I was a bit surprised to hear these numbers, I would have expected more, but I’ve been hanging with the H/J crowd lately.
I’ve been planning on my next horse being another baby, but maybe I can swing the other way. I’ve got my own place, a solid reputation for treating my horses like gold and some connections. I’ll be exploring this more seriously when my time comes.
Great thread OP!
I think some of these numbers are low, but I live in California. Also, inexplicably, during the pandemic all horse prices have gone very high, even just for random trail types.
The lower prices IME are always going to assume a personal connection and word of mouth and trust that you are a stellar home for a treasured friend. Those aren’t going to be open market prices for just any buyer. And, there aren’t that many of these horses around anyway, so it may take time to find one that will fit you. As always, find yourself a trusted and valued instructor and start building those relationships.
Yeppers.
I’d say $15k for horse that is 18-20 years old. For a mid-teens horse at that level, sound with minimal maintenance the price here would be $50k+
Absolutely. Fwiw, $15k is findable through word of mouth in my neck of the woods. It will be a 4th-FEI level capable horse. It’s going to be a situation like @bouncytrot describes: *“My horse’s owner has said that she would never list him for free lease or even paid lease because she knows that people would be fighting tooth and nail for him and that it’s possible he could go to a less than stellar home who was just looking for an upper level horse as a ticket to medals but not necessarily keeping the horse’s best interest in mind. He’s an older horse and he does require considerable maintenance. He is also very much a “one-person” horse…” *
I care leased a ridiculously fancy PSG schoolmaster. He’d cost like $75k exclusive of import as a youngster & had what must easily have been $100k worth of training, much of it from someone you’ve definitely heard of. The catch? He was also a walking miracle of modern veterinary technology. His shoes alone were $275 every 4-5 weeks. Adequan injections 1-2x a year. Body work, supplements. A very precise conditioning program in order for him to stay strong enough to do his thing. I had to pay for training rides for the days I couldn’t make it out.
I presume the sky’s the limit for PSG+ schoolmasters still capable of that level in competition. The OP didn’t indicate she necessarily needed that, though. Bottom line, be looking at ads every day. Make sure you’re in a program with a trusted trainer. Be ready to move immediately on any prospects. We got our lovely new horse, a teenaged import who is a 3’-3’6" packer & seems to have seriously nice dressage training to boot after our trainer moved heaven & earth to get us in as the first test ride. Someone else swooped in with an offer off video, then – fortunately for us – backed out. He was ours if we could get him vetted the next day. Trainer worked the phones & managed to line up one of the two best practices for PPE in the area. We even got a small discount, which I thought would be impossible given the interest in the horse. Trainer said she’d ask on the basis of the PPE findings on the theory we could use the savings for maintenence. To my surprise, they said ok. Anything to have him sold & not have to field a 100 inquiries a day after him.
So, you just never know.
Well there are schoolmasters and then there are competitive schoolmasters that your average AA can ride.
Here in CA a competitive AA friendly FEI schoolmaster will be high five figures and can go way higher.
The thing is that for a horse to be a successful FEI horse they are generally hot.
Most of us mere mortals aren’t so up for that type of ride, so finding something very well trained, that isn’t a fire breathing dragon, that is talented enough to be competitive but still safe and fun to ride is going to be, well, expensive.
Depends on your goals. If you don’t care about being competitive in the show ring, you have more options.
Good lord. Of course correct dressage training helps the horse move “better” (whatever that is. In the wild they go on their forehand, WE decide that’s not the way to do it, and train to carry on the haunches…).
It also wears down the joints just like any activity, and if you look at the structure of the hock, well, its kind of like our knees - not as well designed for its job as it could perhaps be…
Interestingly enough, you might be surprised to see a wild horse present his/herself when posturing. I have nine, two of the mares and all four recently gelded will rock to their rear and loosen up their fore to look rather lofty in front. Another thing noticable, particularly in my geldings anyway, is how thick their legs and joints are. (my supposition is that the males come-with or develop some particularly strong stifles/hocks/and fetlocks. Not just the breeding but all the fighting they do while up. They twist, they turn, they walk forward, side and back. Perhaps domestic stallions do too when breeding …but dunno about them? i’ve only had two Morgan studs and both were rather ‘fine’)
Agree - what exactly do the Spanish Riding School riders learn on? And look at the Dressage for Kids program where “schoolmasters” are donated.
I would LOVE to get that kind of $$ for my 18 y.o. zero maintenance GP schoolmaster! Because he has an annoying, yet not dangerous, quirk, I can’t seem to give him away. It’s infuriating! OP, PM me if you want more info. Based on most of the answers above, I’d let him go incredibly cheap.
My friend’s been looking for a new horse. Flexible on breed, gender, color, mileage - just wants something quiet/safe that she can do low levels with. We can’t even find a sound horse going W/T/C for less than $15k right now. The market is really hot and I forgot how absolutely exhausting it is combing through ads and parsing through sellers… Everyone is advertising the next UL prospect and you then watch the video and it’s an underwhelming video of a 12 y/o green-broke grade with a hitch in their getalong…
If you’re serious, please PM me with details. I have a friend looking. A+ home in professional program.
Sent you a PM
This! I am in a very similar situation - looking for a horse capable of and sound for second level that can take a joke and hack out alone. I’ve been combing ads for months and it is so frustrating. I can stretch to $35K but I don’t really want to. And at that price point I can’t buy a youngster that needs $10-15K in training, or a 15+YO because I might not have enough money to buy another one before I croak.
I have noticed that horses seem to be staying on the market longer than a few months ago and I am seeing some descriptions with “seller-motivated” language. But the inventory is really sparse and consequently prices are staying high. I just hope it’s not the new normal.
Prices for this type vary a lot. I think one of the biggest variables (other than maintenance issues) is whether this is a horse you want/plan to compete or not? There are horses that are going for good prices that are school masters in their ability to do more advanced movement but they may not be the ones that can/will score well at those higher levels. The ones that are still going to get you the high scores are prices fairly high.
THIS! That is why mine didn’t/won’t sell. He’s fancy enough to get good scores, he just can’t go to a show without utterly losing his shite. So unless I can find someone looking for an upper level schoolmaster just to learn on and not show, he’s my lesson horse. 
Trainers should be knocking down your doors trying to buy him. Not everyone shows and just needs access to an upper level horse to get the feeling and work through their own issues. I might be speaking from experience. Lol.
And sometimes it just takes the right person/conditions. A friend got an upper level horse cheap because he went crazy at shows and didn’t travel well, but after working with him slowly for a long time (and being based at a local show facility), she not only got him to show, but they even qualified for and traveled to Kentucky and Gladstone!
I really don’t think there is much of a market for a 20yr old and older, no matter how sound, trained or capable. My schoolmaster is currently showing at 3rd, Bronze this year, and I was never able to find a buyer!
Nobody really wants to pay that true maintenance cost for an older horse, even if it’s still showing.
Maybe the thought of retirement is the biggest factor, but people definitely weren’t knocking down the door.
You never know. The one I leased probably lost his mind with his mom at shows. He also seemed to understand that I suck compared to his mom & treated me with kid gloves. 
I took him to a show. At first he seemed miffed we were only doing Intro. He eventually got over it & went around as his usual safe but slightly quirky, very dramatic self.
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