My mare was that. She was a draft cross and maxed out in the .95 jumper. I bought her for $16,000 when she was 10 and had almost no show record. Now, she was an equitation superstar up to 3’ and well broke. I think you can get something green for under 10k, but a more realistic range is 15k.
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Must be zone specific, our lows are .95
OP runs a small boarding and training barn in Alberta, didn’t say anything about a “prospect” and this is probably for the same adult client as the one in the recent post about the club foot ( that turned out far worse). Right?
If it doesn’t have to be currently doing that you might dig something up via word of mouth but then it would need time and training with no idea of eventual suitability or if it will take a joke and keep an adult novice safe.
Not saying it’s impossible for an experienced rider or one with access to and budget for training but for a novice working adult client, think leasing or getting closer to (at least) 15 then 10 is the reality here. These days if it’s proven at any height, safe and sound, it costs.
You might want to look at ranch or former dude string horses at the end of the season if you want to develop something as a very low and safe Jumper but if you need something turnkey or close to it for spring and summer, it’s going to be pricey. How about a part lease until you can find something after the kids go back to school and going into winter when more are available and sellers mire eager to get them gone.
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OP said “SO if your budget was mid-high four figures, where would you look for a 0.90m jumper prospect?”
I am 100% ok with an off breed prospect, but I have NO idea where to look for one. Everyone here seems to advertise on Facebook, but the groups are so specialized with poor search options. It’s for a client, but she is experienced and ok with green as long as it can walk/trot/canter. I guess I am just out of the loop: I have bought a few horses capable of more than 0.90m in the past 5 years and have never spent more than four figures. Something seems to have changed in the market, and maybe it is in part because there are more “Real” show options at the lower heights now.
I’d recommend finding some breed specific FB pages and posting an ISO ad.
The market seems nuts. I couldn’t even get my horse free leased out and I tried to do that between 2014 and 2017. Plenty of good results at 3ft and under at A and AA shows, does cross country, had played in the 3’3" and 3’6" jumpers but needed more maintenance and a precise ride at the bigger heights. Could play in the hunters with the right rider. What was the problem? Well the few people who tried him pretty much cried… He’s not a kick ride, has a back cracking jump even over the small stuff, and is a chestnut OTTB. Oh and needed a little maintenance (hocks and stifles occasionally)
I gave up trying to lease him out and at 16 he still enjoys eventing BN and sometimes N.
Look for smaller time trainers who stay on the local circuits. Post an ISO on Facebook and most importantly your client should be able to ride a less easy horse and you will find something.
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This exactly. Hell, even a younger TBx stepping into the 3” around here is going for $25k+ depending on who it’s with and what shows it’s going to. Your looking for a unicorn. Not that they aren’t out there, but your going to have to search, try, and vet quite a few before you find yours.
Op…there is an Alberta Facebook page called Alberta Show Horses for Sale or Lease, if I were you I’d put out an ISO post and see what you get back! Most likely, a nice good prospect already doing .9m will will in the low 5 figures but you never know! I’ll bet, there’ll be more than you think to weed through! I’ve seen some people asking, and people responding…
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A good, competitive .90 horse can be worth its weight in gold. Has to be careful enough, very quick, very handy (remember the jumps are small enough that these classes often turn into rabbit runs in the j/o), take a joke and come out of the triple combination safely and still laughing.
With the budget stated you’re going to have to give up at least one of the above talents, and also likely compromise on age, training, breed or maintenance. Not sure what the market is like in Alberta, but here in Ontario your budget would be a year’s lease on a winning .90 horse.
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I wonder if your best off-breed bet might be a large pony. There are plenty with the athleticism for this job. And pony hunter people often don’t know what to do with ponies that aren’t quiet enough for a hunter job.
Generally speaking, a small horse seems like a place to find a good value for a low jumper.
