How would you market a horse with a stop?

[gracelyn4]

By “stop” I mean- this horse is almost guaranteed to refuse a new fence/course the first time around. He’s not fussy about it, just comes to a neat little stop and you can turn him right around and pop over the second time and if you ride well, he’ll jump out of a line once he’s jumped in. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th time you jump the course he won’t even blink at the jumps and is even pretty forgiving of distances. While predictable, it obviously isn’t ideal for a show horse.

Now you can get him over with effort but it’s not easy or pretty and it’s not really a childrens-friendly level of riding. Everything else about this guy is great and he’d honestly make a wonderful childrens/low jr horse if it weren’t for that. He’s just…quirky. And every children’s hunter iso post has the words “no stop” in it.

How would someone market this level of stopping? Is he better off not being sold as a show horse? I know there’s other factors that go into price stuff, ofc, not looking for a number, but has anyone had a horse with a similar quirk that they’ve successfully sent on? Curious how much value that takes out of an otherwise nice horse.

(Before anyone asks- this horse has been extensively checked in case the stopping was a physical problem. He jumps around beautifully over jumps he’s seen before. He’s just always done this at new places and for new fences)

[CBoylen]

Like, he’s okay after the Tuesday warmup if the kid shows him Saturday “Does best with professional schooling at the show”, or he has to have a warmup trip directly before the class “best suited for local shows where he does not have to go in cold”?
Regardless, this horse is not worth much money, unless it has shown extremely infrequently and things are likely to change with more miles. I mean, basically every shows jumps look the same, so it’s not the jumps, it’s a habit.

[inca]

I have a horse with a stop that I could never have afforded otherwise. Hers is different in that she just does NOT take a joke. At all. If I don’t miss, we get top ribbons at A shows. But, I also have fallen off more than my fair share. I have actually won a huge class and fallen off in the same day. LOL

I got her for about 20% of what her value would be without the stop. Trainer I bought her from actually cared about where she went and I was willing to let her be done jumping if she was really just DONE.

[CBoylen]

I might be in the minority, but I’d take a chance for a client on “don’t miss” versus “evergreen”. I like horses that teach people how to ride. Sitting on the ground because you were inaccurate is a great lesson. Expecting the horse to stop in the first class every time, not so much.

[Sarah616]

Or they become a donation horse to a college program. We had one at the college I attended that was the WINNER… After a professional jumped him around first. Turned into a great flat horse, was never used over fences at IHSA, but did do open shows pretty successfully when he could have a good warm up day or class first.

[gracelyn4]

50/50 sadly. He does great if they don’t do much more than swap the jumps to the other direction between days. If the jumps totally shuffle around, it pretty much restarts him. You can totally feel it coming, so if you’re tough and can really micromanage him over the first couple, he’ll let you be a passenger the rest of the day. But no kid wants to do all that and I don’t blame them lol.

[gracelyn4]

You might be onto something there! I’ve warmed up horses before at my school’s home show. From what I remember, they were required to do the entire course satisfactorily with the warmup rider before the class went. So long as he wasn’t kicked out for stopping a few times in warmup, he’d probably be great just doing the same course over and over. Part of me hates the thought of just giving him away but if he really doesn’t want to be a show horse than I’d love to just find him the best home possible.

[showy]

I don’t think he’s worth any money.

[Weezer]

I rode a horse like this for a couple of summers at camp when I was a kid. When I came back the third summer, they had figured out that he was going blind in one eye. That stop was for him to size up the jump.

So a thorough eye exam might be required. Other than that, I’d market him as a cautious jumper who performs well over familiar jumps.

[RW06]

I think this could be a care lease to an approved program. If the horse has something to offer, is confirmed sound, and otherwise competitive if you can put in the work, I think you can hope to get him/her off payroll with a savvy and hardworking junior or amateur- but I don’t think you will have much luck marketing for a price to a permanent home. Unless you luck out with a dressage or flat-only home. Or someone who doesn’t want to show and has a great pro they work with who will handle the schooling at home for any course changes and do all the “setup” rides.

[Rumorhasit93]

@showy

I don’t think he’s worth any money.

Depends what he’s done, but you’re probably right. I had a former FEI jumper who also wouldn’t take a joke. He’d even stop if the distance was doable, but not what he wanted.

