Your Bargain horses

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springfallstud

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Thought i would start this thread from the back of Foxfollys stallion thread as a few people have spoke about bargain horses and how most often they DONT actually turn out to be bargains at all, so will be interesting to see what bargains have worked out or havnt.....

So heres mine..

Pelican Millie xx came to us through a dealer who we sold a couple of horses for, he offered us money and then we saw her looking a bit of a state trotting across a feild and she moved liked a small warmblood so we asked for her insted and the deal was done, i have owned her for 8 years now and she has bred me 4 foals since having graded into the main stud book of the Hannovarian society, she has also won best T/B at the Hann show and 2nd in her broodmare class at the BD champs .. she owes me nothing and i hope for many more happy years together with my bargain!!
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Our 2nd bargain is Sarancha our graded Oldenburg mare by Lord Sinclair/Sandro. She also came from a dealer who was delivering another horse to the yard, we spoke to him asking what else he had as we had recently put my OH's comp horse to sleep and he wanted something else to work on, he told us about this big 3 yr old gelding he had so we said bring him with you and we can have a look ....well when SHE stepped of the trailer we knew she was the one, couple of blemishes on her hind legs but after seeing her move in the school we couldnt hand him the money over quick enough ( and this is where the bargain comes in as it wasnt a lot of money!! ) He told us her passport would be sent on but we wernt too worried (passport law wasnt in then) couple of weeks later her passport did arrive, pink papered graded Oldenburg straight from the Schockemohle yard!!! Got everything checked out as we couldnt believe our luck and it was all matching and correct. She was a 3 yr old. This mare went on to be a fabulous dressage mare whose career we had to cut short due to personal reasons and this year she has had the most gorgeous San Amour colt which was bred for my OH and he will hopefully Dressaging on in the future.

So to sum it up yes bargains are out there to be had and i wont even tell you the story about how we got our Pr.St Sandro Hit mare today
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I bought Axel as a yearling from his breeder, he cost £900.

He did very well in hand as a 2 yr old coming 2nd at the AHS show at Ardingly, and never coming below 3rd.
As a 3 yr old he did much better, winning almost every class he was in and the icing on the cake was to qualify and then win both his classes at the PBA and AA UK Championships at Keysoe.

Under saddle he has done well winning his first ever Riding Horse class and being placed at County level ridden PBA.
He also does dressage, has won some prelims and novices and we are moving up to Elementary this year and working at Medium level at home, not bad for a 6 yr old part arab!!

I told someone I paid £10,000 for him once and they believed me.....
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My little grey mare cost £900. Has achieved everything I wanted and produced a cracking foal. No impressive bloodlines or anything, just a nice working pony.
 
My donnersong gelding below only cost £2000, the breeder had placed him with Gary Williams to be backed and after 2 months she fell into financial difficulty. He also has a small scar on his leg from an accident involving some electric tape as a yearling, but thats not a problem for dressage. She just wasnt sure how much that devalued him.

The breeder needed a quick sale and only wanted Gary's bill payed, his advert had been online for 2 hours and she already had 7 people booked up to view. She said first come first served, so i was there for 9am.

I feel very lucky!!! (but still sorry for her)
 
We bought this mare at age 17, she is Welsh D x appaloosa, and had been retired for about four years, due to her owners death. We bought her as a happy hacker/companion for my husband, but he didn't ride her much, and by then I had traced her pedigree.

She is by a Ponies UK winner (in hand and workers) with many prodegy in the USA, and out of an appaloosa mare, and we decided to breed from her, so I had a replacement for my boy, who was 14 at the time. We bred her to a Section D, and she produced this,
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who now looks like this, and is a real sweety.
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The mare has now gone out on loan to a local high class hotel, where she is escorting slow hacks and not missing us or her daughter at all.

The cost - £100.
 
I havent but a friend of mine was given a horse that was deemed unrideable. She persisted and eventually got him to do dressage. Then she began showing him. She now shows him at County level successfully and last year just missed out on HOYS qualification. She was not the most experienced rider in the world and had him as a loan initially, but she worked hard with him,had lessons, made a good bond and the rest is History I suppose!!
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Bought my NF mare for £500 as she failed to sell in the ring at Andoversford fair. She went absolutely crazy & as well as being chestnut, I think that put a lot of people off!

Fabulous riding pony, gorgeous nature & pretty too with not bad breeding at all.

