Parelli have split

[Brown_Derby]

Then there’s this gem from the site’s Dream Horses (sale horses) portion.

"In order to circulate new horses into our Dream Horse Program, we have a forever homes concept that is more like an adoption process than a supermarket where you buy and sell horses. Our Dream Horses are available for sale to forever homes only and are here to help you have a better horse life!

Each dream horse sale includes a customized education plan at the Parelli Horse Psychology Center to get the partnership off to the very best start possible and to set both horses and humans up for success."

So this is an adoption contract with brainwashing included?

No conformation shots. No sires or dams, just mothers and fathers. Poor old Scout at 18 yrs old rates a 5 for health/hooves so he’s only $35K.

In one of the sales videos the turnback horse is doing more cutting than ol’ Pat. I can’t believe they did not edit that out!

[Old_Mac_Donald]

@Brown Derby

Then there’s this gem from the site’s Dream Horses (sale horses) portion.

"In order to circulate new horses into our Dream Horse Program, we have a forever homes concept that is more like an adoption process than a supermarket where you buy and sell horses. Our Dream Horses are available for sale to forever homes only and are here to help you have a better horse life!

So, can you on-sell them if you… heck, decide you want to? Imagine trying to sell your horse for the price you paid for it…

No conformation shots. No sires or dams, just mothers and fathers. Poor old Scout at 18 yrs old rates a 5 for health/hooves so he’s only $35K.

He has breathtaking conFIRMation though!

[Hayburner]

Jackie, yeah that back end at the trot looks off

[OverandOnward]

They are selling the idea of the perfect horse. The horse that perfectly does what you imagined yourself doing with it.

How likely is that to work out after purchase? For $100k, more or less, you can find out, I guess! :winkgrin: But hey, if there are some not-so-perfect moments with your new horse, it is definitely all your fault. Not the horse’s or the training.

And then you can spend more money with them on a program to fix your errors with their <ahem> your horse - and if the fix doesn’t work perfectly after that, due to your continued errors and misunderstandings, you can spend even more money on another program … etc. and so on.

Seems to create good cash flow and good lifestyle for the sellers.

[trubandloki]

I have to wonder if they ever sell any of these horses at these crazy prices?

I mean, I realize people drink the Kool-Aid and they want a horse trained by their favorite trainer and all that, but the prices seem so out of the normal range and it seems doubtful that the majority of the people they market to are at a financial place to spend that much on a horse.

[Jenerationx]

Poor Salty. Only $95K

Salty is unregistered due to a mistake with his mother’s paperwork, but his pedigree is impeccable and traces back to Scamp, Pat’s super mare from the ’80s and ’90s.

[Red_Barn]

@Old Mac Donald

https://www.parelli.com/dream-horse-elvis/

Well, he’s 10 and he has “potential,” so yeah - $110k sounds perfectly reasonable.

:lol::lol::lol:

[Kyrabee]

@Jealoushe

$110k!!!

Have to pay for a divorce somehow…

Susa

[Equkelly]

@trubandloki

I have to wonder if they ever sell any of these horses at these crazy prices?

I mean, I realize people drink the Kool-Aid and they want a horse trained by their favorite trainer and all that, but the prices seem so out of the normal range and it seems doubtful that the majority of the people they market to are at a financial place to spend that much on a horse.

It wouldn’t surprise me. We tend to think of the NH people as back yard horse people and a lot of them are but there are also some people that are pretty wealthy. You wouldn’t think so because they usually don’t compete but they don’t compete because they think competition is “beneath” them not due to a lack of funds.

[Pehsness]

This thread has been wonderful. Thank you

Though disappointed to read about Zettl, I always admired him (from afar, as that was before my foray in to dressage)

[downen]

@Equkelly

It wouldn’t surprise me. We tend to think of the NH people as back yard horse people and a lot of them are but there are also some people that are pretty wealthy. You wouldn’t think so because they usually don’t compete but they don’t compete because they think competition is “beneath” them not due to a lack of funds.

Not sure about the “beneath them” aspect, but I remember years ago my friend was working for an uber-rich lady who paid a cool million for a dressage horse, then just paid a local trainer to ride it, but it never showed AFAIK. I don’t know if the lady rode or not, but if she did, it was not often. I wonder if paying exorbitant amounts for a horse is just a “bragging rights” thing for the wealthy?

[eightpondfarm]

"I wonder if paying exorbitant amounts for a horse is just a “bragging rights” thing for the wealthy?"…i think you’re onto something there downen.

[MLOaks]

Sweet Honey Mustard! I want in on this racket! I’m going to get me an old nag from auction, feed him up, wave stick at him until he doesn’t care anymore, and then sell him for tens of thousands!

