us who shoe every 6 weeks, this may well be a deal breaker.

I shoe every 6 weeks and one of my horses has to be sedated however he's 100% in all other ways and if selling him would still ask for the 8k he's worth. I would inform the buyer of the issue and let them them know how you get round it so they know the problem can be resolved.

I personally wouldn't be put off buying a horse due to shoeing issues as i don't think a bit of fuss created for one hour every 6 weeks would put me off buying a quality horse.

Each to their own.
 
Not something I would mention in the initial advert as people scan and could easily put yours to one side with that sort of info. I would disclose it during initial conversations though!
 
toomanyhorses what are you trying to sell? an issue with shoeing is overcomable! is the horse good in all other respects? is it fit for purpose? no i wouldnt advertise that it is bad to shoe if it is fantastic hacking/sj/d/xc/ode. but you need to disclose this on sale! is this a young horse?
 
In the ad you could put good to clip, load, hack alone and in company (or whatever is appropriate) and leave out the shoeing and then mention it when people respond to the ad. Be willing to adjust the price when you have found a buyer.
 
For me it would depend on the severity of the problem and the ability of the horse.

If the horse needed a vet to sedate for shoeing, it would seriously put me off because of the expense and hassle, unless the horse was a one in a million super competition horse for a low price.

If the horse needed oral sedatives and could then be shod, I would be a lot more interested but would expect a proportionate reduction in price.

If the horse just needs a patient farrier, it would not worry me too much, unless the horse was supposed to be a companion or something similarly hassle free.
 
He is young only 3 years old - in my mind the rest of him is pretty good and is where I would expect a three year old to be with his history - it really is just the shoeing and like I have said he has already made massiveimprovements in the few weeks he has been with me . It doesn't cause any real day to day issues as I can pick put feet ,tap them with a hammer ,put hoof oil on etc - it is just the whole process of shoeing. My new farrier was finding that really regular breaks seem to help - so literally taking two nails out - foot down for a break ,foot back up again - two more nails out etc .
 
He has two clicks of sedaline and seems to be a every 6 weeks shoeing pattern. I am hoping that a new farrier might be able to make further in roads into this problem as well so we can drop the sedaline completely.
 
Agree wouldn't put anything specific about it in the advert or reduce the price because of it but would mention when people ring up so that they can decide before they spend fuel coming to look at him if they consider it an issue or not.
 
For me it would depend on the severity of the problem and the ability of the horse.

If the horse needed a vet to sedate for shoeing, it would seriously put me off because of the expense and hassle, unless the horse was a one in a million super competition horse for a low price.

If the horse needed oral sedatives and could then be shod, I would be a lot more interested but would expect a proportionate reduction in price.

If the horse just needs a patient farrier, it would not worry me too much, unless the horse was supposed to be a companion or something similarly hassle free.

/\ /\ I completely agree with this :) And I would mentioned it to potential buyers as early as possibly so as not to waste either of yours' time.

I once spent a long time enquiring about a horse for sale only to find out that (1) it couldn't be turned out with other horses, and (2) it wouldn't hack alone, which made it no use to me at all.
 
I don't think it affects price, hald the horses you get over from ireland are awful to shoe and that doesnt seem to affect their price, a 7k horse just got sold out of our yard which has to be sedalined to be shod and didnt affect price... in fact my own I was told could only be cold shod and wasn't very good and after one session with out farrier she is foot (haha) perfect!!
 
He used to race so has been shod all round from an early age hence the shoes on at this age - he also has two little white scars just above the knee on the outside of the leg - which someone has mentioned could be hobble scars so I am really not sure if this is a long standing issue that hasn't been dealt with or he has had a scare and this is what has created the issue
 
with something like this or a vice i would actually be inclined to put something in my advert like "weaves occasionally hence reduced price" and then just put the price i was going to put in the first place... ;)
 
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