I am aware of him and have seen some of his other horses for sale. He prices them quite high.
Iāve been looking for something inexpensive to play with at home. Itās hard as unbroke, poorly put together horses are low 5 figures.
Iām not paying that, if Iām priced out, then so be it. Iāll enjoy my current two horses who live a life of luxury.
Debating on a TB but they are still going mid 4ās and need a bit of rehab.
IME (limited as it is) prices have come down/ the market has softened. I had a lovely mare available all summer, lease or buy, the magical 16.1h, registered/ papered WB, pages of USEF experience in 2 disciplines with an FEI passport, not tricky on the ground in any way, a hotter ride but ammy friendly. Her hang up was age (I think) despite being incredibly low maintenance. She sat on the market for months. A few inquiries but only one person actually tried her who is the who ended up with her. This horse was priced in the four figure range. Admittedly I donāt have a super connected network but she was posted in many groups and public pages with wide audiences and I thought was listed at a price that would be attractive.
I have heard this from two different people this summer. Maybe it is regional, as both are east coast.
IMO, in my area, the horse market reflects the housing market right now. The buyers arenāt there but the sellers canāt wrap their minds around it. I keep seeing ads ātruck needs fixed he has to goā and the price is whacked. Iām in that kind of market.
I got tired of looking at wonky horses with baggage for too much money and just bought a weanling from a breeder Iāve followed for years. I have horses to ride in the meantime and when this colt is 3 he will be worth at least double what I paid, but more importantly I will KNOW him and have utter confidence in who he is and what he can do.
That is my neck of the woods, mind tagging me on those nice WBās. lol
Like you I am still looking.
While Irish Sport Horses have been having their moment for some time, if I were in the market for a smaller partner, Iād be hunting for a Connemara or a Connie cross. There are fewer here in the West than east of the Mississippi. Iāve seen some super enticing ads from the MidWest and East in the last year or so.
Heck, if I were braver and a teensy bit more solvent, Iād be taking advantage of the Irish National stud offer: they cover your RT airfare if you buy a horse in Ireland. (Sadly, not the horseās airfare.)
You could ask 2bayboys to keep an eye out. She seems to have a knack for finding bargains!
I ended up shipping a horse from the east coast to the west, and it was still less (incl shipping) than what I was seeing in prices for comparable horses out here.
Thatās what Iāve noticed as wellā west coast prices are stupid high. Supply and demand plays into it. The COL here is so high, housing market is crazy still (no inventory, rents are crazy), that no one is buying and sellers just wonāt soften those āmid five figureā prices in late teen hunters and jumpers.
LOL, I have been watching this ad. Day dreaming about a trade for my bomb proof gelding.
Sheilah
Not that Grundy is all that and a bag of chips, she was llloooowwwww 4s. The guy flips them, and he has another young one for about the same price. A horse trader in the area just listed (and sold within hours) a bomb-proof looking 5 year old quarter pony for just at mid 4s.
Iād be fine finding something like your pony. Honestly Iād prefer an unstarted 3 y/o thatās about 14 hands.
Iām reaching out to contacts to see if anyone has something sitting around. My pony needs a buddy since he is the single horse on the property as of Saturday. But Iām not buying a pet, they do need to be usable if only for light work.
@clanter I am currently looking for a morgan with the potential for upper level dressage. The prices are up there! Iām a little worried Iām never going to find anything. It seems like many of the āSportā morgans are out west and Iām in New England which is making it harder. Iām happy to buy something very green but I want them to be at least under saddle. Also - this may be my way of saying you have connections in the morgan world as well so if you know of anything reach out ! They need to be at least 14.3 to take up my leg, and I might prefer a gelding but Iām not totally opposed to a mareā¦
Look in Vermont. There are a ton of breeders there with nice Lippitt (phone keeps changing spelling) bloodlines.
I do think networking is key. I recently sold a 7 year old morgan gelding for 15 K who was winning at both first level classical dressage and cleaning up in western dressage, shown through level 1 test 4. He was schooled through second level (classical) and ready to show. His one issue is being a bit fussy in the mouth; but, that is something I do think will resolve with time and patience. He had many miles of trails under his belt, very level head and traffic safe. Oh and I had him listed at 15.1 but at his PPE which he passed with flying colors the vet said he was 15.2. Of course he is gorgeous - bright bay, 4 socks, star and snip. I bought him during covid as an unstarted 3 year old who had just been gelded. He was a piece of cake to back and train because he had been so well handled and I paid 3k for him. Of course I just bought my next project, a 2 year old Welsh Cob gelding for 9k. He too is very well handled and level headed. I prefer to start them myself. Iām 61. Iāve seen more than one Morgan similar for sale, same price range and multiple quarter horses in the same ballpark/skill set. Good luck with your search. Oh and other than being allowed to host my ads on the breedersā websites, Iāve sold mostly through Facebook.
Sadly there really arenāt, even if youāre looking locally via word of mouth. So many have aged out, or have let their herds age without really ensuring they are saddle broke - that shopping here is tough if youāre looking for something started.
If I wanted a sport Morgan in the Northeast and had the facilities and talents to start a weanling/yearling, Iād take anything out of Starberry Sport Morgan, go grab the couple of foals they have at Jackson Brook Farm in Maine, or at Newmont here in Vermont. These programs are producing a couple of babies a year-nice babies, but we need more nice babies!
I know the OP is on the west coast, so the handful of young horses going undersaddle that I know are currently available probably arenāt worth mentioning. Morganshowcase is a well curated, frequently updated list, but given the time of year (Morgan Grand Nationals), with a lot of whatās currently listed, you have to be willing to look past the horses presented as park horses/pleasure horses and see the potential for a different direction in sport.
On the west coast, Iāve really admired the few Scandia Morgans Iāve seen, but I donāt know the current state of that program. Same with Merriewold Morgans.
Lovely pair!!
@MorganMaresVT Iām in conversations with Starberry Sport Morgansā¦ They may have something in the spring. I simply do not have the facilities to take on a baby. Due to my constraints I am being realistic and recognizing I need a horse that is started.
The horse you sold for 15k had a show record, which certainly added to the geldingās value. None of the horses I mentioned in my original post have been competed. Thatās why I feel they are way overpriced.
The spicy mare I mentioned was competed at League and USDF shows, where she won almost all her classes. I sold her for 15k during the height of Covid. I could have asked more, but she was not registered. (She was discovered on a feed lot.) I sold her for five times what I paid, but I took her from barely started to schooling second level in two years. Her photo is below.
Iāll admit to being a little particular about what I want. I have always had really nice movers that scored ā7ā and ā8ā on gaits and donāt want a pony/hony with ā5ā gaits. Thatās my biggest problem.