No pedigree? Mothers and fathers? Yep, every auction horse would qualify right there. Apparently, even if they’re lame.

[Equkelly]

@MLOaks

Sweet Honey Mustard! I want in on this racket! I’m going to get me an old nag from auction, feed him up, wave stick at him until he doesn’t care anymore, and then sell him for tens of thousands!

No pedigree? Mothers and fathers? Yep, every auction horse would qualify right there. Apparently, even if they’re lame.

Hey it’s not that simple. You also have to know how to chase them in circles!

[IdahoRider]

@Kyrabee

Have to pay for a divorce somehow…

Susa

Snort! That was funny!!!
Sheilah

[kelo]

@eightpondfarm

"I wonder if paying exorbitant amounts for a horse is just a “bragging rights” thing for the wealthy?"…i think you’re onto something there downen.

I don’t know that it’s bragging rights so much as they have the money, are looking for a gentle, safe, trained, pretty horse, and don’t have time to search and search and search for the horse they want, so when a reliable prospect is offered they’re willing to just pay for it.

The Twombly sale consigns only gentle, broke, sound riding horses in pretty colors, they are usually registered but are sold by their call names, and their horses sell in the $30,000+ range, the high seller at their last sale brought $150,000 as a basic gentle riding 4-year-old buckskin gelding.

Prices are good for gentle working horses because there are people willing to pay for them.

https://twomblyhorse.com/sale-result…-sale-results/

[eightpondfarm]

i have a big mule from a place like that. She is dun with zebra stripes and actual eyelash markings over her eyes … anyhooooo, her first home paid the big bucks for her. I still have pix of her at her birthplace, in various stages of training. Most impressive. She is 17 now and unrideable…she has tossed asunder anyone who has tried. I have not, nor will i, try. I am her retirement home. It’s taken a year for her to get that chip off her shoulder and be the big giant bunch of mule sweetness she is inside there. There is no such thing as a permanently safe equine. They are transactional creatures.

[sunkistbey]

@Old Mac Donald

Off divorce-topic here…
How much do 5yo cutting horses typically sell for? Gelding, good temperament, nice cow-action?

https://www.parelli.com/dream-horse-elvis/

Without knowing his lifetime earnings, I would say around 25-30k. Definitely not $110,000 unless he’s done a lot more than win one Derby and placed 2nd in an NCHA show.

[OverandOnward]

@eightpondfarm

… There is no such thing as a permanently safe equine. They are transactional creatures.

That is the truest thing ever. And the Parellis’ biggest lie is that they can turn them all into Walmart Quarter Horses. (tamer than that, actually, those things have a bit of jump in them)

My last horse was mature in his education, had been places and done things, multiple disciplines, travel, etc. … and I felt like we were re-learning what this riding thing is for the first 10 minutes every time I got on him. I am determined that to cut this part of the warm-up down to about 5 minutes on my current horse.

[OverandOnward]

Plus there are the sellers that just see the naive buyers coming. But so long as the buyer can and does give the horse a good and happy life, does it matter?

Know someone with no horse experience who decided that she wanted to be all about horses. Did she sign up for lessons? No. She bought a horse. She paid $10,000 for a horse that was claimed to be perfect for beginners, and brought it home to a trainer’s barn (thank goodness). Other than being generically “perfect”, the horse had no particular claim to fame. It’s a pretty horse, mostly black pinto with a skunk tail (love skunk tails), I’d guess only about 14.3-15hh.

The trainer rode the horse and declared it barely broke. It doesn’t lead particularly well, either. So now the horse is getting training rides (at least the new owner has that much sense), and the owner’s interaction is leading it around and talking about how animals can count and the mysterious things they know. I give her credit, she is trying to do the best for the horse, and is learning about farriers as the horse needs some corrective work on his feet. She doesn’t hesitate to get or do whatever the horse needs. The horse is well cared for and seems satisfied with life, so it’s all fine by me. Hopefully the owner’s interest and bank account don’t wane.

The other day the best of the lesson students, who is the trainer’s unofficial catch rider, was giving the horse a ride and struggling with the canter. The horse kind of understood what was being asked, but didn’t seem to think it was that important to actually transition to canter, much less continue cantering. Leads were random, the horse thought either lead would do. Not an easy ride to do correctly, although the horse wasn’t doing anything dangerous.

Does it matter that the new owner paid $10 grand for the type of horse that could be picked up at any auction for under $1k? (By far more $$ than anyone else in the barn has paid for a horse.) As long as she’s happy and not too financially broken to give the horse good care, I’m not sure that it does.