Just curious, what would you expect to pay for an OTTB (assumed sound) who has done a handful of Novice events with clean XC but not great scores overall? I think the potential is there but undeveloped. He is around 10 and big. Looks like a fairly straightforward ride.
My horse is for sale who is a beg novice / novice packer. He’s 16.2 and 14 and we’re asking 10k. He may be older and may not vet perfectly but he’s a saint. What he lacks in being 4 years old or fresh off a plane he makes up with being able to trail ride all day (and I mean tunnels, bridges, hounds…) and be competitive in any show (we’ve done derbies , hunters, jumpers, Eventing, speed events) and able to take a joke. I’ve even used him in lessons but he’s just a bit too big and forward for 6 year olds. :lol:
If I priced him too high and he doesn’t sell then I get to keep him which is ok by me too
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When I was shopping recently I saw horses like that advertised for anywhere from $10k-$25k (I think the high end is ludicrous but they’re out there). The higher profile the seller, the closer to the high end you see.
What they actually sell for, I’m not sure. I know two horses like you describe who sold for around $12k but this was 3-6 years ago.
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At 10, unless it was a super easy packer ride over fences I would expect under $10k. IME most sound OTTBs can get around Novice after a couple of years. For not much more than that you can find one ready to go Training, or one that is four years younger.
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According to what I’ve been seeing lately, it depends on who’s selling the horse.
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So many variables. Is this an OTTB who is capable of mid 20s in dressage and 100% solid over any sort of novice jump, just needing miles to move up and capable of at least prelim? 35k.
or a below average mover who is just so so on xc who will pobably max out at training? 10k
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$10-15k, negotiable based on fanciness and rideability.
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Thanks all. The videos show a pretty nice moving horse. He screams dressage. But his scores just aren’t all that…maybe rider issues, but no videos are available of the competitions are available. Show jumping has never been clean either. I think he could be developed but it’s not there yet. I plan to max out at training myself so something that can move up the levels isn’t all that important.
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When I’m actually looking not under $20K. When I’m just browsing about $5K:lol:. Good luck!
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Never been clean in SJ at Novice? This would be a bit concerning to me (dressage can almost always be improved IF the horse has good gaits and a good brain), how is his jump? Is he flat, rushy, not good with his knees?
Obviously x-country is the most important thing to “get right” since the other phases can be improved, but…
Not even a snippet of competition footage? Did he do BN, and how was that? And what was he doing post track, since he’s now 10?
Sorry - just being the devil’s advocate, here…
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Ain’t that the truth! :lol: And there are like 500,000 on the market when you are browsing and 2 on the market when you are actually looking!
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Nope, you are absolutely correct! I haven’t actually tried the horse yet or seen much more than a few jumps from him. He is local so it can’t hurt to look. But I am asking myself the same questions and I will ask the owner tomorrow when I see him.
BN was pretty much the same…clean XC, a couple of fences down in SJ and nothing to write home about in dressage. Asking price is higher side of what everyone is saying here. But flat sale video (with presumably the trainer riding) looked fantastic so not sure what is going on.
Well, the TB Makeover is coming up pretty soon in your general neighborhood, and going by some of last year’s prices, some sound pretty reasonable. And there usually is a pretty large selection, in all categories. Perhaps take a look at some of the potential sales horses that are on-line or will be.
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People on this thread are describing different horses. There is NO set price for a novice horse. It depends on a lot of factors. Hell I have a 5 year old OTTB who has done 1 unrecognized novice and many very educated horsemen would think I’m nuts if I sold him for less than 60K right now because of his clear potential.
But you can absolutely find nice novice horses for less than 10…and others for more than 25K…and pretty much everything between…depending the individual horse.
You need to go try the horse…and decide what he is worth to you to buy and what it’s worth to the seller to sell…and hopefully the two will be close enough that a deal can be struck. There are not really enough details here for us to offer opinions…he could be straightforward or not or have vet issues or not etc.
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A 5yo OTTB with one novice for 60k?
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For fancy and attractive but unknown issues in stadium…and assuming not awesome dressage scores, less than $10K. The thing is, unless this is a fixable rider issue, you gonna enter a lot of competitions and pay some money but won’t be competitive at the level unless you want to compete for fun…which I swear is where I’m at with my water-phobic horse. Whom I love but dude! lol
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I hear you, but I think there is a big difference between a 5 year old with potential and a 10 year old that has been eventing for several years with not great results. At what point does potential matter less and experience matter more? I’ve never purchased anything with experience; I’ve always trained my own. So this is kind of new territory for me.
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LOL my first was one of those! Had to spend a couple of years getting over issues. He turned into a great horse but fees add up quickly!! Now there is nothing more frustrating to me than going in knowing you can’t place because of x y or z. If I buy a horse I want to enter knowing I can win once in a while. 
IMO one thing the 10-year-old has going for him is that he’s proven he can handle the job you want him to do and stay sound. Also it sounds like he’s safe XC, which is huge. Whether or not you can improve the quality is another issue.
If his dressage looks great with the trainer at home but he’s not getting good dressage scores, I’d bet either the riders who have been showing him are unskilled at/uninterested in dressage, or he gets super tense. I’d definitely want to know which. I’d be surprised if the sellers didn’t have a single cell phone video of a dressage test somewhere, even if they don’t want to show it to buyers right off the bat. They might be willing to show you one after you try him, express interest, and act like a reasonable human being. Or since he’s local, maybe you can find out if he’s showing soon.
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That was my point. You are quoting this horses record…but also acknowledged that it could be the rider. You need to sit on the horse. 10 is not old. He could be a total packer, fancy and straightforward to ride. With a different rider, he could be running training or Prelim super quick. That horse is potentially worth a lot more than one who is topped out novice or has a soundness issue or isn’t straightforward etc.
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