Think I've found the one - Appaloosa!

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Loubiepoo

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Went to see the Appaloosa yesterday - and think I have fallen for him! He was so sane and sensible. So now I need to think about putting an offer in. He was advertised at £4500 but hasn't been ridden since August (at all) and as such is totally unfit and somewhat overweight! He also had a slight bout of laminitis at the end of the summer. He will come with no tack or rugs - ideas for offers please. I don't really want to pay anymore than £4200, is it too cheeky to offer £3800 to start with?
Second thing is i will need to look at getting a vetting done, is it expected that I would have to be there for that, or is it the owners responsibility once I've arranged a convenient time for them? The owner works 9x5 mon-fri and doesn't ride him (although he could be lunged) so it might be difficult trying to get her to fit it in.
Advice PLEEEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE!
xxx
 
did you manage to ride him or see him lunged?
i would offer - sounds a lot for a horse you dont know how will be under saddle or is he young? Appaloosas are fab i used to compete mine nationally
 
Oh no, sorry, I've not made that clear. The owner doesn't ride him, but had a girl riding him up till August and yes, yesterday I rode him. He's 7 and 16.1hh.
 
If you want an honest answer, I would worry about buying a horse that has had lami without having xrays first. That is a lot of money, and your insurance company are unlikely to insure you against lami and anything that may have happened as a result of the lami. I may also worry a little about how he will be once he is fit. I wouldn't offer more than a couple of thousand absolute maximum.
 
I can only echo what FMM has said and IMO, unless its done absolutely loads and is winning all the time.... £4500 seems a rather big price tag for a unfit horse that has lami, regardless of it being an appaloosa!
 
Another point to add- when he is fit and has lost weight do you think he will be as sensible and sane as he was when you rode him?
 
I would hold on to my money. This is not a 'selling' time of year... the only horses that tend to be for sale at the momnent are the ones that have not sold in the back end. At the moment you are not going to get the pick of the bunch.

If you wait, you will find that you have a choice of quality appies in the spring. Few people offer horses for sale at the moment as most buyers don't want to winter the horse.

Unless you have X rays, you don't know if there has been any permanant damage done, nor do you know if this horse will able to be turned out AT ALL on spring/summer grass. As far as the lami goes it is an unknown quantity.

In my experience, most horses that have been laid off are saints to ride. It is when they get fittend up and fed that their true personalities emerge. Unless you are unphased by excitement, you need to see and ride the horse in working fit condition to see the truth... unless of course you intend to keep it in an unfit condition in very light work.

Ignore the appie part, put your business head on! It might be pretty to look at , but its a bloody expensive ornament. 2k tops for a horse like that!
 
sounds over priced. get a vetting done as appaloosa's tend to have eyesight problems i.e moon blindness (if you stand in a shaded area the horse finds it hard to see you)
 
Really sorry Kittykate but I agree with the others. That is a small FORTUNE for a horse who has had laminitis in the autumn and is still fat. We're coming into Spring soon and that is just asking for trouble.

You don't know what damage has gone on inside his feet, only X rays will show that. Laminitis truly is a potential killer. Also he may well be sane and sensible at the moment as he is so unfit and also because his feet probably hurt him too!

Walk away, there are some really nice sound horses out there for considerably less than that.

Sorry!
 
I have paid £300 in the past for a vetting which didn't even include xrays! You need to get a quote from your vet. Personally, I would give this one a miss - or suggest that they let you have it on loan until spring perhaps. It may be the most fantastic horse in the world (I've had two appaloosas in the past and they were great), however, I would try to avoid a horse with laminitus.
 
Laminitis is a major pain in the backside which is one flaw you should be really wary of taking on. Lots of problems can be worked on and worked round but a known laminitic is something you could do without. You will find something for that price that doesn't have a history of this horrid recurrent illness. Only my opinion though, and I've paid over the odds for a horse with problems that many people wouldn't have touched with a barge pole. Just think very carefully about whether or not its the right horse.
 
