The horse market right now

[piglet2001]

The problem also is people want something for nothing. Just seen a wanted ad for 16hh + gelding 4-7yrs safe and sane to hack with the potential to go novice eventing, no vices, must pass 5 stage vetting and all for a budget of 6k max (but the cheaper the better). Don’t get me wrong I am sure some have got lucky and found one but why should that horse be less!

I think people expect perfection I have seen loads of wanted ads for a 8 - 12 yr old schoolmaster must be safe, no vices, clean limbs, sound etc. Now if you take a step back your 12 yr old schoolmaster needs a lot of miles on the clock to be educated safe and sane. It will probably have a little niggle but that is the trade off for the schoolmaster. Yes I would not buy anything with serious issues but if it needs it hocks medicating every season so what? Horses aren’t unicorns and people often buy what they think they can ride and not what they can ride.

 

[lannerch]

The problem also is people want something for nothing. Just seen a wanted ad for 16hh + gelding 4-7yrs safe and sane to hack with the potential to go novice eventing, no vices, must pass 5 stage vetting and all for a budget of 6k max (but the cheaper the better). Don’t get me wrong I am sure some have got lucky and found one but why should that horse be less!

I think people expect perfection I have seen loads of wanted ads for a 8 - 12 yr old schoolmaster must be safe, no vices, clean limbs, sound etc. Now if you take a step back your 12 yr old schoolmaster needs a lot of miles on the clock to be educated safe and sane. It will probably have a little niggle but that is the trade off for the schoolmaster. Yes I would not buy anything with serious issues but if it needs it hocks medicating every season so what? Horses aren’t unicorns and people often buy what they think they can ride and not what they can ride.

I saw that post to and thought exactly the same, a horse describes in the advert safe and sane with potential to go at least novice is worth a hell of a lot more than 6k!

 

[tatty_v]

I will pray for you ?? I’ve been looking since lockdown but seriously for the past two months and it’s awful at the moment, everything good is getting snapped up! I have a viewing I’m really excited about this weekend and I’m really hoping this hell will be over!!

ooh best of luck! I got as far as booking a viewing on one that sounded spot on but it got cancelled the morning of ? nothing since! Hope you do better than me!

 

[RHM]

ooh best of luck! I got as far as booking a viewing on one that sounded spot on but it got cancelled the morning of ? nothing since! Hope you do better than me!

Thanks! Need some serious luck at the moment! It’s so disheartening when that happens, it’s happened to me a couple of times too.

 

[AdorableAlice]

I've just found out that a small local dealer had five vetted for sale last week after adding 50% to their normal prices!

.

He knows that without rain, hay and haylage is going to be 50% more expensive this winter so moving the horses on is good business.

There are going to a lot of new owners having one hell of a shock come winter.

 

[Hollychops]

ooh best of luck! I got as far as booking a viewing on one that sounded spot on but it got cancelled the morning of ? nothing since! Hope you do better than me!

Thanks! Need some serious luck at the moment! It’s so disheartening when that happens, it’s happened to me a couple of times too.

I am just filling my virtual stable with the horses i like and hoping that when i seriously start looking the right one will be out there and i wont have to spend months and months looking. If we are still in this situation come september i am going to give up until the spring. I dont have the luxury of an arena so would have to hire one a couple of times a week and what with the lack of training locally, it just doesnt feel the right time for me at the moment.

 

[TheMule]

I don’t think it's really that surprising- people haven’t been able to buy a horse for 2 months. During that time people have lost horses, had horses go lame, decided to change horses etc but haven’t been able to. So yes, it seems a little crazy, but I guess it's just 2 months worth of normal horse sales compressed into a short space of time.

 

[Horsekaren]

Having started to browse, I’m finding just looking at adverts annoys me. A) prices seem a bit mad, but don’t get me wrong, I don’t think horses should be cheap. One particular group is annoying me on fb, the happy hackers page. Horses being brought unseen given two weeks to settle and then posting saying horse is too strong for children and basically going to be sold again. All the people with time on their hands, perhaps more money as not spending so much, suddenly it’s a great idea to have a horse.... yes for some it might well be but for others I wonder. I’m sure there will be a load of cheap projects flood the market where people have ended up with something unsuitable on a whim. Horses past from pillar to post. That being said I think I care a bit too much when it comes to animals!

 

[Ambers Echo]

The problem also is people want something for nothing. Just seen a wanted ad for 16hh + gelding 4-7yrs safe and sane to hack with the potential to go novice eventing, no vices, must pass 5 stage vetting and all for a budget of 6k max (but the cheaper the better). Don’t get me wrong I am sure some have got lucky and found one but why should that horse be less!

I saw that too but she's having a laugh. If she gets offered one it will have some issue for sure!

 

[sherry90]

Dealer local to me often sells very quickly (and often unseen) but at the moment has slowed down on the amount of horses getting in. They usually buy off private homes, so I reckon prices have increased there and as the middle man it’s making profit margin difficult!
As a few have said, give it a month or two and the market will bottom out again due to the economy slumping and winter arriving (feels like it’s arrived today!)