Insulting low ball offer on a horse

[AZ_TD]

When I went horse shopping, I knew what I was looking for and paid full price because I felt the horse was worth that price. Someone else had tried the horse before me and offered less, thankfully they did not take it. Now I have a great horse!!! I had been shopping for over a year and had a good idea of the value of horses in my price range. If you know the value of your horse stick to it and also consider the buyer’s intentions.

[IdahoRider]

@kande04

I’ve seen lots of horses advertised at prices that I thought were way too high, and then found out that they were sold for way too little when the owner didn’t get any interest in their original ad. People aren’t always good at marketing their horses, nor are some of them very good at figuring out that it’s costing them more to keep the horse than the price they’re holding out for.

The mare I currently own was advertised by a trainer/consignment for $25,000 the year before I purchased her for $3,500. She had been sent to the trainer for sale by consignment in August, owner didn’t pay the training/board bill so she was sent back to owner who put her up for sale on their own for $10,000 obo in January. I made an offer, they counter offered and she was mine.

You never know. We tell people here all the time to make an offer, that the worse that can happen is the seller says No. This is true.

As a buyer who has never had a lot of money? I am honest that I am on a budget. I would never even respond to an ad that doesn’t say OBO.

OP, come back with a counter offer. If it is a great home, working with the buyer might be worth it for you in the long run.
Sheilah

[ladyj79]

A Brazilian kid came over to train in Europe when I was there, and brought with him the very nice horse that he had developed in Brazil from the young horses to 150. It was a nice horse, and he had a lot of success at lower starred shows.

The horse was very good, and she could take a joke at 150. So doda wanted her for his daughter, and tops wanted her for his daughter and there was something of a bidding war.

tops was offering like 150 I think it was, and doda was offering 100k plus two horses. But the kid wanted like 250.

But the horse was 12. And basically this is when the big people are done. Like the horse is a 4 or 5 star horse by that time or it’s done. And they just wanted it for their kids to jump around at shows for a few years, not go to the Olympics on.

So neither ended up buying, and that just meant no one ended up buying cause no one was gonna give more than these guys. And honestly, what could have been a career making move for this kid turned into just nothing.

Sometimes your horse just isnt worth as much to the market as it is to you, and that’s ok, especially if this isnt your business.

[NotGrandPrixYet]

@soloudinhere

I will also say that horse prices right now reflect that a buyer cannot really try a horse in a lot of places at the moment and may have difficulty getting a vet out.

The same horse, sold sight unseen and sold with two trial rides and an extensive vetting likely has two different market values.

Yeah, it didn’t really hit me how difficult it would be to get a vet out to my barn at this time. I thought vets would be in business as usual, but several vets in my area are temporarily closed. I guess they are concerned for their safety.

[NotGrandPrixYet]

The nicest gelding with the best bloodlines that I ever bred was one I advertised for $25k, lightly under saddle. I got a solid cash offer for $20k from a woman through a trainer whom I knew. The trainer wanted 10%, so down to $18k for me. It was low, but I was willing to watch her ride him and see if it was a good fit. It wasn’t. She was a harsh rider and I could see him getting frustrated. She was really not happy with me for not selling him to her.

Then another trainer and friend approached me for a young girl who she said was a very good rider and kind, but she didn’t have much of a budget and would I consider a lease. He would be going to a higher end barn with a good training opportunity. So I had the girl come out.

I said very little while she looked him over, did some mini-chiro movements which he visibly appreciated, and she told me her plans for the future. She tacked him up. I stayed silent to see if she would make something too tight, etc. she was perfect.

Then she rode him and loved him. He was very soft in her hands. She dismounted and untacked him in the arena, and walked toward me with him following her (he only did that with me before…he really didn’t need a lead rope if he liked you.)

Then, as we were standing in the aisle and I was brushing him out to put him away, he was constantly nuzzling the back of her neck.

I gave him to her on a lifetime free lease. She’s had him ever since. It was just too beautiful of a partnership for me to deny him that opportunity.

But I understand that some people don’t have the luxury of being able to give away a good prospect. My point is that maybe you could evaluate the situation and compromise if it’s the best fit for the horse. Unless the best fit is staying at home with you.

