Dressage Would you pay €600k for a 3 year old gelding?

[shortstuff99]

A gelding 3 year old son of Escamilio just sold for near €600k.

I just can't wrap my head around paying that much for a horse, let alone a 3 year old (who may not make it to competition) and then even less a gelding so no breeding back up if it does go wrong.

Here is his video if anyone is interested.

https://onlineauction.westfalenpfer...tion-2022-dressage-horses-91/lots/embolo-2466

 

[Barton Bounty]

Even if I had the money….Nope! They can all break just in the same way!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

No but I did have a Westphalian Kaltblut mare who was very definitely worth her not inconsiderable weight in gold. I would have another if one were available.

 

[stangs]

If I had that kind of money to spare, maybe. But not for that horse. I hate the gaits they’re breeding into these poor dressage ponies.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

A gelding 3 year old son of Escamilio just sold for near €600k.

I just can't wrap my head around paying that much for a horse, let alone a 3 year old (who may not make it to competition) and then even less a gelding so no breeding back up if it does go wrong.

Here is his video if anyone is interested.

https://onlineauction.westfalenpfer...tion-2022-dressage-horses-91/lots/embolo-2466

Sheesh! Nice enough horse but behind the vertical a fair bit, poor chap.
Nope, the world has gone bonkers!

 

[AmyMay]

I know he’s only three, but that’s almost the oddest looking horse I’ve ever seen.

 

[DabDab]

It is slightly mad.

I quite like lot 11 a few horses along

 

[DressageCob]

If I was a multi million or even billionaire who wouldn't feel c600k leave my account, absolutely. Alas that is not my reality.

If I had unlimited funds and a time machine and science I would go back in time, clone my horse as a youngster and then keep 6 of them for life ?

 

[splashgirl45]

His legs look odd to me,wonder if he will stay sound ? I hate the way a 3 year old is being ridden with a flash noseband already and I wonder how tight it is. He has got a pretty head but that’s an unbelievable amount of money …

 

[Abacus]

I know he’s only three, but that’s almost the oddest looking horse I’ve ever seen.

I nearly agreed, except that I then flicked through a few of the others and they are about as odd.

 

[splashgirl45]

I also flicked through and quite liked miss moneypenny but none of the others appealed to me. Lots of them have been sold to Germany ..

 

[Widgeon]

I like number 10. Then I realised that was because it's 14hh and still more or less pony shaped!

 

[splashgirl45]

It’s their gangly legs I find unappealing , and they way they move their fronts at that young age under saddle looks very wrong to me..

 

[shortstuff99]

An interesting comment that I saw was that future dressage medal winners will be bred and not trained.

 

[ycbm]

He's nearly 17.2hh at 3 years old and hypermobile with stacked feet. Good luck trying to keep that sound to GP.
.

 

[ycbm]

An interesting comment that I saw was that future dressage medal winners will be bred and not trained.

Can't like this, but it's true, I think.

 

[NR88]

An interesting comment that I saw was that future dressage medal winners will be bred and not trained.

Stating the obvious.

Why wouldn't a serious competitor want a purpose bred horse for their sport? The result of having a horse with natural ability is less wear and tear during training as the essential elements come easy to such horses. A much better option than than fitting a square peg in a round hole.

 

[shortstuff99]

Stating the obvious.

Why wouldn't a serious competitor want a purpose bred horse for their sport? The result of having a horse with natural ability is less wear and tear during training as the essential elements come easy to such horses. A much better option than than fitting a square peg in a round hole.

I think they were getting at that they wouldn't train correctly, or much at all and breed more and more extreme horses until they are barely functioning as horses any more.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

He's the strangest put together horse.. not a fan of his movement either, and those legs how will he stay sound?! Am I missing something?

 

[bonny]

He's the strangest put together horse.. not a fan of his movement either, and those legs how will he stay sound?! Am I missing something?

Maybe you should have been there to warn potential buyers that he wasn’t worth buying !

 

[McFluff]

Personally no, even if I had that sort of money I feel uncomfortable about a horse that size doing that much when only three. And I couldn’t ride one side of him, so way too much horse for me.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Maybe you should have been there to warn potential buyers that he wasn’t worth buying !

I suspect I'd have been laughed out of the place ?

 

[ihatework]

Not actually have 600k aside,

No.

Id never spend significant money on a gelding.

If I did have 600k to spend I’d be more inclined to buy 3 x 100k unbacked late 2yo/3yos and then quietly work with them for a year or two and select which to keep on. I’d choose slightly smaller and less hyper mobile.

 

[HeyMich]

And I couldn’t ride one side of him, so way too much horse for me.

You're not the only one. The poor chap in the video couldn't sit the trot or the canter either! He probably has whiplash now.

 

[Goldenstar]

You are going to have to so skilled to train that one on to the GP .
He’s quite tall and short in the back .
We will see .
I wish him all the luck in the world and hope he can meet some people who love him for himself .

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Was it actually sold at that price though..??so many auctions I watch where the horses appear to have been knocked down at a certain price and then they are ticketed the next day as unsold or appear to be privately sold elsewhere at a later date. I understand that elite auctioneers don’t want a raft of unsold horses after all the hype so must have an arrangement of bidders to reach an acceptable publicly viewed price….and then a privately agreed and probably lower figure might be accepted later.

 

[shortstuff99]

Was it actually sold at that price though..??so many auctions I watch where the horses appear to have been knocked down at a certain price and then they are ticketed the next day as unsold or appear to be privately sold elsewhere at a later date. I understand that elite auctioneers don’t want a raft of unsold horses after all the hype so must have an arrangement of bidders to reach an acceptable publicly viewed price….and then a privately agreed and probably lower figure might be accepted later.

The press have been reporting on it being sold at that price but whether it truly has been sold at that price I don't know ?‍

 

[ycbm]

Stating the obvious.

Why wouldn't a serious competitor want a purpose bred horse for their sport? The result of having a horse with natural ability is less wear and tear during training as the essential elements come easy to such horses. A much better option than than fitting a square peg in a round hole.

I think it means more that the training is not going to win future competitions, instead it's going to be won on who can spend the most money on the horse.
.

 

[ycbm]

If you look at the still at 11 seconds in you can see the unmatched front feet. One upright, possibly already a tin can foot, and the other already underrun.
.

 

[Goldenstar]

He’s not been over done, he’s slim and unfurnished and he’s clearly weak in his way of going .
Too often these horse are carrying an unnatural amount of muscle for their age .
Signalling they have worked too much I would guess this one has not .
What he needs is a long period of hacking and turnout with short periods of targeted training to physically develop him.
I would have paid that for him ,no ,for a start he’s too tall I don’t like overally large horses I would not have bought him at any price for a start my body on a good day might manage the walk the rest of it no way .
He is an extreme example of the modern purpose bred for dressage warmblood . I don’t think it’s a given that you need a horse like him to win at the highest level because it takes a lot more than extreme natural movement to create a champion .
It will be interesting to follow this one if it’s possible .
I feel top level dressage is almost now an extreme sport and needing extreme equipment like F1.
I hope he has a happy life ,a horses life as much as it’s possible ,I hope he can touch other horses eat grass and look at the sky , that he’s cared for by people he can like that’s important for horses like him facing a life of work for a purpose.
He’s not bred to live on a hill but I hope as much as possible he has a horses life .