The horse market right now

MasterBenedict

MasterBenedict

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Is it just me or has it gone bonkers?

Is it just youngsters selling within hours of adverts going up? Admittedly I haven’t bought many horses but never known anything like this.

Asking as I was on the lookout for a nice youngster to bring on and have a bit of fun with. Started seriously looking 2/3 weeks ago, enquired about endless youngsters to be told they were already sold or had viewers already on their way and were as good as sold! Not top class youngsters but certainly not cheap ones either.

Happily have now snapped something lovely up but can’t believe how fast the market is moving given the current economic uncertainty. I had to get there same day to view after finding her advert that morning and having a nice chat with the seller (Essex to N. Yorkshire - wasn’t home till gone midnight!). She already had 3 viewers lined up that week and all within 24hrs of the advert going up.

Is everyone just bored and looking for a project or is it ridden horses too?
 
Ridden horses too - it's completely nuts. Having sold mine (to a lovely home following much discussion - I didn't just flog him to the highest bidder as he was rather quirky!) I'm looking for another riding horse - and there's nothing under about £6K. All I want is a nice safe hack, over 14.2hh, under 10 years, that will school and pop a jump. Six THOUSAND pounds!

I'm going to see one tonight and if he's not right then I'm going to give up looking for a while and wait for it all to calm down. It can't carry on like this surely, particularly with the weather we've had - hay is going to be costing a fortune this winter.
 
Widgeon said:
Ridden horses too - it's completely nuts. Having sold mine (to a lovely home following much discussion - I didn't just flog him to the highest bidder as he was rather quirky!) I'm looking for another riding horse - and there's nothing under about £6K. All I want is a nice safe hack, over 14.2hh, under 10 years, that will school and pop a jump. Six THOUSAND pounds!

I'm going to see one tonight and if he's not right then I'm going to give up looking for a while and wait for it all to calm down. It can't carry on like this surely, particularly with the weather we've had - hay is going to be costing a fortune this winter.
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Probably a bit rude of me, but there are several horse search threads going on right now with lots of adverts and the person looking rejecting them. Maybe have a look on those?

I wouldn’t want to pay more than £4K for a decent non spooky all rounder, but I think I’d have to stretch to £6K in the current market for what I want (weight carrier, totally safe)
 
It’s definitely a bit mental.
I sold my event horse unseen and sort of unvetted, and had a second person wanting him unseen and completely unvetted and wanted to gazump the first buyers! I’ve never been in that situation before.

I only sold him unseen as the buyers have multiple mutual connections and each party was able to suitably take up references. The second person I would have insisted tried him (so I could ascertain how they rode!)
 
If anyone is looking for a foal to 4yo Eventing type cannot recommend the Gfs stud enough https://www.gassonsfarmstud.co.uk/ search sales page for yearlings to 4yo or 2020 goals for weanlings all the Gfs babies I know including my own (a 3yo just being backed ) have fabulous trainable loving temperaments and are very brave and scopy and stunning with it.
 
I have noticed the same in Oz. There have been a lot more advertisements from people 'WTB' their next project/eventer/unicorn etc. I am sure by the end of the year a lot of these horses will be back on the market.
 
The market at the moment is completely mental. I am so over looking, I am seriously considering packing it in for the time being and starting looking again nearer winter.
 
Same here in NI. I’m trying to buy a lead rein pony and can’t get one at all. And it’s for my 2yo, so it’s not like I’m looking a show standard pony, just a small hairy thing that has reasonable manners. I’ve decided I’ll look again for her 3rd birthday in September
 
Cinnamontoast said:
Probably a bit rude of me, but there are several horse search threads going on right now with lots of adverts and the person looking rejecting them. Maybe have a look on those?

I wouldn’t want to pay more than £4K for a decent non spooky all rounder, but I think I’d have to stretch to £6K in the current market for what I want (weight carrier, totally safe)
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I did post one of those threads but only got one response! Which, to be fair, did look nice. However I bought the one I saw last night - we were the first viewing and we only got that because the seller is a friend of a friend. Paid just under 4K (including his saddle) for an 11 year old cob who is known in the local area to be a nice horse. We've driven all over in the last couple of weeks and I've ended up buying one from 45 minutes away!

ETA - the other thing that has been tremendously depressing is how people just don't tell the truth in their adverts. We went quite a distance to see horses that were a) three inches smaller than advertised, b) far greener than advertised and c) who took the p**s and reared when asked to hack alone. They wanted almost 7K for that last one.
 
