Why are horses so cheap?

Mine went cheap because oif the weather - was offered £500 for the pair so took it as nowhere to keep them after yard fell through due to the rain wrecking the timescale.
 
You only have to look at the 2 equine auction sites on Facebook to see the exact problem.

There are a couple that will probably end up being decent horses/ponies.

The rest will go for pittance to people who can't tell a sound horse from one which is not. Probably have god knows how many issues that the buyer may or may not find and if they do they will blame the seller's. Who yes should not be selling these horses but there would be no market for them if people didn't buy them
 
CrazyMare said:
We have too many horses at the bottom of the pyramid.

We don't routinely slaughter horses for meat. In fact, I believe there are very few slaughterhouses who deal in horses.

Death is not the worst fate some of these animals face.
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I think a trip to one of the weekly markets would prove that there is a market for meat horses in the UK. But the horses tend to get shipped to the continent live and slaughtered there. I can think of several fields of horses close to me which are all destined for the continent for meat. The slaughterhouses here slaughter less horses as a result of the horse meat scandal and rightly so given the dishonesty involved. Am I right in believing one of the biggest horse slaughter places closed down? I really don't believe we should be looking to encourage an industry of breeding horses for meat slaughter in the UK. The atrocities of the kill pens in the USA would back this up. What we need are charities that are realistic about PTS horses, owners who are realistic about PTS horses and responsible breeding.
 
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elliefiz said:
At a breeders event yesterday there was a talk about the current market for horses. The average price in the UK paid for a horse is about 1300 pounds if I recall correctly. It was under 2k anyway. That says so much about the state of the market and the number of horses that must change hands for under 1k. It makes them affordable for people who really can't afford them. Sadly this leads to all sorts of other problems, like a thread on a Facebook page I saw today regarding another yard closure in Essex and people moaning about finding DIY livery for less than £30 a week. Too many people want to buy cheap, keep cheap and then when something goes wrong have no way of paying the bills for it and we have welfare issues. Horses are a luxury item even if all one wants to do is hack around the roads or even pet it in the field and feed it carrots. One would be hard pushed to have a riding lesson for less than £25 an hour yet too many people think that should be their weekly budget for keeping their horse. And it encourages the horrid little back street dealers who are making a killing selling cheap horses, many of whom have issues or health problems and are suitable for little other than to be PTS. It's a real bugbear of mine. These issues are driving the welfare crisis.
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This I completely agree with, I think horse ownership is far too accessible. I see so many people on local facebook groups who really don't have the expertise to own horses usually with several, and usually including a youngster, and usually asking for 'cheap as possible' livery /rugs /more horses. Which is then fuelling the trade in poorly, bred for no real reason animals.

From my own experience, I brought a mare off a girl last year basically so I could guarantee she would be looked after and if I left her, her future would have been uncertain. She's wonderful, a really well-bred Irish Draught with a brilliant temperament so I was actually pretty lucky. The girl who owned her had decided to take up horses because her friends did, hadn't yet had a proper riding lesson in her 3 years of horse ownership, didn't know how to put a bridle on, and is now on her 5th horse (a cheap cob from a dodgy dealer) because basically anything more than a push button is too much for her. The only real reason she owned horses was because of the social aspect. But hey, I got a wonderful mare out of it.
 
I have a horse that pros have valued at between £4 and £6k (depending on their discipline) but when I chat to friends about him they seem to think he's only a £2k horse because there are plenty on bay 15.2hh 4 year olds out there.... I don't think they appreciate the movement and conformation he's got. Plus he's the easiest 4 year old I've ridden hacking out- so also a sane RC type for someone who would like to spend their weekends hacking. If I wanted to sell him o wouldn't do it privately but through a professional event or dressage rider as they hopefully would attract the correct type of buyer.
 
People expecting to get horses for half nothing have a very poor attitude. When someone has put a lot of effort and money into getting a horse experienced and 'making it' they are entitled to a fair price for that animal.

I'm currently looking for horses on behalf of clients and although I'm working for the buyer when an owner asks a fair price for the horse I'm not going to knock him down.