He sold for $15k as a dressage/trail horse.

[Willesdon]

Try a different discipline and find out if the horse enjoys it: field hunter, dressage, working equitation. Then you have a horse with a value in a different market - and you might find a new interest too. In the world of Hunters I suspect it’s current market value is zero: everyond is looking for perfection.

[Weezer]

I agree that a different discipline might be a better fit for the horse, but I don’t think he’s unmarketable. There are a lot of riders who have no interest in competing, so if this horse shines in other areas, this would be a minor issue. I would just be honest about his approach to jumping and be careful not to sell him to someone who thinks they can beat his stop out of him.

[spurofthemoment]

@gracelyn4

Part of me hates the thought of just giving him away but if he really doesn’t want to be a show horse than I’d love to just find him the best home possible.

Plenty of IHSA programs are looking for care lease situations! The team I rode with had TONS of great horses from well-respected pros that just couldn’t do what the pro wanted for some reason or another. They were given appropriate jobs. In this case, you wouldn’t be giving him away (since ya know, care lease).

FWIW, as a college student, I enjoyed hopping on different horses/challenging mounts. As a kid, my Arabian threw me on the ground so much that I developed a very strong seat. There are tenacious young people out there who would definitely work with/around a stop. Purchase price-wise, you won’t get much BUT if you’re more concerned about care/quality of life for him, I think you’ll find someone.

I’d rather have a predictable stopper than drop any amount of money on a green horse that develops into an absolute nut.

[fivestrideline]

@Weezer

I would just be honest about his approach to jumping and be careful not to sell him to someone who thinks they can beat his stop out of him.

This. If he’s cute enough, a dressage home could fit, but I’d check his eyes in the meantime. I don’t think he’s safely marketable for a show hunter.

That said, we had one of these as a kid - FANCY horse, but had a dirty stop if you let your guard down at all. One of the scrappy kids ended up winning everything at the local B circuit on him because she was a darn fierce rider and had all the confidence in the world. And they could have a warmup trip and the jumps rarely changed a ton . He was free to our trainer in a “lease” - she ended up selling him to that kid for a steal, which never would have happened if the kid hadn’t ridden him for a year as a lesson horse. So that’s an option if you have a suitable program around that won’t just cowboy and drug him up.

[Weezer]

Yes, kids tend to have much more patience for this sort of thing than adults. A lease to sell might be a great option so the rider has time to decide if they can work with it.

[luvmyhackney]

He would be perfect for people like myself that keep horses at home, show low level dressage, do some 3rd flight fox hunting (no jumping) and occasionally step over a log or two on a trail.

I prefer diamonds in the rough so most of mine are free leases or low cost, but if he is safe on the flat, he is worth money. Maybe not H/J money but still, he has use. You just need to find the right situation for him.

Does he still stop over jumps if playing follow the leader with a horse in the front and back of him? Or on cross rails?

[vxf111]

I wouldn’t rule out a discipline change. A nice, well schooled horse with lots of buttons that is amateur easy on the flat has value for a dressage market.

[PonyApocalypse19]

I want to comment that my current schooling Grand Prix dressage horse was an ex-hunter. Never would have been able to afford him otherwise. My old retired horse was also an ex-hunter that showed A circuit but would stop between the jumps (or so I was told). Again he was a bargain to me. He got up to FEI levels as well before I retired him. I bought both of them from the same lady - so it was by word of mouth that these horses came to me.
If you market him as a dressage prospect for the right price, he would probably move. If he’s got some nice gaits even more so!

[LSBC]

Where I ride, all of our school horses are donated – and it is usually because they have some sort of quirk. The horse I had (and showed a bit) was a stopper like you mention, and if I could get him around once we could then win the next class. He was in our program for at least 14 or 15 years until he was retired. We had another one who refused to jump off property. He eventually grew out of it (most likely at age 15) and eventually consistently won Horse of the Region at IEA regionals off property.

When a horse is donated, there are often agreements with the owners, like they can take the horse back if it retires or if it is no longer a good fit for the program. There is usually a month long trial period as well. It is a win for the owners who have really nice horses with something a little strange going on. They are often appraised for a lot more than they could sell for as well.