I bought a project in the end during lockdown. The dealer had loads of interest but no one would commit to going to see the horse and wanted to wait until after lockdown! I viewed and tried one day, pulled in a favour from a vet to 5 stage vet a few days later (vets in our area weren't doing/ weren't allowed to do anything other than emergency calls) and i took my trailer on the day of the vetting and brought her home when she passed. I was chatting to a friend the other day and she was saying how crazy the market is right now and how totally overpriced a lot of horses are, again something around/under the 5k mark is now on for 7k+!
 
Should be interesting to see if/when/how the market crashes.

It isn't as hot and crazy here in my neck of the woods. The Verden Auction prices seemed normal to low. Local classifieds seem about right
 
Debated putting my 2 up for sale (not really...but yknow!) as seen similar to their types going for 6/7k and 3/4k and just seems like a heck of a lot of money.
 
As you all know I've been looking for a year but not seen any since lockdown began - I'm in Wales so movement is limited more than in England. It's quite frustrating seeing a few I really like the look of but not being able to go to see them. At first it seemed nobody was seeing them and they'd still be there when I could get out again but now they seem to be going very quickly. Boredom has obviously kicked in.

As a necessary evil (seriously some of those groups are crazy) I'm on a few dodgy dealer groups and the number of people who have bought low quality, badly trained horses unseen from very well known dodgy dealers is pretty scary. it's not so much that the dealers are doing it, there will always be unscrupulous people ready to exploit those poor horses but just how many people don't do any research, buy the first horse they come across and then blame other people when it goes wrong. There will be a lot more of that over the next few months.
 
Interesting that horses appear to be much in demand at the moment and worrying re the winter but as has been said many times before, horses prices have been unrealistically low for a very long time. Whilst l agree a good experienced home is essential there have been fewer horses thoughtfully bred for a while now. Plenty of them randomly bred though!
 
I often look on preloved. Just you be nosy to see what’s about locally and there have only been three new adverts in the past 4 weeks. All sold. Including the 600 pound non ridden project bat shit crazy one. This time last year , you wouldn’t have been able to give it away. LOTS of wanted adverts. And looking to loan.
 
gallopingby said:
Interesting that horses appear to be much in demand at the moment and worrying re the winter but as has been said many times before, horses prices have been unrealistically low for a very long time. Whilst l agree a good experienced home is essential there have been fewer horses thoughtfully bred for a while now. Plenty of them randomly bred though!
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I have to agree with the part about horses being cheap previously, perhaps the market is just starting to reflect the true value?
Take the three yr old I’ve just bought.

Shes taken £1k to get on the ground. Add 3 years keep and vaccs/passporting/grading/showing/farrier etc. by the breeder. Let’s say now £3k. Then add the costs for backing and riding away, keep etc. If I wanted to sell her next year as a nice just broken allrounder you’d not be far off looking at £4-5k easily to get her there. Add a bit if she’s a genuine and easy horse with a bit of scope and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask £6k.

Perhaps it’s time people are realising this? Probably not, but food for thought.
 
AdorableAlice said:
When furlough ends and companies go to the wall, there will be plenty of horses looking for homes and those puppies will be dumped.
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The facebook adds for 13 week old puppies have already started. People have started to go back to work and so now want rid because the puppy "isn't happy with my neighbour popping in once a day while I'm out" sooooo sad

Puppies trebled in price 2 months ago, even the guy selling point of lay chickens had sold everything and more early on.
 
exracehorse said:
I often look on preloved. Just you be nosy to see what’s about locally and there have only been three new adverts in the past 4 weeks. All sold. Including the 600 pound non ridden project bat shit crazy one. This time last year , you wouldn’t have been able to give it away. LOTS of wanted adverts. And looking to loan.
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A horse on Dragon Driving last week advertised as not able to be cantered in an arena because it bucks sold. Asking price was £800. Another whose price I can't remember sold, that was advertised as not being able to sit down on him until after he had moved away from the mounting block.

I feel sorry for all the broken horses which have sold to new people who will expect them to work when they are in pain :(

.
 
Definitely a bonkers market at the moment. We’ve been looking for our second horse for me and OH for a while now. Everything we like is either crazy prices or sold within hours of the ad going up. For now we’re just sitting back and waiting for things to calm down. We’re in no rush and I don’t want to make an expensive mistake (although I’d be happy if my dream horse landed in my lap like it did for ycbm!)
 
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