Viewing a youngster, is he overpriced?

I've recently paid £5,000 for a relatively unhandled, homebred two year old, which although is a lot more money than when I bought my last one, times have changed...a LOT! 10 years ago a bale of readigrass was £8 - now it's well over £20! Hunter shavings were £6, now they're up to £15. Even the cost of hay has doubled!

My budget was also £3,500 and there are youngsters out there for that price but I would question why. My horse's breeder said she made no money from the price he was sold to me at - the cost of covering, keep of the pregnant mare, vets bills for the mare in foal, check ups and jabs, farrier for the little one etc and then two years of feeding and caring for the youngster, a year of which would also be the cost of a nursing mare.

But to me, £5,000 for something unspoiled and with good breeding and a fantastic temperament, who will be with me and do everything with me for the rest of his life - which could be another 30 years, is well worth the investment!

As others have said, discuss cost and your budget well in advance of viewing as it would be unfair to waste the sellers time by offering so much less than the asking price on the day you turn up.

I didn't haggle on price at all - he was worth all of the £5,000 for years and years of love, fun, learning and putting my own stamp on him.

Get a loan - buy the horse you want. We spend too much time and money on our horses to end up with something you don't want.
 
ShouldHaveBoughtAGoldfish said:
I've recently paid £5,000 for a relatively unhandled, homebred two year old, which although is a lot more money than when I bought my last one, times have changed...a LOT! 10 years ago a bale of readigrass was £8 - now it's well over £20! Hunter shavings were £6, now they're up to £15. Even the cost of hay has doubled!

My budget was also £3,500 and there are youngsters out there for that price but I would question why. My horse's breeder said she made no money from the price he was sold to me at - the cost of covering, keep of the pregnant mare, vets bills for the mare in foal, check ups and jabs, farrier for the little one etc and then two years of feeding and caring for the youngster, a year of which would also be the cost of a nursing mare.

But to me, £5,000 for something unspoiled and with good breeding and a fantastic temperament, who will be with me and do everything with me for the rest of his life - which could be another 30 years, is well worth the investment!

As others have said, discuss cost and your budget well in advance of viewing as it would be unfair to waste the sellers time by offering so much less than the asking price on the day you turn up.

I didn't haggle on price at all - he was worth all of the £5,000 for years and years of love, fun, learning and putting my own stamp on him.

Get a loan - buy the horse you want. We spend too much time and money on our horses to end up with something you don't want.
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Its all great, until they break. do not get a loan to buy an animal! Save up, but dont get into debt for something so big, fragile and expensive to keep!
 
I'm Dun said:
Its all great, until they break. do not get a loan to buy an animal! Save up, but dont get into debt for something so big, fragile and expensive to keep!
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I have done, and would again. That said, I fully encompass the truth that, if they break, I will have to pay the loan back before buying another. The only up side would be that I could pay it back early while I had no livery fees or home keep costs.

I've had some wonderful horses who have taken me places I never thought I'd go, but they came at a cost where a loan was inevitable.

The only one who broke before the loan was paid back was half covered by the insurance, so not long to wait for another.

I wouldn't have had, say, 15k sitting around waiting. A loan made it easy. I did have a secure job and knew I could repay.
 
I'm Dun said:
Its all great, until they break. do not get a loan to buy an animal! Save up, but dont get into debt for something so big, fragile and expensive to keep!
Click to expand...

That would almost be a given in the horse world I would have been mixing with during the days when I regularly bought and sometimes sold horses. It seems utter madness to me that anyone would borrow money to buy any animal at all, and as you said, let alone something so potentially expensive and delicate to keep.

I do wonder if that attitude of wanting a horse or pony, but not really having sufficient funds to both buy and care for, let alone finance the myriad of expenses that can crop up, is why we see so many unwanted or badly kept horses these days. Land is short for many reasons, livery yards decrease almost on a weekly basis. Some owners are taking themselves right to the limit financially, then when dobbin goes down with some very expensive health or soundness issue, the dream all falls apart. Not least for the poor horse no longer wanted and very few rescues around to pick up the pieces.

Horse owning is no longer an elitist hobby or sport, and that is as it should be. However I think the pendelum has swung too far the other way these days. Buying a horse of any description should be well thought through and certainly not something I would ever recommend borrowing money to do so.
 
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I'm Dun said:
Its all great, until they break. do not get a loan to buy an animal! Save up, but dont get into debt for something so big, fragile and expensive to keep!
Click to expand...

I'm currently thinking about another. What I want will be in the 6-7K area and yes I could pay up front but would prefer to pay half in cash and half as a small loan, keeping the rainy day fund for emergencies.
 
millikins said:
I'm currently thinking about another. What I want will be in the 6-7K area and yes I could pay up front but would prefer to pay half in cash and half as a small loan, keeping the rainy day fund for emergencies.
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Daft way to do it if you have the purchase price.

Buy the horse upfront.
Put what would have been the loan repayments into a savings account.
That way you pay no interest.
If you end up needing emergency money, then a 0% credit card
 
ihatework said:
Daft way to do it if you have the purchase price.

Buy the horse upfront.
Put what would have been the loan repayments into a savings account.
That way you pay no interest.
If you end up needing emergency money, then a 0% credit card
Click to expand...
Even if you can't get a 0% credit card you would still be better off only taking out a loan if you suddenly needed the loot. I mean, it might not happen 🤞

Replenish what you had saved in the meantime, while the sun shines.
 
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