Where to buy (cheap!) - ISH from overstocked Ireland?

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MagicMelon

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With my own horses career basically over and with nothing to ride, Im looking into possibly getting a new horse. Having just bought a new house (literally, move in in 3 weeks time!) and wanting to build stables etc. I dont have thousands to spare for the initial outlay.

So... people have told me Ireland is pretty overstocked with ISH's and that if I knew were to go I could find a real bargain, however I have no idea where to go... can anyone advise? This would likely be my first option as I really fancy something fun (ideally 15.2hh - 16hh, 4 / 5yo thats maybe been hunted for a few months as I believe most have. I would bring it on to compete BSJA / BE etc.).

Can anyone suggest any good yards / people to try that may offer the above? I know some dealers in Scotland regularly go over and bring back a lorry load, that would be easier for me (logistically) as long as they are still cheap though...!
 
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Hi, the decent Irish youngsters won't be that cheap! We pay between £2k - £4.5 k for really nice 4/5 yr olds who are up and ready to do a job with good bloodlines and will go through a vetting. What is cheap out there is all the crap, badly put together things and Irish TBs. Qaulity always sells well.
 
Natalia has put it a lot more politely than I would have! :) I have a couple of good youngsters and if I can't get what they're worth I'll be holding on to them and producing them myself. Why would I go to all the time, expense and effort of getting them to this point just to sell them "cheap"?

If you want cheap, try DoneDeal and you'll find plenty of horses there, that have spent their first years living on ragwort infested bog, never been wormed or vaccinated, never had their feet trimmed and probably never had a headcollar on.

Ireland may have a lot of horses in it, but the trouble is the breeders of good horses are the ones that have cut back. The breeders of the dross are still going strong.
 
Faracat said:
What about contacting trainers RE ex National Hunt race horses?
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I had considered ex racers, but I feel ISH's are that bit stockier for living basically on top of a hill in NE Scotland! May still investigate this route though.

shortstuff99 - Thanks, will have a look there :)

Rowreach & Natalie - Hmm... I always think there are real bargains to be had. I've bought several very cheap ponies before who have turned into really lovely types so I dont see why I cant do the same with something bigger. I like buying the scrawny, scruffy looking ones... as long as their temperament is good, thats half the battle.
 
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We were in a similar position last year when our 2* horse was injured. I struggled to find anything suitable to even look at in Scotland as everything seemed to be pricier up here.

In the end we made a trip down South to look at several, not unsurprising given we didn't have the biggest budget some were absolute rubbish - lame, not the size/age they were advertised however we did find one we did like and subsequently bought. He had been advertised in H & H and was slightly over our initial budget but not hugely.

He was down south to be sold as his scottish owner didn't have time for him. She had bought him Cavan sales as a 4yo the previous autumn as a "pity" buy and she said he was in a very rough state needing 2 weeks of antibiotics when she got him. I think his poor start has definitely had an effect on him, he's now 6 but is immature, probably a year behind most of his age. However we are delighted with him, we've now got the condition on him we want and his strength is building, he's a nice "person" to have around, he moves well and has a trainable temperament. We started eventing him last month and his second time out he finished second in the BE90 with a dressage of 23, sj still needs some work but getting there and he is picking up a few time pens xc as he's not ready to go fast yet.

If you are confident in your eye for a horse Cavan might be worth a trip or as we did trawl every website imaginable and try to compile a short list to see in one trip - we had planned to go down the East of the country (Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire) and back up the West (Midlands, Shropshire, Lancashire, Cumbria). Bargains can obviously take time to find and often take time and effort to bring on but with perseverance it's doable!

Hopefully you will find a diamond in the rough - whilst we are still devastated over our horse's accident, the new boy has given us something to focus on.

Good luck!
 
It's the health issues that I am seeing week in week out that would put me off the cheap ones. And even some of the not cheap ones have the crappest starts in life.

Many of them will appear to have the best temperaments in the world, generally because they are feeling ill, and I have lost count of the number of clients who say they have bought a lovely quiet horse which, once it is feeling better is anything but.

In this last year I have had clients through the yard with horses suffering ragwort poisoning, ulcers (several), foot problems, long term worm damage, arthritis (in youngsters which have been hammered as 2 and 3 year olds), and many with "behavioural" problems because someone along the line has attempted to "break" them (usually with the help of a length of blue pipe).

Seriously OP what I am saying is that while there will always be the odd swan in amongst the ducklings, the cheap horses generally come with so many issues they end up being anything but cheap.
 
Not all of us in ireland have rubbish for sale but sadly decent youngsters are being tarred with the bargain bucket brush. My young native x will make a super family allrounder and has had a fantastic start in life and i will wait till a reasonable buyer shows up for her. Prices have dropped, but as other poster says, quality is not that easy to find. Cavan and goresbridge are good sales.
 
lainy said:
Not all of us in ireland have rubbish for sale but sadly decent youngsters are being tarred with the bargain bucket brush. My young native x will make a super family allrounder and has had a fantastic start in life and i will wait till a reasonable buyer shows up for her. Prices have dropped, but as other poster says, quality is not that easy to find. Cavan and goresbridge are good sales.
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I was about to say go to cavan and gorsebridge. To me a cheep quality youngster from ireland is in the 5k mark! You get what you pay for!
 
I also found the prices in Scotland are much much higher and far less choice to even look at.

All very well saying you get what you pay for but you get less for your money in Scotland in my opinion. Having just bought two from Wales, that even with transport are half what I would have to pay up here. If there was even one!

Good luck MM!
 
I went to the last performance sales at gorsbridge a few weeks back with the hope to finding a quality youngster! After hearing good things - They were some very cheap horses going through but nearly every youngster had splints and only a handful actually had clean vettings - the ones that had clean vettings were fetching a decent amount - it was full of English dealers buying all the cheap horses with dodgy vettings under 1,000e & no doubt to fetch over here & sell for triple the amount! To give u an idea the cheapest one I saw sold for 600e with sarcoids, splints and respiratory problems & the most expensive one sold was £6,000e lovely clean big RID! Some nice horses went through also but like others have said you defiantly get what u pay for & one thing I've learnt is "if it's too good to be true then it usually is!" be carful & good luck xx
 
A good Irish youngster and I mean good will not be cheap. There is a lot of rubbish out there being sold by so called dealers. Finding a good horse is hard work. When looking for a good horse don't go on your own and have someone with you that has a lot of knowledge. Always go earlier than expected as some dealers stick the horses on walkers for an hour before you turn up as I have seen.
Get the breeders name and ask them about the horse. A good vet that you know could on this occasion be your best friend
 
MagicMelon said:
Can anyone suggest any good yards / people to try that may offer the above? I know some dealers in Scotland regularly go over and bring back a lorry load, that would be easier for me (logistically) as long as they are still cheap though...!
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That's how we got the last outbreak of strangles in West and Central Scotland, pm if you want to know the stables.
 
To be honest if you are in Scotland I would contact Measles on HHO, always has lovely quality Irish horses that are exactly what she says. She may not reply for a few days if you pm her as she is at pc champs. To be honest I am Irish, looking for something similar to you and despite having fab contacts still having to wade through a lot of average horses to find one.
 
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