Horse Shopping in Europe on a Budget?

[EmHorses]

I will be in Europe for a week this summer and would like to look at some horses, but first I want to make sure what I’d be looking for is actually available there in my budget.

I’d like to find a young prospect to develop as a hunter or equitation horse in the US. I’d like to find something that’s at least been backed, but doesn’t need to be showing yet. There seem to be lots of horses that fit what I’m looking for available at the big sale barns, but they’re mostly over my budget. Are there horses for sale over there that fit this description and would cost under 12,000 euros not including import fees? If so, how should I go about finding them? If anyone has any recommendations of a particular person or farm, preferably near Amsterdam, that’d be great.

Thanks!

[greysfordays]

Bearing in mind, I’ve only been horse shopping in Europe three times, here’s my outlook:

12K euros is doable, but not easy, even for something that’s just recently been backed. I’ve found slightly better value in Germany than Holland, and that’s definitely been more on the Eastern side of Germany.

My favorite way to find horses is to search by stallions I like and the age, so Cassall 2011 is a frequent search term for me on youtube! I’ve found very small dealers this way and have found them to have sometimes better value on prices. That’s how I found these guys http://www.pferdezucht-jacobs.de/en/horses-for-sale/jumping-horses/

I now spend about 20 minutes every day on youtube looking at horses (even though I have one too many)… you learn so much from looking at a lot of video regularly, particularly when it comes to jumping or movement that a sire seems to pass on.

You can work with someone like Ira Denkhaus, who represents a ton of smaller owners. http://www.id-premium-horses.de/ She’s very responsive and I enjoyed working with her.

You could also go during one of the auctions, like the Hanoverian auction. They allow you to ride the horses and have some preliminary xrays. Bear in mind, anyone gets to the ride them, so some can become a bit unnerved by the experience and might have a longer transition after import.

The other wild card and I would love anyone who has experience with them are these Harrington Horse folks in the UK. They can really put together a super video! Their horses usually have fantastic pedigrees are the prices seem ULTRA reasonable. It looks like they put the basics on the horse, pop them over a few fences and then sell. I haven’t seen a ton of their horses that are good enough movers to be really top hunters, but there are definitely plenty of horses that could do the equitation. I stalk those guys and am wondering if anyone has experience with the???

[greysfordays]

speak of the devil, the Hanoverian Verband just posted the videos for the July auction!

https://www.youtube.com/user/HannoveranerVerband/videos

some really nice pedigrees in that mix!

[PonyPenny]

This barn is in Great Britain so prices are in GBP, but there are some deals at the current exchange rate. Looks like the closest airport is London-Gatwick. http://harringtonhorses.co.uk

[snowrider]

Go to the UK or Ireland. You can get a very nice horse going well under saddle for that kind of money. And I believe you can import directly now.

[Pennywell_Bay]

[QUOTE=EmHorses;8705314]
I will be in Europe for a week this summer and would like to look at some horses, but first I want to make sure what I’d be looking for is actually available there in my budget.

I’d like to find a young prospect to develop as a hunter or equitation horse in the US. I’d like to find something that’s at least been backed, but doesn’t need to be showing yet. There seem to be lots of horses that fit what I’m looking for available at the big sale barns, but they’re mostly over my budget. Are there horses for sale over there that fit this description and would cost under 12,000 euros not including import fees? If so, how should I go about finding them? If anyone has any recommendations of a particular person or farm, preferably near Amsterdam, that’d be great.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

While in Europe, I’d love to go look at some nice barns But for that kind of money and what you want experience-wise- why aren’t you looking domestic? For 13K plus what you’d spend importing- you could find a nice one at home, IMO. (yes, I’m sure some were waiting or the “Buy American” mantra, here it is)

[TSWJB]

[QUOTE=Pennywell Bay;8706970]
While in Europe, I’d love to go look at some nice barns But for that kind of money and what you want experience-wise- why aren’t you looking domestic? For 13K plus what you’d spend importing- you could find a nice one at home, IMO. (yes, I’m sure some were waiting or the “Buy American” mantra, here it is)[/QUOTE]

The domestic horses are too expensive! People want a lot of money for horses that are decent and still want a lot of money for horses that are mediocre.
If you know of any good places, then please share!