[NaturallyHappy]

@NotGrandPrixYet

The nicest gelding with the best bloodlines that I ever bred was one I advertised for $25k, lightly under saddle. I got a solid cash offer for $20k from a woman through a trainer whom I knew. The trainer wanted 10%, so down to $18k for me. It was low, but I was willing to watch her ride him and see if it was a good fit. It wasn’t. She was a harsh rider and I could see him getting frustrated. She was really not happy with me for not selling him to her.

Then another trainer and friend approached me for a young girl who she said was a very good rider and kind, but she didn’t have much of a budget and would I consider a lease. He would be going to a higher end barn with a good training opportunity. So I had the girl come out.

I said very little while she looked him over, did some mini-chiro movements which he visibly appreciated, and she told me her plans for the future. She tacked him up. I stayed silent to see if she would make something too tight, etc. she was perfect.

Then she rode him and loved him. He was very soft in her hands. She dismounted and untacked him in the arena, and walked toward me with him following her (he only did that with me before…he really didn’t need a lead rope if he liked you.)

Then, as we were standing in the aisle and I was brushing him out to put him away, he was constantly nuzzling the back of her neck.

I gave him to her on a lifetime free lease. She’s had him ever since. It was just too beautiful of a partnership for me to deny him that opportunity.

But I understand that some people don’t have the luxury of being able to give away a good prospect. My point is that maybe you could evaluate the situation and compromise if it’s the best fit for the horse. Unless the best fit is staying at home with you.

Wonderful story!

[Seagram]

NotGrandPrixYet, that is a lovely story.
I’ve decided to just keep the horse. I know him like the back of my hand, and work with some pros that if I absolutely had to sell could lean on, and really, with these uncertain times, would rather have him in my yard than one that could go into lockdown, when/if the second wave hits, as we are loosening restrictions.
Thanks again all for the wonderful advice.

[Bogie]

@NotGrandPrixYet

The nicest gelding with the best bloodlines that I ever bred was one I advertised for $25k, lightly under saddle. I got a solid cash offer for $20k from a woman through a trainer whom I knew. The trainer wanted 10%, so down to $18k for me. It was low, but I was willing to watch her ride him and see if it was a good fit. It wasn’t. She was a harsh rider and I could see him getting frustrated. She was really not happy with me for not selling him to her.

Then another trainer and friend approached me for a young girl who she said was a very good rider and kind, but she didn’t have much of a budget and would I consider a lease. He would be going to a higher end barn with a good training opportunity. So I had the girl come out.

I said very little while she looked him over, did some mini-chiro movements which he visibly appreciated, and she told me her plans for the future. She tacked him up. I stayed silent to see if she would make something too tight, etc. she was perfect.

Then she rode him and loved him. He was very soft in her hands. She dismounted and untacked him in the arena, and walked toward me with him following her (he only did that with me before…he really didn’t need a lead rope if he liked you.)

Then, as we were standing in the aisle and I was brushing him out to put him away, he was constantly nuzzling the back of her neck.

I gave him to her on a lifetime free lease. She’s had him ever since. It was just too beautiful of a partnership for me to deny him that opportunity.

But I understand that some people don’t have the luxury of being able to give away a good prospect. My point is that maybe you could evaluate the situation and compromise if it’s the best fit for the horse. Unless the best fit is staying at home with you.

Wow. I love this story.

[FitzE]

@NotGrandPrixYet

The nicest gelding with the best bloodlines that I ever bred was one I advertised for $25k, lightly under saddle. I got a solid cash offer for $20k from a woman through a trainer whom I knew. The trainer wanted 10%, so down to $18k for me. It was low, but I was willing to watch her ride him and see if it was a good fit. It wasn’t. She was a harsh rider and I could see him getting frustrated. She was really not happy with me for not selling him to her.

Then another trainer and friend approached me for a young girl who she said was a very good rider and kind, but she didn’t have much of a budget and would I consider a lease. He would be going to a higher end barn with a good training opportunity. So I had the girl come out.

I said very little while she looked him over, did some mini-chiro movements which he visibly appreciated, and she told me her plans for the future. She tacked him up. I stayed silent to see if she would make something too tight, etc. she was perfect.

Then she rode him and loved him. He was very soft in her hands. She dismounted and untacked him in the arena, and walked toward me with him following her (he only did that with me before…he really didn’t need a lead rope if he liked you.)