Was offered £4,000 for her once. But I couldn't sell her for any money. She'll spend the rest of her life in my ownership. I've had since she was 3, just turned, & she is now rising 13 so she is a big part of my life.
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Other bargain was a mini shetland for£20, which I then had returned to me so he was in actual fact, free!
After we tamed him & got him over his timidness he turned into the most fabulous pony for my toddler sister. An absolute doll
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I didn't d badly with my bargains!
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Most of my family's have been bargains - needs must! I was a very nervous rider as a kid and we bought a 12.3 aged pony for 500 quid. He got me jumping and we were tearing round 3ft events when he was well over 25.

The first 14.2 we bought wasn't a great success, he was pretty cheap but had the most horrific buck we found when he got home, he went to a dealer.

I've had two advanced eventers, they cost under 7500 to buy in total. One was Deco, spent about 3500 on her, she is still with me and is having babies.

Liberty, my best current horse, was cheap too, but not going to put what I paid for him on a public forum!
 
My current 3 year old NF filly was a freebie. I bought her mum & they put her in foal for me free of charge. She currently stands 14hh, has impeccible bloodlines & is winning lots in the show ring. We can't wait to bring her out under saddle. (Turned down £5k for her as a foal).

Picture at this years East of England

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My beautiful Tilly.
Became my polocrosse pony - played international matches as part of the UK squad and has collected many best pony/player awards.
Then went on to achieve her biggest thing yet - producing the gorgeous Pancake aged 19, and being a perfect mother.

I love her to death. We paid £1000 for her.

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In the early 80's my husbands father bought a 14.2 pony for £700 (OK that was a fair bit but still not loads!!)
He went on to become a JA jumping pony, being very successful in this area, jumped at Great Yorkshire, Wembley and won the Foxhunter final at hickstead, he was eventually sold on as a 16 year old for Paul Barker to jump!!

My little blue and white mare cost me under £3000, I had great fun on her for a couple of years eventing at Intro & PN, I sold her for nearly £7000, she was such a sweety and so easy that she was worth every penny!!

My current horse by 'The ungraded stallion' Cavalier cost me just £1. He was fit and competing just old owner was in a bad place in her life, and due to personal circumstances wanted rid of both her horses. So I got him!!
 
I bought my seven year old mare for £2,500 and was offered a hell of a lot more for her just before she got PSD and then underwent colic surgery
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So although she has her career ahead of her still, she is practically worthless and has cost my insurance A LOT of money to date!

I would never sell her, she has so much potential that I am looking forwards to unravelling.
 
Just a correction. It was not that people felt he was not a bargain as such. The reservation was from who he had been bought. The person concerned knows the value of horses & it seemed a bit strange she would let a stallion of that breeding go for money.

My own mare had been bought from a dealer for 2500 6 mths later having not been ridden after dumping her owner twice I bought her for 400. Once we got through the confidence issues we have never looked back. Her pprs, if any did not follow with her.

Mo

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She is long in the back & built a bit down hill, but she is well worth the 400 paid for her.
 
When my daughter was 13, I bought a very well bred 7 year old 16.3 SF gelding from Normandy, he was closely related to Poucka, she had seen him in the yard where she was training and had fallen in love. He was labelled a very difficult ride and during conversations the word 'dangerous' came up more times than I can remember. We paid about 1200 pounds for him, the trainer was reluctant to sell him to us, especially for a 13 year old girl to ride, but she twisted his arm. He had been involved in a very bad accident as a 4 year old. His breeders had taken him to a show venue to pop him around the course on an open day. They had attempted to jump him over the full size water jump, yes he was only 4. He refused, so they made a human tunnel down to the jump and beat him through it. His breeder hit him on the backside with a rake, which broke and the wooden shaft imbedded itself between his back legs. He bolted, with rider on board, down the road for 4 kilometres, caused 2 car accidents, before the rider jumped off and a little later he fell over on the roundabout leading to the motorway, where he was caught, still with the shaft from the rake imbedded in this leg. He was taken by the owner of the yard that where we were, and he turned him away for 3 years to heal. that is when I bought him.

We flew him to Dubai and my daughter started his training. It really was a match made in heaven, although he had his good days and his bad days. He jumped in the smaller classes to begin with. He was never an easy horse and only she could ride him. If any other rider was put on him, he would either refuse to canter and trot at a million miles an hour, or simply p**s off with them. If the course included a water jump, you were never quite sure if he would go over it or not, 7 times out of 10 he would jump it for her.

She won every championship there was to be won in the U.A.E. with him. Leading Junior rider, Leading Lady rider and over all points champion for 2 seasons in a row. He also jumped 1.95m puissance with her.