I agree with what everyone else has said, that's a hell of a lot of money for an out of work horse who is not only overweight but already had laminitis...especially as you'll have to get tack and rugs on top of that. It's a very expensive animal to purchase, remember that you'll need to notify any insurance company of the laminitis, which will immediately become an exclusion - Can you afford the treatment should he get another bout this year??

Personally, I'd keep searching. The value of this horse seems to be solely on the basis of his desirable colouring.

An acquaintance of mine recently sold a 16.2hh appaloosa, absolute gent, in work, jumping, good in traffic, no health concerns, snaffle mouth etc...for £4250. So how is that seller justifying £4500??
 
Sorry I agree. I bought a horse who seems sane and sensible who had had 6mths off due the the owners ill health. However when I got him home and he started to put on a bit of condition he turned into a fruit loop. In the end I sold him after 7mths.

I only paid £1,500 for him so at least I didn't lose money as deciding to get rid of him was bad enough.
 
Sorry, but I agree with the others. I have two who are laminitics and it is a constant battle to keep on top of the situation. I would never, ever buy one that had had lamintis. Anything could trigger it off again, not just spring or autumn grass, but concussion from road work, stress from moving yards, etc. etc. A full vetting would cost about £225 with xrays being £100-£150 extra. As had been said, a lot of horses are pretty quiet when they are fat and unfit, once they are back into full work and start to feel fit, it can be quite a different matter. I would walk away from this one if I were you. But if you really, really like him then offer £2000 and be prepared for some serious management problems.
 
It means he has a significantly higher chance of having it again, so will require careful management. As he's already overweight and has had laminitis previously, the odds are against him. Also, what guarantee do you have that it was his first bout?
 
Oooooooh that price seems a tad high and id echo the xray issue.

In regards to cost of x rays - no idea where the person quoting 150 pounds was but i was on the boarder between derbyshire and south yorkshire and we paid just short of 300 for a 5 star vetting and then i think it was another 200 - 250 pounds for x rays.

Seems an awful lot of money to me for something thats not been worked in months and could have underlying issues.

From what i remember, you mentioned that it wasnt spotted also so that price cant really be justified due to exceptional markings (although i could be remembering incorrectly and good markings can add to the price)

If the owner works 5 days a week, you should make the effort to be there really and be aware it can take quite some time, particularly for x rays. One thing to keep in mind however and you should definitly mention it the vet... they expect them to be worked quite hard to check heart rate at both rest and post exercise. The fact hes been out of work so long could affect this.
 
jesus, thats alot of money, wats he done ? sounds overpriced to me, for that budget theres alot to look at on horsemart and h&h,
 
shocked.gif
He is far, far too expensive IMO. £2k would be more like it.
 
They sound to be good honest people if they told you about the laminitis but he does seem expensive. What's his breeding?
 
Thanks for all your replies, I phoned my vet, my farrier and my experienced friend and they have said that especially after everything I gone through with Blade I don't need the hassle of trying to manage a horse that may get lami again. I think the biggest issue is the fact that insurance wouldn't cover it. So despite falling head over heels for it I need to do some serious re-considering. Most people have also said I can get better for my money - I think its prob just the first horse I've seen that I really really like and felt very safe on. Thank you to everyone for opening my eyes a bit.
x
 
Blimey,going along these lines it seems you may as well just paint some spots of a fat grey and then you could charge a fortune.
Madness.
 
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If he's had a slight bout this summer and nothing ever before - does that now mean he is prone to getting it again?

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yes - you'll have to be super-vigilant AND you do definitely need someone to check if his pedal bones have rotated - the fact that he hasn't been ridden since the late summer - which is when he had his laminitis would make me very, very worried

as everyone has said, there ARE some good, sound horses out there, especially for the £4000 mark, you don't need to take on something that a) isn't necessarily rideable and b) might be difficult to sell later.

sorry, but there will be another somewhere somehow

E
 
how much!!!!

I've got a 5yr old appaloosa gelding to sell, stunning just broken and riding away and he's £3500. No problems with health etc and currently being ridden. there are several out their so dont get disheartened you'll find the right one
smile.gif
 
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