It has been at least 20 years since I purchase a horse. I have yet to find one that I like but when I do how does one start the negotiating process with price? Assume the horse is fairly well priced for it’s age/level/etc but there are some minor changes found on PPE and/ or has minor conformational/ movement issues (paddles, a little straight behind, etc) and/or it is not quite yet going at the level it is advertised. Things that could affect price, but would not be a non-purchase issue. How do you start negotiating on price without offending the seller? Just trying to get others opinions on how they approach horse buying/ selling.
I’m pretty bad about just paying the asking price if I don’t think it’s out of line with the market. OTOH, if there is a PPE problem, I will usually walk, rather than ask for a price adjustment, so YMMV. I did get $500 off when I bought my gelding for $4K, but it was more that, at the time, $4K seemed like a lot to spend on an unstarted horse. Last horse I sold went for full price, but I wasn’t in a big hurry to sell her, so I wouldn’t have budged too much. It just really depends on the circumstances, but for those of us who don’t buy and sell a lot, a thousand bucks or whatever isn’t much in the scheme of what it costs to keep a horse, and the difficulty in finding a good one.
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If you are dealing with the owner, you could state the findings and that you are still interested but would like to negotiate the price. You could ask for what it costs the owner to have the horse another month for boarding, training, etc… if you take the horse now instead of them waiting for another buyer.
If the horse is fairly well priced, I would not see why you could get a discount.
The paddling and conformation, you saw that right from the start and were still interrested. If the horse has been successfull up to this point, there is no reason to get a discount on that.
Regarding the training not beeing as advertised, is this your opinion (the horse is going at the right level but not in a way you like) or was it a blatant lie? I would have speak up right here and there, tell them what price this horse do sell for at his level… But you said it was still fairly priced because thatis something that might require time (and money) to fix.
So up until the PPE, you thought the horse was indeed fairly priced.
Minor changes are expected in all horses who have done some sort of a career. Has the horse ever been bothered by it? You said that is was not a non-purchase issue. Why would they reduce their price? Maybe the horse would be even more expensive if there was nothing on its xrays! 
Me, I negociate price before the PPE, because if there is something unexpected, I don’t buy.
Trying to find stuff just to negociate a few hundreds is a tad ridiculous.
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I haven’t bought many horses but I would negotiate the price very early on, because like someone above said if the PPE findings are bad enough that you would want to reduce the price, I just wouldn’t buy. I had a PPE finding on one of the horses I looked at, and the owner slashed his price in half. BUT I didn’t want to take the risk.
As far as training level, etc. I feel like that is generally a personal problem, like “reduce the price because the horse isn’t trained enough for ME”. I get peeved by that, like when people selling something say “must go, need the money tomorrow!”. That’s your problem, not mine.
IMHO - Let’s say you try horse and decide you want to buy it…
Reasonably Priced:
You approach owner/trainer/agent with an offer. If the horse is reasonably priced, think about offering 5% to 10% below asking price. If the horse is newly on the market, well priced, and likely to move, you might want to offer asking price to avoid losing him. If you are offering something slightly below asking price, don’t explain why. It just upsets people. People expect a bit of negotiation.
Not Reasonably Priced:
You approach owner/trainer/agent say something like “I really enjoyed riding Pookie and think he is a good fit for my needs, but I looked up his registration and learned that he is actually 14, not 10. As a result, I’d only feel comfortable offering $X. If the owner would consider an offer in that range, please let me know.”
If you agree on a price, you do a pre-purchase exam. If something shows on the exam that was unexpected based on the information disclosed by the seller, and the horse’s age and level of training, you can go back to the seller and say you’re either not interested, or interested only if the seller is willing to lower the price by $x.
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If the horse seems reasonably priced - buy it and feel happy you got it at a reasonable price! That is my advice. Minor issues on a PPE shouldn’t really be worth any “major discounts”. I’m surprised how many people think that a minor issue is going to get them $5k off the price of the horse. Major issue - if you aren’t comfortable with it - walk away - why make a low offer if you aren’t comfortable with the PPE results?
If you are looking at a horse you KNOW is out of your budget, let the owner know IN ADVANCE that “my budget is X, is it worth my even coming to look at your lovely horse?”.