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I find posting an ISO ad in several different facebook groups gets people to come to you. Just set some restrictions on location/how far you’re willing to travel. It is the fastest way to find out what’s realistic in your budget and you can always delete the first ad and make a new one accordingly. For example if you make one that says no OTTB’s you probably won’t get much. If you make one that says willing to look at OTTB’s but they must vet cleanly, you may get more.
Also in the Ohio area, the low child/adults are 3’3 and there is a new division called the Novice Jumpers which is 3’ (new as in several years old now). At WEC and other area shows the novice jumpers is one of the biggest and most competitive divisions in the jumper ring. I’ve seen nearly 30 entrants before in it at WEC and you need to be fast to win. You get quite a few people who just settle into that division with no intention of going higher. So it’s created a brand new market around the 3’ jumper here. There was a big demand for a division between the 2’6 and the 3’3 and it’s become VERY popular.
I used to compete in it on a half arab half dutch wb large pony (before he decided he didn’t want to anymore, horses) and we were very competitive. So off breed horses are a good way to go also. Just…one with a better brain than he had…
OMG what a great suggestion. I love riding ponies and I don’t love to break the bank. My next .9m jumper is totally going to be a large pony!
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Or even better, the dreaded HONY. 14.3-15.2hh. There’s actually one around here that sticks 14.3 1/2hh and is a winning machine. She also doesn’t have a solid lead change, but she’s hard to beat up to 1.10m. That said, her owners lease her out year after year after year for mid-high five figures. But if you found one like her before it got famous, you’d be golden.
I totally overlooked height with my previous list. I need a paper bag on my head!
Definitely in Alberta and at Thunderbird the .8 and .9 jumpers are huge divisions.
I’ve been in them the last few years with my young horse and we can always get a ribbon if it’s match the clock (if I don’t go off course), but no chance in a JO class since I am not that aggressive with him. We never have a rail, but with 10-15 horses in the JO and half ponies it’s very hard to be in the ribbons. I think my last JO where I felt like I was break neck speed and did all inside turns we were 8th out of 15 or something. I’m always beaten by ponies and quarter horses, and these can be cheaper, so I think that’s where you should look. I think Quarter horses (some arabs) are some of the most competitive lower jumpers out there.
I think the market is quite tight for a good .9 horse since I’ve been approached by trainers several times asking if mine were for sale.
I do think a 4 figure budget for any horse going under saddle capable of jumping 3.0’ safely is quite tight unless you get a TB straight off the track, or convert a quarter horse from a local show who is doing english pleasure classes and things like that.
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OP - I have seen several potential options with 4 figure price tags on BC & AB facebook groups that could probably do the 0.9m, but all of them would be projects, and/or over age 12, and none of them have A-circuit show experience so it depends what your client is looking for and the kind of quirks she can handle. I shop in a similar price range (actually low-mid 4’s), and my last 3 have been an ex-chuckwagon TB, TB right off the track, and a 12 year old former WB broodmare needing rehab riding (some bad training previously). Average of 2 years from time of purchase to get to approximately 0.9m, and that’s not A-circuit showing. Just to give you an idea.
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I had no idea the market was like that for 3 foot horses. I apparently I should be developing some horses for that market to make some $$. I thought we could save money by finding some 15.2 hand prospects, but only finding petite ones, and the rider isn’t that petite.
I found a few never jumped horses I might go look at. Good size and decent age.
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I LOL to the “Rabbit Run” comment… it’s so true.
At our A shows they offer so many different height classes and the .80 and .90 Jumpers fill. Talking 30 + horses in the division. It works for the Big A show barns where they have different level of riders to take to the show. (and they make more money doing that - barns and horse shows) It has become the Walmart of horse shows.
It has also created a market for a .80 or .90 horse.
Where I live I don’t think you could ever find a horse under 5 figures that has four operating legs.
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Okay, so this said, what would you pay for it? Let’s say it’s a nice, brave, younger, well bred-hony with a few miles at .9-1m.
