Yes! And a horse that has PSG potential will most likely be easier to produce to say 3rd than a horse whose upper limit is 3rd. That’s also desirable for most riders.
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I grew up riding hunter jumpers and worked for a colt starter/problem horse retrainer for about 10 years.
My husband decided 10 years ago he wanted one of those “fat, hairy Gypsies”, and in my mind I’m like what in the hell would we do with one of those… well I own 2 now (our first we bought for my husband 10 years ago as a 2 yr old) and I’ve started 10 others for a breeder we purchased ours from and we freaking love them lol!
My husband’s packed him around lower level (w/t intro) dressage as a 4 & 5 year old NEVER putting a foot wrong. He’s since had a 2nd back surgery so no longer rides him. But he’s my favorite “comfy couch” to ride and I have a couple kids that ride him.
And I ended up buying myself one 5 years ago as a yearling. This horse will try his heart out doing anything we ask. He’s done parades, shown ranch riding in open classes at AQHA shows and won, he goes to Equine Affaire as a breed ambassador, he shows as a hunter on the flat, dabbling in a little dressage and we just started to jump him!
Yes they’re never going to the Olympics and they’re not going to be the higher level sport horses, but for mid-range, safe, fun partners they’re really cool little horses. Many people don’t need high powered warmbloods but might like something in a smaller safer package if they gave it a try!
They’re comical, social, willing, generally quiet and will do just about anything (if handled, started and trained properly just like anything else).
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The average ammy can’t afford to spend more on a foal than a new car. And if they do manage the cost, they wind up being overwhelmed with a horse that is too much for them to handle. To paraphrase “Most people don’t need a $50k horse, they need a $5000 horse and $45k of lessons.” (I may have gotten that quote wrong.)
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No one is forcing them to, though. They’re perfectly free to go buy some grade gelding for low 4 figures. As for the “fancy” wb’s, well, a horse is worth what someone will pay for it, and if there are buyers for those horses, where’s the harm?
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Wow–I’ve never seen a Fjord with feather and a long mane! They usually sport that mohawk look, especially if they show
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A horse with 100% try IS a safe, good-natured horse. I’d argue that a horse that flat-out says “no” more than once in a rare while is by definition neither safe nor good-natured.
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Yep, she had a mohawk and tons of leg hair. Perhaps not technically “feathers” like a Gypsy but much more hair than I like to see! But an absolute cutie-pie.
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Fjord’s don’t have crazy feathering like the gypsy do. Mine has some feathering but it’s not any trouble; I just groom his legs normally. Most fjord people don’t let the manes grow long because they are so thick and heavy. I have read and heard that the weight can break the crest over but have no first hand experience with seeing that. I have seen photos of people who do grow them out and they can be really pretty! I prefer the mohawk hands down. Minus the trimming, that isn’t super high maintenance either but I like doing that kind of thing too.
On the topic, I have seen some fjords at auction go for in the 5 figures, and some even creeping in the mid 5 figures. I was really lucky timing wise with my gelding, I got him summer of 2020 and paid mid 4 for him as a green 3 year old. I don’t think they are overpriced based on the current market and there not being a lot of Fjords in the states, but I also am not in the thick of things.
The Fjord temperament seems close to the Gypsys that I have met…the Fjords may be a little more low key, but the character, personality, curiosity, sense of humor are all things I love. They are also both incredibly versatile. I thought about a gypsy when I started shopping but I do agree that the hair component was more than I wanted to maintain and I just liked the whole Fjord package better…always loved them.
I spent a lot of years riding drafts or draft crosses and absolutely understand the demand for them.
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A friend of mine had a grade Morgan mare, 4 years old, 14.2 solid brown, halter broke. I thought she looked very fancy – certainly a purebred of traditional type – but my friend couldn’t give her away. She had all the strikes: not registered, not a breed du jour, not tall, not a ooh color, no markings, not hairy, not trained, and not a gelding. So I took her.
I still have her, eight years later. She’s a joy, and she turns heads wherever she goes, she’s so elegant yet kind, sensible, and hardy in that true old-fashioned Morgan style.
I think there’s two kinds of overpricing. One is aimed at the My Prancing Pony market – the naive romantic buyer who is just begging to be taken to the cleaners. Hair and flash is a must.
The other is the competitor, who wants to win and has the money to make it happen. Doesn’t matter what venue really.
I see fair prices in Arabians if they are endurance type not show type. Same with Morgans (not the junior Saddlebred type) and Mustangs.
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Speaking from the UK…
What’s overpriced? Everything. Horse prices went insane during COVID but I think they might be coming down. Might.
Safe, sound, and broke gypsy cobs were going for like £10k. Yowza. A horse like this this was about £4-5k a few years ago. Green/unbroke cobs are still between 2-3k. Anyone want one?