And realize a young horse in training may be on the market a while, but if its training is advancing, the price is likely to go UP, not down as time goes by.
In general, I think most horses have a 5% to 10% wiggle room in the price (unless the price says “FIRM”), but most don’t have more then that. You might run into a bargain because someone really needs to move the horse, and if you find one of those deals, you lucked out.
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I just ask if the price is at all negotiable and if it is make an offer.I would never outline whats negative about the horse to justify that offer, and may even say ‘‘I hope it’s not insulting to offer such and such?’’ Always make it clear I really like the horse, people usually love their horse and will often negotiate if they feel it will be well loved and well treated.
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First of all, realize that negotiating is always a risk. Once I made a low (but still reasonable) offer on a horse. I was not aware that there was another possible buyer who had looked at the horse, but was taking his time. The owner took my offer, approached the other buyer and basically said “I have a low offer. If you want the horse, I need a full price offer right now or you are going to loose the chance.” The other buyer then coughed up a full price offer, and I lost out.
Second - for issues that you can see without a vet, I don’t think it is helpful to point out the horses flaws and say “I am offering less because of X, Y, Z.” The seller is no doubt aware of these issues, and feels that he has priced the horse accordingly. So, there is no point in just saying stuff that will feel like you are insulting the horse. Just say that you will buy the horse if the owner is willing to come down to XXX.
If you think it might be relevant, do not hesitate to point out reasons that the seller might want to give you a special price – sometimes breeders will give a better price to a competent show-home where the horse is likely to accomplish things that will reflect well on their breeding program. Or an amateur who obviously loves the horse may prefer to sell to someone local who would allow them to visit. Or some owners would prefer to see their horse go to a private farm with lots of turnout and a good lifestyle. (If you have this, it doesn’t hurt to have a couple pictures with you of where the horse would be living.) Promising the horse a life-long home is a consideration for a lot of sellers, but don’t say you will do this unless you absolutely mean it. I have seen things get really ugly when a buyer says they will keep the horse for life, and then goes and sells the horse a few years down the road.
If you plan to negotiate, you should do it BEFORE the pre-purchase exam. Don’t try to quibble about little inconsequential findings on the PPE and get thousands of dollars off the price because of them. And don’t try to wiggle out of the purchase and get your deposit refunded because of minor little things that really didn’t/shouldn’t affect your decision about buying the horse. This WILL offend the seller! Any negotiations after the deposit and PPE should be only for truly unexpected findings that impact the value of the horse, and would be a deal-breaker otherwise.
If you know before you try the horse that you don’t have the full price and will make a low-ball offer, then DON’T WASTE THE SELLER’s TIME showing the horse. If you REALLY think the horse is what you want, but cant pay the price, it is legitimate to call or e-mail the seller and say something like “I honestly think this horse is what I am looking for, but my absolute max is XXX. Do you think it is worth your time to show the horse to me under those circumstances.” Then they won’t be offended when you offer that price - also, they may say no, but then get back to you later if/when they decide to lower the price.
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I would not even bother making an offer in a situation like this. I would RUN the other way. If the seller is dishonest, who knows what else they are being dishonest about (hock injections, health problems, drugging etc.) There is a difference between not telling everything and outright lying. If a seller outright lies about something, they are a crook, not to be trusted with anything, and I would NEVER buy a horse from them.
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Just a story, but I did have a friend try a horse, she loved him and was willing to pay the asking price. He was a very well trained dressage horse, with a bit of odd breeding. Think some standardbred in his pedigree. Priced reasonably, but some very big issues came up with the PPE. She was so dissapointed, becaused they had really clicked. The owners came back to her with a super low ball offer, because they really liked her, and could tell she was a good match for the horse. In the end, she bought the horse, he is still going strong, and the money that she saved on the purchase price would more than pay for the maintance of any issues that would come along as he aged (if the issues did). She was willing to take the chance, and the owner was capable of seeing that her original asking price was way to high.
Vet the seller and not the horse…look at the horse in front of you and decide what that animal is worth to you.
Make the offer.