A good looking, well put together horse with a nice jump and movement; a six yr-old who has been hauled around the country to shows, hunts etc - why would anyone expect to buy him for a song! If the owner wants 8, 9, 10,000 - that's fair enough, he's earned it. Naturally there will be a few pounds off but why expect him to take less than that.

We don't expect anyone else to work for nothing, so why expect horse breeders and producers to do so.
 
Irish gal said:
People expecting to get horses for half nothing have a very poor attitude. When someone has put a lot of effort and money into getting a horse experienced and 'making it' they are entitled to a fair price for that animal.

I'm currently looking for horses on behalf of clients and although I'm working for the buyer when an owner asks a fair price for the horse I'm not going to knock him down.

A good looking, well put together horse with a nice jump and movement; a six yr-old who has been hauled around the country to shows, hunts etc - why would anyone expect to buy him for a song! If the owner wants 8, 9, 10,000 - that's fair enough, he's earned it. Naturally there will be a few pounds off but why expect him to take less than that.

We don't expect anyone else to work for nothing, so why expect horse breeders and producers to do so.
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Here here! A lot of sense in this. I only do it as a bit on the side but i essentially work 7 days a week by the time you've added up the hours i put in alongside my actual job. I do it because I love it but I have huge l pride an joy i producing a correct well rounded horse & its insulting getting people trying to take 2k odd off the price.
It costs thousands to produce competition horses even at grassroots level !
 
I would say 90% of the people I have known have not been competitive riders, they want a horse that they can hack down the road, take to the odd show and it be good to load,shoe, have no vices and be sound. The misunderstanding is by many is that a 'happy hacker' costs less to produce and train than a competition horse. ' I only want to hack out once a week so I can only pay under £1000', not realising that this paragon is as rare as hen's teeth and should be in the region of 3k, so they go to a dealer that promises the earth for nothing and then complain when it dumps them, bites then and then costs them a huge amount it vets bills, dentist etc.
 
honetpot said:
I would say 90% of the people I have known have not been competitive riders, they want a horse that they can hack down the road, take to the odd show and it be good to load,shoe, have no vices and be sound. The misunderstanding is by many is that a 'happy hacker' costs less to produce and train than a competition horse. ' I only want to hack out once a week so I can only pay under £1000', not realising that this paragon is as rare as hen's teeth and should be in the region of 3k, so they go to a dealer that promises the earth for nothing and then complain when it dumps them, bites then and then costs them a huge amount it vets bills, dentist etc.
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When I was 15 I did some work over my holidays with a producer & a lady bought all her horses from her. Paid about 8k for a horse who had done a bit of everything well & hunted a decent bit for her purpose of hacking. Her reason being she knew the horse had seen nearly everything and therefore was unlikely to do anything stupid hacking round her quiet country lanes & she knew if she wanted a days hunting then there was no issues.

A long time ago as well!
 
honetpot I agree, although I think a cracking all rounder could be up to £6 - £7,000. And they are as rare as hen's teeth, which is what makes them worth so much. The typical rider will only have one horse and wants the best they can get. So a show quality, sane and sensible lad who is honest, willing not lazy can command a big price.

And why not really - it's a one-off investment by the person in their future best friend and all consuming hobby. If you're only going to have one horse why not make it a cracker that will be your pride and joy and give you pleasure every time you look at him. Personally that is what I would want as long as I could afford to do it.
 
kassieg said:
When I was 15 I did some work over my holidays with a producer & a lady bought all her horses from her. Paid about 8k for a horse who had done a bit of everything well & hunted a decent bit for her purpose of hacking. Her reason being she knew the horse had seen nearly everything and therefore was unlikely to do anything stupid hacking round her quiet country lanes & she knew if she wanted a days hunting then there was no issues.