When my daughter was 18 she left Dubai to further her career as a showjumper in the UK, of course he went with her. Within 1 season he as a grade A and jumping international classes. The next season he qualified and jumped in the Queen Elizabeth Cup at Hickstead, it was a very proud moment for me as her mother and trainer. She had done all the work on him herself, they were just meant to be together. We retired him four years ago as his previous injury was causing him soundness issues, he was sound when retired. I turned down big money for him time and time again, as I knew that no one else would have been able to ride him. They all thought they could, as he was only being ridden by a little girl, so how difficult could he be. They soon found out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is now 20 years old and happily grazing his days away being an uncle for the young colts, and he takes no nonsense from them.

He is her horse of a life time and he will die with her by his side.

And here he is at the age of 19, just how a retired old gentleman should be, grazing happily in the field, covered in mud!!!!!!!!!!

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Cruiseline, what a wonderful story, thank you for sharing that with us! (I have to admit, you have brought tears to my eyes!)

Do you have any pictures of him in his hay day?
 
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Just a correction. It was not that people felt he was not a bargain as such. The reservation was from who he had been bought. The person concerned knows the value of horses & it seemed a bit strange she would let a stallion of that breeding go for money.



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I wasnt talking about any horse in particular just in the thread a few people spoke about there bargains and i thought it would make a good topic, i am staying out of that debate
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I will have a rummage around to see what I have, if not I will get some from Claire when I go back next week, she has hundred!!!!

I am not looking forward to the day he passes away, as I know it will break her heart.
 
Some lovely stories. I have two of my own. Solomon welsh cob x something (unpapered from beeston as a foal, but thank god somebody bred him!!) paid £650 in 1985, he was 7 I was 15. He had been up for sale for two years and was a difficult ride (rearer). In 1986 we won North West Counties dressage championships and handy pony championships. We qualified for the british dressage talent Spotting semi final and Lady Joicey asked for first refusal if I ever wanted to sell him, we were first reserve for the final. We competed to medium dressage and Novice eventing. I kept him till the day he died Feb 2007 aged 29. My one true horse of a lifetime, he had the heart of a lion.
Next is Rosie, catalouged in a recent auction. Was interested when breeding mentioned Capitoli (mmm, ok Capitol 1 it should have read). On further investigation it was possible her dam had bred two good eventers. Got to the auction, she was a nicely put together mare but a plain bay amongst 30 coloureds. Checked her passport and she was by the same dam of Flogas Randy (represented Ireland on young rider european event team 2006) and killeenduff boy (advanced eventer). Couldn't believe my luck but thought I wouldn't afford her. We got her for £1000 including buyers premium, the horse before her a coloured unpapered filly made over £2000? I have now spoken to rosie's breeder and found a lot more information and when she moves she blows you away - what a bargain she has turned out to be already!
 
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Cruiseline, what a wonderful story, thank you for sharing that with us! (I have to admit, you have brought tears to my eyes!)

Do you have any pictures of him in his hay day?

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your not the only one hun !!!

What a lovely story xx
 
Breeding wise , I would have to say our best bargain would have to be our Beachtime mare, who cost only £800 and whilst she has not yet ‘proven’ herself long term wise, her first foal is STUNNING and we’re keeping finger’s crossed on him being a stud prospect. The mare herself is the ¾ sister to the dam of 2 licensed stallions and of the 2 she is actually the nicer mare…just got sold as a youngster as the stud needed to cut back. She never did much herself as managed to stick her foot down a rabbit hole and snap a suspensory lig on a fetlock however is sound and can seriously move and jump. As it stands she has already been a fab bargain as her future potential as a broodmare has yet to be realised (although looks good if Tam is anything to go by!).

The best bargain a friend of mine has had would have to be with a little 13.2 palomino mare she had bought as a project for her daughter. She was very very poor and only cost about £280 because of it but boy could she jump. Once she got weight on, it soon transpired that the reason she was soo poor was that she was unridable when fit and healthy (at least by a child). So – she took the mare back to the dealer she was bought from who had no problem having her back in exchange for another horse of her choice, however the best bit is that instead of just letting her have another horse up to the value of £1000 as the pony was now in such good condition. She then in turn chose a very smart little traditional coloured 2 yr old which she ran out on her fields to fatten up and she actually in turn sold this coloured last year for £4500!! Yes she hung onto him for some time, however he was just out on their own land so never cost them anything and so in return for the £280 she paid for the pony she got a return of £4500!
 
Well we bought a TB x 14.2 5yo chestnut mare for me when I was 14 for all of £375... which turned into this

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We bred a foal off her to a TB stallion that costs in total £132.50

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Sold the mare for £1800 after we'd had her for 8 years but kept the foal - Asti - who turned into this...

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and

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and then we've bred

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For stud and keep fees (say £500)

Oh and the best one, we bought a 4YO TB mare for £800, sold it 18 months later for £1600, then got her given back 5 years later for free! (I make it she's in profit of £800!!)
 
re Legal Democrat. I know a chap who used to help Marcia with him. He told me stories of how they improved his piaffe etc in a nissen hut (ears scraping on the top almost). My friend had bells in his pocket off his shire harness which had the desired reaction
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I will beat you alll!!

wohahahaha!

