I recently sold my horse and after commissions and some debt I had to pay off, I have 25,000 to put into a new horse. Ideally, I would get a project, keep it for a few months to a year and resell it either breaking even or hopefully making a profit to buy a next horse with. I’m hoping to do this consistently enough that I can keep myself in horses without needing to marry rich/ start robbing banks.
I grew up doing the junior hunters and dabbling in eq and jumpers and still have a good relationship with my childhood trainer (who shows exclusively on the A/AA circuit) I also ride with a lesser known but very competent young professional. Between the three of us I think we can develop a young horse, but without relying solely on my professionals, I was wondering where you would look for a project in my budget. What would you expect to get for $25,000?
I would get 25 OTTBs 
Ontario.
Hunter bred Quarter Horse
Hunter, jumper, eventing?
If Jumper, you might want to try a Saddlebred or Saddlebred cross.
1/2 Saddlebred by bloodlines; registered BWP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMQ23uqatwU
If you put the word out on Saddlebred facebook groups, they will come out of the woodwork.
And you’ll have a lot of fun!
Not sure where you’re located but I agree with the above poster who said to look in Ontario. With the weak Canadian $ you might be able to find a deal. Ontario, Quebec and BC would be your best bet. If you come across any young ones who have already done the Cup classes at RAWF then you know they can flat with the best of them.
Look up horses who are competing in the baby greens in your area, and figure out where they were bred.
For a $25,000 project I would expect it is very fancy, can do small courses with changes, maybe a little showing. That is the kind of horse you can make a profit on assuming you have the time/money to get a season of showing in before you sell.
Your other option could be to put that money into two horses if you have somewhere cheap to keep them. Put half into a not so fancy, already started young horse and put the other half into a fancy unstarted baby who still needs a year or two to mature.
Good luck!
I think you need to be very thoughtful about breed if you’re interested in a resale project. Off-breed is great when we’re talking about buying a personal horse on a budget, but there’s a reason Saddlebreds, QHs, OTTBs are so cheap compared to WBs – the demand is not as high.
Your plan is one that a lot of girls at my barn are attempting – not as an overall moneymaking scheme, but as a way to get nice horses when you don’t have a ton of cash lying around. The ones who have been successful are buying very green in the sub-20k range (some as low as ~10k). These are competent juniors or young adults with excellent help (a ‘vintage’ BO/head trainer with an experienced eye and a talented young pro to put the miles on them). The horses are usually around 4-6, with little to no show experience. They jumping small courses at home with a pro or good ammy and may have gone to hang out at a show or two, but all have been baby green eligible. Homebred WBs or WB crosses almost exclusively (not because we dislike off-breeds – see above). They need a good mind and BO is obsessed with a kind eye. Decent looking and a fantastic jump, but usually not the hack winner (or else they’d be double the price!). They must vet pretty close to perfect. Sometimes they have a quirk that needs to be worked through, but the ultimate goal needs to be ammy-friendly.
We mostly look in smaller markets – we’re in the Pacific NW where there are lots of pockets of horsey activity, but it’s definitely not a hunter/jumper hotspot. Like I said, a lot of homebreds. Canada is also a great place to look for the same reason; tons of people with a little farm breeding nice sporthorses as a hobby, plus there’s the benefit of the current exchange rate. Basically, people that don’t NEED to actually make a profit on their babies.
One of our girls recently got an offer on her horse for more than six times his purchase price. She opted not to sell for a variety of reasons but it was a serious offer. You probably won’t get that big of an increase in less than a year but you can do pretty well, and you run less risk of an injury or illness that reduces value.
Come to Ontario… a million times over. Seriously!
I’m not sure why anyone would suggest off breeds as a project horse? They certainly won’t get you the same profit or interest as a warmblood. I would look for a green WB around 4 with a good temperament and a solid foundation. I can see you paying between $15k-25k for something like that. If you have the time, you could start with something younger and cheaper. Shopping in Canada will certainly get you more horse for your money. I wouldn’t look in Florida. You would save on travel (be able to see a lot of nice horses close together) but prices will be higher.
For $25,000 you can get a NICE 3-5 year old broke but green warmblood (more likely from a lesser-known/local trainer or small breeder). This may vary depending on your area.
I got my guy (now going on 12!) when he was 4 for under $25,000. He’s a 17h Danish Warmblood and was broke with a few months of lower level dressage training. We have gone through the 1.25m jumpers and he would be a pretty decent quality international derby horse if I were interesting in pursuing that discipline. I have had quite a few offers to buy him, but he’s my heart horse and I wouldn’t be able to afford another one like him now!
I do think my next horse might be an OTTB though. You can get some nice quality hunter, jumper, and event horses off the track for relatively cheap. I think that is actually where the biggest profit margin is if you have a good eye for potential.
If you shop around you should be able to get a decent young, broke, WB. Shop around with smaller breeders. Stay away from expensive areas like FL. If you are looking for a resale project, stay away from off breeds and TBs. Nice TBs, even REALLY nice ones, sell for a lot less than comparable WBs.
Another vote for looking in Canada. Way more bang for your buck right now
Where do people look in Canada?