A long time ago as well!
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For her purposes that lady felt she was getting good value for money! That's fair enough...
 
honetpot said:
I would say 90% of the people I have known have not been competitive riders, they want a horse that they can hack down the road, take to the odd show and it be good to load,shoe, have no vices and be sound. The misunderstanding is by many is that a 'happy hacker' costs less to produce and train than a competition horse. ' I only want to hack out once a week so I can only pay under £1000', not realising that this paragon is as rare as hen's teeth and should be in the region of 3k, so they go to a dealer that promises the earth for nothing and then complain when it dumps them, bites then and then costs them a huge amount it vets bills, dentist etc.
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I do agree with this, our area is happy hackers mainly but there's one family who really get my goat, no knowledge but ALL the money, they keep buying expensive horses just to hack and have them back for sale within a month as the horse is far to talented for them to deal with ( but its the horses fault) said horse is then sold for a fraction off the price and is snapped up in no time by an experienced owner who knows what they are looking at. So its not always novice owners who buy cheap horses, and this is how some very nice horses end up going for a song. My £800 horse that I said about was in the hands off such a owners and she had brought her for £3.500 but was scared to go in her field so she re advertised her for £1000 Ono as they just wanted gone. If your an experienced horse owner you don't need to buy expensive horses if u know what your looking for, for the type of market in our area ( me its hack,hunt, team chase mainly) why spend my hard earned money when I can get decent horses from people like above who frankly shouldn't own horses. Rightly or wrongly iv brought a few off these to sell on and one that will always stick in my head was a very talented horse who was being sold for £200 as companion due to messing around under saddle, she was pure talent and actually when my vet came to 5 * vet her she said if the sell fell through she wanted to buy her. Brought for £200 I had her 8 weeks and was jumping 1.20 and flying Xc at any height, sold for £1500 within a day the ad went out and has since gone on to win so much and that mare was going to be a companion due to inexperienced owners. Yes I sold her cheap for her talent but I pay sod all keep for the horses so got a profit and she's in a good home winning.

But on the other hand if I wished to event and said horse had wins etc under their belt I would expect to pay for that but as I know what I'm doing I will keep buying for stupid owners who own talented horses who can't cope with them.
Makes me horrid, maybe but I'm experienced so why not.
 
rachk89 said:
It is for the horses posted. I wouldn't trust any of them around a cross country course. One of them will smack his head off the jumps, one is lazy and the third may or may not stop. All rounders for the average person they may be but who is gonna pay 5k for a horse they will probably hack more than compete? It's not a great investment.
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No horse is a great investment.

Your comments about the three horses on a previous post are ridiculous and you are unable to actually see the way of going.

Horse number one is badly ridden by a heavy handed rider who is unable to ride forward from his seat. The result is a horse running on the forehand through no fault of his own and not a horse that will "smack his head off the jumps" whatever that may mean.

The second horse is weak and lacking impulsion. Time and appropriate work will be needed.

The third is a TB by Kayf Tara - you may want to educate yourself on this stallion, he is quite a progeny getter. As for the statement "he may or may not stop", I think that can be said for any horse, and I would hope a good sensible horse would stop if asked a stupid question in front of a fence.

A nice all round horse, capable of hitting 70% unaff and 65% aff, jumping a metre track, hunting well and safe on the road is worth a lot more than 5K. I would be looking at 7k for a nicely conformed quality horse.

Many people will pay 5k for a horse they will hack and compete occasionally. They will still be looking for soundness, quality and temperament. Dross is cheap quality is not, it all depends on whether you can tell the difference.
 
Theocat said:
Yes, of course you can pick up good horses for less - but my point is that £5k isn't "silly money" - any less, and the breeder / producer is making a huge loss. I'm interested in the mindset that £5k has become silly money, when in reality it's anything but.
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If you can buy something as good for less, then by definition, the higher price is 'silly money'. This is the basic economics of supply and demand. The price is not set by the seller, but by the buyer.

