As a kid, I vividly remember how my father, a talented woodworker, traded a handmade, pine dresser for a wonderful Morgan horse. Now, in my adulthood, it seems crazy to me. Was wondering if anyone here has ever traded for their horse, what they traded, and what that was like?
Neat story.
I think that in our current times, it’s hard to barter anymore. Craftsmanship has been so devalued because so much of what we buy is made overseas with very cheap labor. “Fast fashion” and “fast furniture” are the new norm-- cheaply-made products that look good and are priced inexpensively enough that we accept that they won’t last very long. Hardly anyone buys heirloom quality stuff.
Would be cool to have a skill that would let me trade services for a nice horse, but alas, I can’t think of anything I do outside of my real job that’d be worth that.
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Not sure if this counts, but I have traded one horse for another several times, with happy results all around.
We’ve traded (we, meaning my DH, haha) legal services for a horse. Tricky with tax issues, but it can be done. This was actually someone who owed DH money and paid with a horse. Did this twice. 
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Wasn’t Rhythmical, Nona Garson’s wonderful Russian jumper, traded for something like 30 washing machines?!
Ah ha, 150 washing machines it was! :lol: http://www.ridgeshowjumping.com/rhythmical/
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That horse was so cool. Not the scopiest, but man it had heart!
Yes, I have traded stuff for horses but it was years ago. It always seemed okay back then and worked out well. Our most recent “trade” was for a pair of shotguns against shop time for one of my hubby’s customers. Guy was moving off overseas and did not want to deal with shipping them. That was a smokin’ good deal there (the Beretta A400 12G is SWEET), everyone happy. It happens less and less often now, I think it because so much commerce takes place online…
That’s just the thing! I work in advertising and don’t get me wrong, I’d easily trade my marketing services for a nice horse but I can’t for the life of me imagine anyone willing to make the trade 😂
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There’s a sales barn of sorts that advertises on Ranch World that takes firearms in trade towards a horse.
Yeah, I’m in the renewable energy industry, I don’t think many people want a 500ft tall wind turbine in exchange for their horse. :lol: Given they cost millions each, it’d have to be a hell of a horse, anyway
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I’ve done so twice, and it worked out (for me) both times. My parents bought me my first horse a 2.5 year old Arab/Welsh, when I was 12 - well, I hit a growth spurt and could touch my toes underneath him. I somehow did OK at making him a decent riding hors, and traded him to a friend’s mom who’d bought a spicy young QH gelding that was too much horse. I did everything with that horse, and he was amazing. More recently, I traded a nice GOV mare with behavioral issues and got a gangly 2 year old Westphalian in return. The baby is 4 now and has turned out pretty nice, and going under saddle. Last I saw, they had a cowboy riding the mare and she was doing OK, so maybe they turned her around.
I do sometimes see ads for horses saying they’ll trade for trucks, trailers, ATVs or hay. Usually something that doesn’t eat and poop. :lol:
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I traded riding lessons for a guys daughter and he made me dressage letters for my arena.
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Actually, I am trading a foal for interior design services right now. The trick is that there has to be a written agreement that spells out everything including what happens if it doesn’t work out. If you are trading for services – then it needs to be define as hours of work at $X or specific deliverables. I also like to cover all bases – what if the person offering the services dies or moves or decides she doesn’t want to do it. What are her (or her estate’s) options for buying out the contract? What are the grounds for default if she doesn’t do the work or does unacceptable work? Under what circumstances would I refund the money put into the horse? See what I mean? You have to think about the deal not working as much as working. FWIW, the foal stays on my farm and I keep registration until the foal is paid in full. Insurance is required for the foal so that if it dies, the buyer/selller gets her share of the money back from the insurance company. The devil is in the detail. If you take time to do it right, it can be done.
Of course it is easier to trade a horse for a dresser or washing machines. I have a friend who trades a video camera for a horse.
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A friend of a friend traded a horse for a trailer eons ago
I just recently bought a horse from a trainer who owed me some lessons in exchange for tack; i had traded a couple of my older but nice name-brand dressage saddles. We put the value of the lessons towards the purchase price of the horse so I got a discount (not really, but I paid less cash) and she cleared her books of owing me anything. Win-win!
Sim was given to us instead of paying a bill. 10 years later he belongs to hubby and is going great. He is the hardest horse I have ever retrained. I learned a lot.
I did a wireless network design and set everything up for the barn including wiring and equipment. Traded for lessons for my kids. They got 2-3 estimates, so knew what the value was and couldn’t afford to pay cash. I already had most of the equipment needed in my garage. We bartered using the lowest estimate they received and put the value towards lessons. They were kinda miffed that it only took me 2-3 hours for everything at the barn and didn’t realize it was quick because I pre-configured everything at home. And in actuality they got a deal cause the equipment was higher end than the estimates had quoted and they are still using the same setup many years later.
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I’ve bartered for lessons and riding time, but never for an entire horse.
If you’re trading for services that will be done over a period of time, it’s best to lay out a contract from the beginning that specifies how much the work is worth per hour or unit, how that will be tracked or logged, what the purchase price is for the item you are receiving, and at what point the item becomes yours. I have never had problems but I have definitely seen cases where disagreements arose over the value of items or work and people ended up miffed and feeling cheated.
I have trained horses in exchange for a horse before. I have also traded tack for a horse. This was back a couple of years ago however when I physically wasn’t such a mess, and training horses full time. They both worked out well, and to be honest, they were both project horses that I saw potential in but that didn’t have a strong sales market to be sold in (unstarted, bad/dangerous habits, etc). I always had an airtight contract spelling out the exact details, to protect both parties.
I also wanted to add, that one of the projects did not work out that well, although his training progressed, he ended up developing soundness issues. The other, I maybe made like $1k after expenses, and that wasn’t factoring in my time and training. However, I didn’t do the trade to make money, I did it to give these two horses training and a better shot at life, so I consider it as a success. Both are now in good homes, one a pasture puff, the other is showing in jumping with juniors now and in a lesson program.