Bought My mare for £2500 (wait for it!) was scammed by a dealer and got full LOU payment of £2500 (so free technally)
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8 Months later she pops out this by complete suprise
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Which is now only 14 months old and looks like this
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I then bought a second mare, 6yo Registered Sec D with fab bloodlines from a poor novicey family who took on too much and had no horse experience for £700.
(cracking jumper, doing really well schooling etc)
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Then 3 days ago she only goes and pops out THIS!!
(Yes ANOTHER suprise!)
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Total for 2 mares and 2 fillys? £700!!
 
well my first horse i had on loan when i was 12 - he was found in a field as a 4yo hackney X who was 15.1(he was a mess)

Broke his leg at 7yo and thought that was it - but he came back i bought him for £1500 including all tack etc the year later !

He was the first to take me to affiliated - i jumped him in Belgium and up to about 1.20m he won so much bless him - he is now in the field retired !!!

then 2 1/2 years ago i bought gadget after going to look at a complete different horse with a friend - fell in love with him and paid 3k for him - after 2 years hard work he is about to jump his first Foxhunter and even got placed at hickstead the other week !!

then there is Tilly by Rubenstein x Weltmeyer broodmare - i paid 2k for her as the lady that owned her didnt want to sell her to a big stud xxx
 
Another bargain is my best mate's horse. On recommendation from a friend when she was looking for a new horse she went to to look at 17.2hh 10 yr old Belgian WB gelding. When we got there we found him to be rather underweight and quite a few other worries but under saddle she completely fell in love with him and so against a lot of people's advice (mine included) she bought him. She paid £4000 for him.
He took some serious fattening up and a LOT of physio as the person who was selling him for the owner had had him at 17.2hh stable in a 12x12 box for 3 months with no turnout (only came out to be ridden). Well, suffice to say his back was COMPLETELY out of alignment, etc.

On looking into his history, she subsequently discovered that he was competed internationally by Guy Williams up to Grade A Int level and only stopped because the owner ran out of money (she jumped him under a diff name to his passport). We have subsequently loose jumped him over about 1.50m and he flies it with ease.

Thanks to this horse, my friend has now gone from strength to strength. Prior to having him she had almost completely lost her nerve after a bad hunting accident in America where she broke her back. She will now happily jump him over 1.30 + and would like to get affiliated this winter with him. He has spent this summer being based with an event rider as my friend has been away and she has also subsequently schooled him over advanced XC fences. In addition to all of this he is a total gentleman and is always escorting the babies out on their first hacks, etc.

This horse, now he is back in top health is easily worth in excess of £15,000 (not that she ever has any intention of selling him)....So much so that several of the people who saw him before she bought him have offered to buy him off her for a LOT more than she ever paid!!!

This was one potentially big risk that has certainly turned out trumps as left to me she would never have taken a chance on him and never got herself this total horse of a lifetime.
 
Some great stories here - especially cruiseline's!

I have only bought two horses in my life, one very cheap, one very expensive - I think both were bargains!

The first, a pure-bred Arab stallion, I bought as an unbroken 4yo (yeah, I know, great choice for a novice owner) for £600. He went on to become the first pure-bred to compete successfully in affiliated eventing - this is him at Batsford BHS Novice Horse Trials as a 5yo:

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He also did affiliated SJ, Dressage as well as winning hunter trials and drag-hunting with the Berks & Bucks. And he sired some international event horses and prolific ridden show winners. He carried 13 stone (6 ft male rider) throughout his eventing/hunting career and was never lame, sick or sorry once in the 10 years I had him. When he died, I was so devastated that I ran away from horses altogether and spent 13 years in horseless mourning for him.

Then I came out of mourning in 2006 and bought Tobago (for a large sum that I won't reveal here
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), a 2yo pure-bred Arab colt - a different type, although equally athletic, very much a 'show' Arab and already an international in-hand champion.

He went on to win more in the show ring (including reserve best 2yo at the National Championships, Gold Medal at the UK-International, etc.) and to become as a 3yo the most popular first-season Arab stally in the UK, plus exporting semen to Europe, etc. His first foals are stunning and already winning in the show ring, and his 2008 and 2009 books are full of champion show-mares and top-class sport horses...

He will be backed and started under saddle after the stud season. We'll have to wait and see if he is equally successful as a performance horse.... But so far I'd say that although expensive he has already proved to be a bargain! More importantly, he is my new best friend.

This is Tobago:

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