Would you buy a 14 year old event horse?

[choltby]

If you want the horse to teach you then definatly would be a good school master. if the horse is fit and well and at the right price i wouldnt hessitate. you just have to think if you want to keep the horse for life or not, as you may/ will find it hard to sell on.

 

[MagicMelon]

Yes I would - obviously the price should reflect the age x[/QUOTE

I dont see why a 14yo should be priced differently as you're paying for experience. Yes, a 20yo would need to be cheaper, but 14 isn't old!

If you want something to show you the ropes then definately go for something older. I'm selling a 13yo eventer at the moment - what you need to take into account is how much work the horse has had. My eventer for example has limited mileage (yet still has good results and got to a decent enough level) - he doesnt go eventing every weekend, last year for example we only did 5 BE events (as we live in the middle of nowhere) so he hasn't been hammered into the ground by any means. I wouldnt buy a horse who had had a very busy career as it'll have a lot more wear and tear.

 

[marmalade76]

I dont see why a 14yo should be priced differently as you're paying for experience. Yes, a 20yo would need to be cheaper, but 14 isn't old!

14 isn't that old, but it's value is only going to go down from there so the chances of you being able to sell it on and get your money back are low. Also, if you do more than a couple of seasons on it you probably won't be able to sell it on at all, hence the reason I why I said you need to be prepared to give the older horse a home for life.