Then, as we were standing in the aisle and I was brushing him out to put him away, he was constantly nuzzling the back of her neck.

I gave him to her on a lifetime free lease. She’s had him ever since. It was just too beautiful of a partnership for me to deny him that opportunity.

But I understand that some people don’t have the luxury of being able to give away a good prospect. My point is that maybe you could evaluate the situation and compromise if it’s the best fit for the horse. Unless the best fit is staying at home with you.

Made my day. What a wonderful story!!

[GraceLikeRain]

My budget was four figures this time around. I regularly inquired about horses twice my budget being transparent about what I had available. Interestingly, some of the sellers who reacted in the most dramatic fashion to the “low ball” offer are the ones who still have this horse for sale 9 months later and/or have reduced the price by 1/3 to 1/2. Several even reached out to see if I was still in the market. While I am no longer searching, by approaching those sellers I could have been well-positioned to get a horse for 1/2 of the original asking price. As long as it is done respectfully, I don’t think there is anything wrong with approaching a seller with a budget that is less than the asking price.

[NotGrandPrixYet]

@Seagram

NotGrandPrixYet, that is a lovely story.
I’ve decided to just keep the horse. I know him like the back of my hand, and work with some pros that if I absolutely had to sell could lean on, and really, with these uncertain times, would rather have him in my yard than one that could go into lockdown, when/if the second wave hits, as we are loosening restrictions.
Thanks again all for the wonderful advice.

Good for you! It’s obvious that you care about your horse. Sometimes people set the price higher because they really don’t want to sell. 😊❤️

[netg]

Sale prices are funny because of how much they can change.

Before my younger mare was born, I looked at my trainer’s wife and said, “I have a feeling this one’s going to be mine.” No idea why I it came out of my mouth; I wasn’t looking yet and actually thought one born a few years later would fit better with when my TB was likely to be stepping down in work/ retiring. (My trainer and his wife bred her, third of three full siblings.)

We come to the conclusion she will be too big for me, though I absolutely adore her personality. We discuss my doing a breeding lease on the dam, and the weem we decide the dam colics and vet feels she isn’t a candidate for surgery - on full hospital care she just gets worse and has to be put down. At 2 1/2 an interested buyer agrees on a price and has trainer thumbs up… then vet expresses concern she toes out in front and says back away from the deal. At 3, my trainer starts her while she is pregnant and barely rides her at all. I see ride 2 or 3 and tell him I’m surprised to say it since she was less flashy at liberty, but she is more impressive than her siblings were at the same age… I get to ride her something like her 5th ride and realize she is super comfortable despite size, and I adore her. She “spooks” when a transformer sizzles at us… by flicking both ears toward it without breaking trot rhythm.

During all this, I know she’s worth way more than I can afford. Next summer, her foal is about ready to wean, and I’m talking to my trainer about how a friend has a foal she wants me to buy, but I don’t know when the TB will retire. It seems the right age, but not sure… and I mention, besides, if I had unlimited money and no worry about predicting the future I would buy JJ anyway. He gets thoughtful, and a few days later asks if I would really be interested in her. I flat out tell him I couldn’t afford more than half what I think he could sell her for with very little money and effort. The baby is weaned and she gets moved back to the mare herd. And starts meeting me at the gate each time I go to get my older mate, whinnying at me, and following me around like a puppy dog. My trainer can’t stop swing every time he sees it.

He talks to his wife and says they think we can work something out. He’s thrilled to see her stay in the barn, and with my TB having hooves which decided full work is too much timing worked out well. I still think I stole her, and my trainer still loves getting to work with us and getting to ride her himself.

I made it clear the limit was my budget, not in any way thinking she was worth less. Had he pushed her toward more extravagant gaits and shown her I think twice what I paid would not have been hard. Instead, I’ve gotten to do most of the riding until this pandemic hit, and while I bought her for her stellar brain, I also have a fancier horse than I ever thought I would own. It was win-win.

Sounds like for you keeping the horse is the win! Congrats, and I hope you get the new horse elation combined with the comfort of riding a horse you know at the same time.

[AZ_TD]

I have been very lucky and have sold my horses for my asking price and to people that I knew who would care for them as much as I did. I am not in the business, just had to sell due to circumstance. Glad you are keeping him for now.