[EmHorses]

I haven’t been able to find anything in the US in my budget that’s as nice as I’d like. Even with import I’ve seen plenty of nice young warmbloods listed in Europe for $25,000 or so, and in the US that money just doesn’t seem to go as far.

[Pennywell_Bay]

[QUOTE=TSWJB;8707160]
The domestic horses are too expensive! People want a lot of money for horses that are decent and still want a lot of money for horses that are mediocre.
If you know of any good places, then please share![/QUOTE]

Plenty of breeders or trainers are in the US for a horse that “has been backed but not showing” for within the price range. Some even post here on COTH on many forums including the breeding. Shrug. Since your post seems disingenuous, I’m not responding to the glib “please share”, but depending on the region, it is easy enough for a trainer or even a potential buyer to join a FB group or a reputable trainer would have the contacts. Really, it isn’t that hard.

[snaffle1987]

Shop in Ireland. There is horses available there with great bloodlines and talent in your budget as young horses/prospects.

[Madison]

[QUOTE=Pennywell Bay;8707297]
Plenty of breeders or trainers are in the US for a horse that “has been backed but not showing” for within the price range. Some even post here on COTH on many forums including the breeding. Shrug. Since your post seems disingenuous, I’m not responding to the glib “please share”, but depending on the region, it is easy enough for a trainer or even a potential buyer to join a FB group or a reputable trainer would have the contacts. Really, it isn’t that hard.[/QUOTE]

I didn’t read TSWJB’s post as glib at all, I read it as if you know of something, seriously, please point me in that direction! As someone who shopped in the US for 6+ months and saw what the price/quality situation was, it is harder than you might think Pennywell Bay, particularly if the OP needs something big (and don’t even get me started on the people who think you should buy their 16 hand horse no matter how tall you are or how long your leg is or the fact that you already know from personal experience that even a big bodied 16 hand horse does NOT work, lol). I agree that the just-backed criteria does give you a better chance, but the pricing in the US market lately is challenging, and the options can be really spread out, travel-wise. If the OP is already going to be in Europe, why not look?

[oceanmountain]

I suggest Canada (I know… not Europe)

[RockstarPony]

Have you looked at Eastern Europe at all? I don’t have personal experience so I can’t speak to the exact prices, but I know someone who’s brought a few projects over from that area and had a really good experience. As she describes it, most of the horses over there are from the same bloodlines you’d see in Germany, but they just don’t have the same level of “brand recognition” as the German registries.

[Mardi]

[QUOTE=EmHorses;8707281]
I haven’t been able to find anything in the US in my budget that’s as nice as I’d like. Even with import I’ve seen plenty of nice young warmbloods listed in Europe for $25,000 or so, and in the US that money just doesn’t seem to go as far.[/QUOTE]

Just curious…have you contacted warmblood registries in the US for their members’ sales list ? Or the larger breeding farms that stay in contact with their breeders ?

[CanteringCarrot]

I think what you are looking for is possible to find. I just bought a KWPN gelding, just turned 7, has basic commands on the flat, been around a few courses, is a nice mover, big, and sound, for under 12k Euro. I bought him just an hour or two South of Amsterdam from his breeder.

I actually found him through ehorses.com, even though I was researching through a few sites.

So, what you want is possible, since I own something similar. FWIW I’m not sure thst my horse was advertised to his full potential and that worked in my favor :winkgrin:

I did look at a few horses in Germany and The Netherlands, there are horses out there (or were) that meet your criteria. I mostly shopped in the Southern NL and Western Germany. I live in Germany so it was easy enough for me to buy around here. I also do feel as though my horse would have cost twice as much in the states. Yes, nice WB’s usually carry a higher price tag, but some of the prices I’ve seen in the states are kind of inflated just because the horse is a WB perhaps.