Keeping with the resale theme I think all things being the same a nice face, thick tail, even markings, etc. really do make a difference with so many people shopping online. I love a chestnut mare as much as the next person but I’d want to go with a nice bay or black gelding. I’d definitely avoid cribbers, weavers, etc. and do an extensive PPE upfront. If you want to try and recoup your losses the quickest way to see that go down the drain is to put a year into a nice horse with obvious changes or other potential PPE deal breakers.
I agree that off-breed is a no-go for a resale prospect. I wouldn’t even go TB-cross if you’re trying to get the most amount of money you can on the sales end.
I would go with a warmblood registered with a breed registry (Holsteiner, KWPN, Oldenburg, etc.) and with some recognizable names in the background. And I would aim for a hunter, not a jumper because the sales prices at the lower levels are massively different between the two disciplines.
In the $25k range I think you could find a nice unbroke or barely broke 3 or 4 year old project horse (potentially a younger horse from a bigger farm, but for that late 3/early 4 you’d likely have to be looking at smaller breeders). I would go to any breeders you like and talk to them about what they’ve got. I purchased my (now) coming-6yo mare from a breeder as a 2yo within your price range. She’s got great bloodlines, is stunningly gorgeous, has lots of chrome, and could easily make it as a derby horse. I have her firmly aimed at the big jumper classes, but if I wanted to sell her you’d bet I’d have her in the hunter ring right now.
I’d be happy to share some of the breeders I’ve worked with over the years if you PM me.
If you want a hunter, shop warmblood or Irish/heavy boned TB. Recently saw a couple draft crosses in the ring, but it didn’t seem the judges favored them (someone on a warmblood did two fences out of order and placed higher 
)
If you want a jumper, breed is much less important (duh).
Depending on where you are in the US. I would check ProEquest for horses for sale.
I don’t know much about Ontario or the East Coast, but on the West Coast I have seen some nice babies (3ish) come from Rainbow Equus, and more recently I have seen several cute hunters come from Kilkenny Crest in Oregon. (I have bought from both, so perhaps I am a little biased)
I have a few friends who are in the resell game and here’s what they look for. No mares, over 16hh, great PPE with x-rays, no special shoeing or maintenance, good looks (nice face, kind eye, nice tail, ideally with chrome, should look sharp and draw your eye), good/fixable manners in the barn and in hand/ridden and a great brain. Horses with good brains are so much easier to sell because they could go to a pro or ammy so this is almost a must. Since it’s a younger horse, I’m not saying it needs to be able to go to a show with zero prep but a horse who’s a good egg is a bonus to anyone.
OTTBs (who I LOVE personally!) are harder to flip for a lot of money in my opinion, especially if they’re right off the track. Can you flip them? Yes. Can you flip them and easily make a lot of money? Ehh… With a truly awesome one, you could probably get $25,000 and you wouldn’t have gotten him for nearly that price. However that’s realistically not the price for your average TB after a few months off the track. They may need downtime so extra $$ on board for the months they’re hanging out, may need more retraining so extra $$ on training and board, can have buyers who are biased. Off breeds, mares, smaller horses, etc are in the same boat. You can flip them but they better be spectacular and even then, they might not sell for as much as a nice WB gelding who is 16+hh and has a great PPE and a brain.
As for what I’d expect, it totally depends for me. For $25,000 and young (a 3 y/o for example), I’d expect them to be fancy (definition of “fancy” depends on what you’re looking for: hunter derby prospect, junior hunter, A/O hunter, jumper?), look the part, and at least started w/t/c. If they aren’t broke and asking price is $25,000, I’d want them to be REALLY fancy (10+ jump, hack winner or damn near close) and a good brain would be even more non-negotiable. Bonus points if they showed in hand as a yearling or have gone to local shows so they have some “real life” experience. If you are looking slightly older, maybe 4-6, I’d want $25,000 to get me maybe slightly less fancy as in not definitely the hack winner, w/t/c, can jump around a bit and has a great jump, maybe some show experience at local shows.
As to where to go, I agree with the other posters. Breeders are great resources. Get the word out that you’re looking for a prospect both by word of mouth and on social media. FB has groups such as “WBs for sale near you” types and you can post what you’re looking for. You can look online for sales posts. If you like what a breeder has on their website but don’t see something that you exactly want, reach out to them and explain what you’re looking for. Maybe they have something that isn’t listed or know of one by them. Like a couple other folks have mentioned, see what breeding is winning in your area (either mare or stallion) and go to that breeder.
Well, If I had 25,000 like you do, especially if you are young, perhaps you would do better buying a less expensive project horse and invest the rest of the money in something less risky that can be used for retirement, a rainy day etc… If you put all of the money into a horse, that’s all your money if all works well perhaps you would make a profit, or at least break even, but if something bad happens so the horse is not desirable then I think that could be a problem. However, I wish you the best of luck with whatever decision you make.
In would look at breeding stock solid paints bred for hunter. Also,OTQH,running QH bred. And,QH Hunter’s. QH and Paint Hunter’s can look decidedly like WBs and they have generally great tempermants. They are getting to be less downhill as the breed world is starting to be influenced more by the USHA trainers,at least in OF classes.
If you’re going to look in Canada, seriously consider the east coast - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, even PEI. Just saw a gorgeous 6 year old gelding by Donatelli (black with 2 socks and a stripe) go for $14, 000 - with the exchange rate that’s just over 10k USD.
We have a small market here which keeps prices lower, but there’s a lot of quality to be found.