Well-bred warmbloods are at least 8-10K. Unless it’s done something. Then it’s more.
Friesians are expensive. Always.
QHs are expensive because they are a cool, rare breed over here.
Arabs are expensive because there aren’t many, and the ones you come across are often show quality.
Connemaras used to be cheaper, but they’ve become very sought after for kids and adults ammys, so they can be very pricey. Probably cheaper if you go to Ireland.
Other natives (Highlands, Fells, New Forests, etc.) aren’t cheap anymore because most are quite rare, and they are becoming popular amongst ammy adults. My Highland was not, but he was feral and is a bit nuts.
Iberians are expensive. Except for my mare – but she was unhandled, pregnant (I did not know about the latter, until I did), and her breeder is a bit nuts.
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Not horses, but mini donkeys—
We have a few local livestock auctions. I keep an eye on their results each week. Any time a mini donkey enters the ring, it sells for THOUSANDS. They have been averaging about $3k every week for barely handled mini donkeys.
Meanwhile, the BLM will pay you to take on a burro.
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I wonder how much it costs to breed a mare and get a foal on the ground in the US these days? Not counting purchase of the mare, just mare/foal board, stud fees, regular vet and what have you.
I saw a post somewhere looking for QH weanlings under $5k and people were pretty snarky about “you can’t even get them on the ground for that”. I’m wondering if it’s the QH stud fees they were referring to, or the whole breeding process itself.
If it’s the general process, it makes sense that basic broke horses (or probably sound OTTBs) are going for $10k. I calculated it recently that just counting basic trims, supps, midrange training board (hello working ammy life), and a few shows, it would cost me $90k to take an unbacked 3YO to a 6YO with a local record and jumping around. Not counting vet bills, purchase price, or anything else. 
Not sure if that puts show horse prices into perspective, or just makes me want to take up mountain biking.
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I follow the northeast Alabama lower end horse auction to see where prices are going. They had somebody ship in 50, yes 50 yearlings from Texas to auction off. Most sold for under $2k. I was talking to my farrier about it and said " How can somebody sell a weanling for $2k and not take a bath financially." Well - the mares all run together with a stallion, nobody checks on them. If the foal dies, it dies. No vaccinations, no handling, no foot care so low cost. Still pretty thin margin. But if you sell 50 of them…
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My favorite horse ever was a Morgan like that–a chunky, handsome dude, 14.3 (with a very thick mane and tail). I thought he was incredibly dashing, but his owner bought him as a skinny youngster for $500, and I leased him from her for forever because no one else was interested in him. Morgans just aren’t popular in my area, which is dominated by hunter-jumper barns. He was a great dressage horse.
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A friends son, hell of an accomplished rider, picks up 2 year old draft crosses from an Amish guy in MO for $800/1000 a pop. He scoops up 4 or 5 horses at a time, puts 9 solid months on them, hauls them to a broker in Wyoming where he gets 10K for each one. I have no idea what the broker sells them for to the buyer. I will say I’ve seen his young stock after he’s trained them and they are nice horses but out of my price range.
In my area sweet but tired, Quarter type, grade ranch geldings 17 years old and up, that use to be on the market for 2K are advertised at 7K and up now. I don’t know that they actually sell for that price buts that the price where negotiations start from.
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I worry about where the breed is going because of the color obsession. I do like the idea of good natured family pet type horses, but the prices are ridiculous. Then, they seem to have some genetic issues, at least here. They should just sell them as Cobs. If they could get rid of the poor genetics by forgetting about the colors, they’d make them worthwhile.
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Cobs have issues in the UK too. PSSM is rampant. Most seem to get mallendars/sallendars and feather mites. I know a couple who get skin rashes if they so much as look at an insect. So many are bred by people who give no f*cks, so finding one with decent comformation requires kissing a lot of frogs.
I considered cobs when I was looking for a sane hacking horse to ride while my 2-year old grew up. It’s sort of like considering QHs in the US. They are plentiful and can be cheap (not always). But when I watched my cob-owning friends wrestling with the health issues that seem endemic to those horses, I decided the bonkers Highland was the better bet.
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Yikes. Good to know. I’m shopping for a sane older horse for our son. Purebreds are out of our price range, but I do see some crosses around here. Might steer clear…
Wow! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I adore my BLM burro!
I’ve always thought that I’d never want a hairy cob but here I am with a hairy, cobby, golden, dappled mustang. She was spendy at $800. She’s very easy and a lot of fun.
The prices for fugly Friesian crosses are insane where I live.
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I’ve looked a little, I’m trying for stallions at or under 16hh since I want a smaller foal (mare is 15.1 out of 16+hh parents and I’m short with proportionally short legs. Not really the standard size for TBs (yes for stock-horses but then we circle back to my earlier problems). It’s all very hypothetical.