The money you spend on a horse here plus the import fees and all the logistics of that whole thing, could probably get you something decent in the states. It doesn’t hurt to shop I suppose if you’re in the area.

[Justice]

I am going to chime in here and agree with the OP. I am shopping also and started here in the US. I have found some lovely US-bred horses but anything with the quality I am looking for that has started horse showing is expensive. Not unfair or crazy, just spendy for me. I breed as well and completely understand the costs of bringing a show horse up through the ranks here in the US. It’s so much cheaper to show in Europe that there are a lot more horses with experience in the ring for sale there. And then if you want to sell something in the states you still have to plan to spend the same amount of money showing the horse here that you actually spend on the horse. And now I am wondering why I am horse shopping

[EmHorses]

I haven’t contacted breeders in the US yet. I want to at least look in Europe while I’m there anyway and then if I don’t find anything I’ll look when I get back to the US.

[Lord_Helpus]

When I bought my young horse I looked everywhere (on the Internet).

I was especially impressed by the horses at Harrington Horses in the UK and the horses from Checkoslovakia (right, like I know how to spell it…).

Scour the Internet, especially FB, and you will get an idea of different sellers and their horses.

Then the ‘trick’ is to find ones who are knowledgeable and honest. For that you need to find an honest and knowledgeable agent.

[shamrock]

Definitely consider looking in the Czech Republic. I know some folks that imported an incredible young jumper from there, that would never have been within their budget in North America. They worked with a great agent that toured them all around to different farms to check out many different horses. They said it was a great experience and they do it again in a heartbeat.

[TSWJB]

[QUOTE=Pennywell Bay;8707297]
Plenty of breeders or trainers are in the US for a horse that “has been backed but not showing” for within the price range. Some even post here on COTH on many forums including the breeding. Shrug. Since your post seems disingenuous, I’m not responding to the glib “please share”, but depending on the region, it is easy enough for a trainer or even a potential buyer to join a FB group or a reputable trainer would have the contacts. Really, it isn’t that hard.[/QUOTE]
I am not being glib at all? I was seriously asking, where are all these horses? I have been looking. And what I see is very expensive if it is nice, and if it’s just okay, they are priced about the same cost as the pretty nice horses in Europe.
And the Canadian horses are pretty expensive too. Even with the 20% off, they are pricey. Yes there are some deals in Western Canada but I live in NJ and I think it would probably cost at least 3k to ship over. If anyone has any price ideas on shipping costs, can you let me know? I emailed a shipper but he never got back to me. Probably because I don’t have an exact need for shipping. But it would be nice to get a rough estimate of cost, because without this, how do I know what I have to spend on the horse.
I have seen some horses posted in Ontario and they are either chestnut mares or really pricey. One horse I asked the price and to get a video and it was 25K Canadian and this horse ran at all the fences. Not exactly what I am looking for at this price range. Maybe at a 10k or less, if I am going to try to rehab a horse that runs at fences.
I am serious when I say, point me in the direction of all the nice horses. I don’t even need them trained. I need them backed and have a good canter. that’s it! and anything that is nice is 2 years old and I cant wait for a 2 year old to grow up because by the time it does, I am pushing over 30k and having to wait for 2 years paying board.
Another annoying point is none of the horses on the websites seem to have labels of a price range. They are not priced, yet in Europe many of the sites have price ranges and what category this horse would fall in so you can get an idea of how much the horse is and if you can afford it. it’s frustrating to email or contact someone on facebook to find out how much the 4yo just backed and jumped a crossrail is and you get a response of 45k bucks!
please share your experiences on where to find these horses. and don’t point me to warmblood.com because they are all pretty pricey lately.