IME it is also the case that often the buyer willing to spend 'silly money' is not the best owner. I'd rather not sell to someone who can't tell a good horse from a bad one except by price, or who thinks they need to pay to get a perfect horse, rather than knowing they can improve what they buy.
 
honetpot said:
I would say 90% of the people I have known have not been competitive riders, they want a horse that they can hack down the road, take to the odd show and it be good to load,shoe, have no vices and be sound. The misunderstanding is by many is that a 'happy hacker' costs less to produce and train than a competition horse. ' I only want to hack out once a week so I can only pay under £1000', not realising that this paragon is as rare as hen's teeth and should be in the region of 3k, so they go to a dealer that promises the earth for nothing and then complain when it dumps them, bites then and then costs them a huge amount it vets bills, dentist etc.
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Does this mean my scabby collection of ponies are valuable? Seriously, most horses make great happy hackers in the right home, but almost all are quickly ruined by a clueless owner. If what you're describing is an horse which cannot be ruined by bad riding and thoughtless handling, I don't think it was ever foaled. Hence the number of 'not as described' complaints you hear.
 
pennyturner said:
Does this mean my scabby collection of ponies are valuable? Seriously, most horses make great happy hackers in the right home, but almost all are quickly ruined by a clueless owner. If what you're describing is an horse which cannot be ruined by bad riding and thoughtless handling, I don't think it was ever foaled. Hence the number of 'not as described' complaints you hear.
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Yep, advertised correctly they are.
Our best pony was an 'if only pony', if only he had jumped bigger, done a better dressage test, better confirmation he would have been worth a fortune, as it was he didn't had feet like dinner plates and was as stiff as a broad I paid 2k from a friend. At 14.2 my nine year old daughter could ride him in an open field, he would hunt, safe in traffic and make any novice rider look good and continued to make other peoples children look good when we loaned him out.
Actually the worse they rode the better behaved he was, try to make him go 'properly' and he would try suddenly find a monster to spook at. Best money I ever spent.
 
pennyturner said:
Does this mean my scabby collection of ponies are valuable? Seriously, most horses make great happy hackers in the right home, but almost all are quickly ruined by a clueless owner. If what you're describing is an horse which cannot be ruined by bad riding and thoughtless handling, I don't think it was ever foaled. Hence the number of 'not as described' complaints you hear.
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Agree with this, regardless off how much a horse cost in the wrong hands it can be ruined then sold for far less as in the case off the family near me.
Iv seen lots of happy hackers for not a lot of money ( big livery yard near me) who are pretty much bombproof, you don't need to pay a lot for them and line dealers or breeders pockets.

A pricey horse does not always mean quality and a cheap horse does not always mean its a badly put together mut.
 
AdorableAlice said:
No horse is a great investment.

Your comments about the three horses on a previous post are ridiculous and you are unable to actually see the way of going.

Horse number one is badly ridden by a heavy handed rider who is unable to ride forward from his seat. The result is a horse running on the forehand through no fault of his own and not a horse that will "smack his head off the jumps" whatever that may mean.

The second horse is weak and lacking impulsion. Time and appropriate work will be needed.

The third is a TB by Kayf Tara - you may want to educate yourself on this stallion, he is quite a progeny getter. As for the statement "he may or may not stop", I think that can be said for any horse, and I would hope a good sensible horse would stop if asked a stupid question in front of a fence.

A nice all round horse, capable of hitting 70% unaff and 65% aff, jumping a metre track, hunting well and safe on the road is worth a lot more than 5K. I would be looking at 7k for a nicely conformed quality horse.

Many people will pay 5k for a horse they will hack and compete occasionally. They will still be looking for soundness, quality and temperament. Dross is cheap quality is not, it all depends on whether you can tell the difference.
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Well if I and others are that wrong then by all means go and tell the person that liked them to buy one of them. I don't look up tb lines as I doubt I will ever get a tb so will have to take your word on that I don't know if he is a good stallion. Maybe he is but I didn't like the fact the horse was hesitating before jumping some jumps. For cross country you want some bravery and if he is scared by fillers then you may have issues out on a course. And the one dropping his head going over fences is wrong but again if you think he is fine then go and let the person know as she has followed the advice of people like me and is looking for something with more experience.