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IF the horse is out of client’s budget, then we say that before going to see the horse: “Our budget is only $xxxx, would you consider that as an offer if we like the horse?”
Otherwise I typically pay the full price, but try to get some stuff thrown in (usually blankets, bit, things like that, or hauling),
PPE finds that are not deal breakers for me, but that may affect what I would pay would include things like a minor heart murmur, minor arthritis and such. Things that may affect resale, or that may require a certain amount of unexpected maintenance. We tried to buy a horse last year that had a chip, and offered the seller the price minus the cost of removing the chip and the rehab (we really liked the horse). The owner decided to just take the horse home though.
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Like x 100. Good horses are hard to find. If you find one you really like that’s in your budget, and fits the advertised description re basic training / results and temperment, put a deposit on it and agree on full price before the PPE, but conditional to PPE results.
Only if the PPE shows something significant that requires intervention would a price reduction be appropriate (small chips in hocks requiring surgery, for example). At that point you can ask for a reduction or you can walk away. For minor issues, I wouldn’t even bother asking for a discount if the horse was priced fairly to begin with. There is no such thing as a perfectly clean PPE. If a PPE shows something that makes the horse unsuitable for your desired purpose, then walk away.
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And I even consider a minor chip to be a “non deal breaker” - if the horse has been in work for at least a year, and the chip isn’t causing problems. I had a horse who had hock chips - he went FEI, and at 19, is STILL doing FEI work as a schoolmaster! With hock chips. And my current pony has an ankle chip - has been there most-likely since he was a foal. Not causing an issue. So to me, a chip is like any other PPE finding - is it causing problems? Where is it located? How big/small is it?
Otherwise, yes, I agree with your post. And I think Big Mama said something that is important for buyers to realize:
There is no such thing as a perfectly clean PPE.
Many years ago, I sold a mare that had CLEAN XRAYS - the vets (super experienced vet clinic who did dozens of PPEs every week) said this was the only set of clean xrays they’d ever seen in an adult horse! There was always something minor that shows up in riding horses. BTW, that little mare is still going strong, and that sale was - probably 15 years ago…
OTOH, a few years ago, I bought a nicely bred young WB mare that had fairly clean xrays - moderate arthritis in the hocks, easy to manage. She was totally lame and turned out to be neuro within a year. Nothing to do with the hock arthritis, and nothing that showed up in her PPE… Freaking horses 
Another thing to realize - a PPE is simply a tool to help make decisions - it is not a prediction of the future. I’ve seen plenty of horses with “good” xrays that ended up lame very quickly for other reasons. And I’ve seen plenty of horses with “bad” xrays that are still going strong years and years later. It is simply a tool, along with assessing the horse’s conformation, its current training, its breeding, etc. And different vets have different interpretations of the same, exact “tool”. Some vets have a lot more experience then others, and realize what is “acceptable”. Some vets strive to find problems. Some vets just haven’t SEEN that many xrays, especially in a variety of breeds.
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Quickest way to blow up a deal - wait until you’ve ridden the horse a couple of times, then pick it apart and make a low-ball offer.
Do not try to negotiate price because of a way the horse goes (ie paddling).
Before you go try the horse, ask if the price is negotiable. If not, and you don’t want to pay full price, don’t waste their time or yours. If so, go ride the horse, state what you will live with in a PPE and make or don’t make an offer.
The horse world is small. A horse is worth what someone will pay for it. Don’t burn bridges.
Me? I find it insulting when people want a good horse for a super cheap price. I don’t sell horses (like ever, seriously, I’ve sold 1 in all the years I have had horses), but I can’t imagine listening to a list of all the reasons that my horse isn’t good enough and then saying “sure, happy to drop the price 50%”.
You can always ask, but ask early and be diplomatic.
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Thanks for the responses. I was more interested to hear how folks address horse shopping in that if they find a horse advertised that they like, see video/ pics/ etc. then get out there and the horse isn’t exactly how advertised (ie; “schooling” a certain level but not “confirmed”, has a conformational issue that was not seen in ad, etc), but you still like the horse. Not that you were unwilling to pay the original asking rice if horse was spot on to ad, and not that the horse was grossly misrepresented. I would think it is not wrong to make an offer with all the information at hand.