I don't know many people who will pay*5k for a hacking horse and compete now and again but they tend to buy Highland ponies which are easy to find up here so they don't need to. Difference in markets between Scotland and England it seems.
 
rachk89 said:
Well if I and others are that wrong then by all means go and tell the person that liked them to buy one of them. I don't look up tb lines as I doubt I will ever get a tb so will have to take your word on that I don't know if he is a good stallion. Maybe he is but I didn't like the fact the horse was hesitating before jumping some jumps. For cross country you want some bravery and if he is scared by fillers then you may have issues out on a course. And the one dropping his head going over fences is wrong but again if you think he is fine then go and let the person know as she has followed the advice of people like me and is looking for something with more experience.

I don't know many people who will pay*5k for a hacking horse and compete now and again but they tend to buy Highland ponies which are easy to find up here so they don't need to. Difference in markets between Scotland and England it seems.
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I'm sure you didn't mean to sound like you were being very rude to one of the most experienced and knowledgeable posters on here...
 
I know plenty of folk paying in the vicinity of 5k for a safe, sane hack. Even without super conformation and the potential, or schooling, to go out and compete at RC level successfully.

And a well put together, sound highland, young but not green, with correct schooling and good exposure to life will also command nearly 5k - north or south of the border. The ponies I see going cheap up there are not what I consider correct, either for the breed, or in their training.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Do u know her personally then? Thing is I wouldn't know her from Adam, as with most people on here
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Anyone who reads the posts on here regularly soon works out who is experienced and knowledgeable, AA is one of the more experienced posters whose opinion is worth taking on board, you do not have to know people personally to have an opinion of them.
 
I don't know many people who would pay 5k for a hacking horse either.
There seems to be a great deal of snobbery over the cost of horses, and as someone else said, just because you paid a lot it doesn't necessarily mean the horse is 'better' or more suitable .
Not everyone wants a 'quality' horse, or could give two hoots about its breeding! Away from the rarified atmosphere of HHO this is the norm. People buy a horse because they like it, not because it has perfect conformation or a famous sire.

Prices are, as with everything, merely a reflection of the market.
 
elliefiz said:
At a breeders event yesterday there was a talk about the current market for horses. The average price in the UK paid for a horse is about 1300 pounds if I recall correctly. It was under 2k anyway. That says so much about the state of the market and the number of horses that must change hands for under 1k. It makes them affordable for people who really can't afford them. Sadly this leads to all sorts of other problems, like a thread on a Facebook page I saw today regarding another yard closure in Essex and people moaning about finding DIY livery for less than £30 a week. Too many people want to buy cheap, keep cheap and then when something goes wrong have no way of paying the bills for it and we have welfare issues. Horses are a luxury item even if all one wants to do is hack around the roads or even pet it in the field and feed it carrots. One would be hard pushed to have a riding lesson for less than £25 an hour yet too many people think that should be their weekly budget for keeping their horse. And it encourages the horrid little back street dealers who are making a killing selling cheap horses, many of whom have issues or health problems and are suitable for little other than to be PTS. It's a real bugbear of mine. These issues are driving the welfare crisis.
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Absolutely spot on
 
thatsmygirl said:
£5k to me personally is silly money and I wouldn't pay it for any horse I'm afraid.
Maybe there's to many lower level riders like me who don't care about the horses breeding as most well put together horses will do the job I want and don't need to pay £5k and just wouldn't.
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This. I'm another who wouldn't pay that sort of money for a horse.

Horses are cheap because there are lots of them.

As for another post about breeders making a loss, not the ones I know. They rent the land and would pay the same whether there's 2 horses or 20 on it. They own the mares and stallion. Beyond very basic horse care there are no bills. I think their main vet cost is castration. They ride themselves and will ride whatever hasn't been sold yet, until one day it is. They have ponies and cobs with nice temperaments which have been used for hacking and are easy keepers, surviving with minimal care. Something plenty of people want. It's easy money for them. They certainly don't need to charge 5k to make a profit.
 
JFTD said:
I know plenty of folk paying in the vicinity of 5k for a safe, sane hack. Even without super
conformation and the potential, or schooling, to go out and compete at RC level successfully.

And a well put together, sound highland, young but not green, with correct schooling and good exposure to life will also command nearly 5k - north or south of the border. The ponies I see going cheap up there are not what I consider correct, either for the breed, or in their training.
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You know different people from me then. ;) And different Highlands it seems.
 
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