The horse market is making me crazy

[Critter]

I just put one of mine up for sale…and it has reminded me of how much I hate having to sell a horse. I sent him back to the trainer who started him and knows him really well…so she’s the one dealing with all the tire kickers. I love him and really wished he wanted to be a dressage horse…but he likes being out hacking and doing some jumps and obstacle courses. It’s hard enough to sell him…and I thought we put a very attractive price (lowest of 5s)…and people are offering me half of his price. When I agree to meet part way, they won’t budge…I’m like, yes I know you need to vet and ship him, but I also need to pay the trainer a commission for doing the sale.

That’s why I stopped breeding and selling.

[sparkygrace]

It is hard, isn’t it?! I am putting my horse on the market as a trail/pleasure horse. Mid four figures because he requires some maintenance. He is a really good horse, just won’t be comfortable with collection.

[saddleup]

I just tried a 10 year old gelding last week. Very talented. Attractive, mid-$$$$$. Cranky. Pinned ears. Fidgety. Actually pretty ornery.

I got off and declined to pursue a purchase. Life’s too short and I’m too old for a bad attitude, I don’t care how nice his lead change was!

And the next woman who tried him the next day bought him. Oh well. Crazy market.

[sparkygrace]

That’s so strange. I can’t believe the prices. Why people will pay that much for a grumpy horse is beyond me. His behavior points toward pain or discomfort.

My horse is a gem. Very sweet and nice. He just needs an easier job.

[luvmyhackney]

I’m actively trying to buy a very low level mid 4’s green bean to play with and an older btdt horse for my kids and myself to doodle around on. I’ll retire both.

I promise it’s not fun for buyers. I’ve seen so many mis-represented horses or ones that have injuries/lameness/or just need to be retired in the low 5’s.

[sparkygrace]

I have seen the same. That’s why I am looking at youngsters. I have no business taking on a three year-old at my age, but a clean slate is better than an older horse with issues. My horse will need maintenance and I will be totally honest about that. Potential buyers are welcome to his vet records.

[Critter]

Same with mine…the definition of friendly and loves his people…mine just needs a different job. People aren’t even making an offer for what I paid for him as a yearling. I’m not even trying to recoup what I’ve put into training on him as I really want to find him a good long term home. But the offers (sight unseen) are so low…I mean wouldn’t you want to come try him at least?!? I know I would feel better if they tried him and clicked with him than a low ball sight unseen sale. I bought him as a baby…I don’t want to see him bounced around.

[sparkygrace]

I’m sorry, that’s hard. I am also taking a huge loss. Finding the right person and situation for him is more important than money.

[cheektwocheek]

I must be old school. I don’t look at anything I can’t afford at asking price. I didn’t even try to negotiate with my new guy. There were 3 people lined up behind me, waiting out his PPE.

[KayGee]

YES!!! This 1000x!!! I am also selling a horse, and it’s awful. When did it become okay to negotiate price before ever physically seeing the horse??? Like you, I only look at horses in my budget and rarely negotiate price.

[goodhors]

I would not sell my horse to someone who wanted a lower price without even seeing the horse! For sure they would want a lower STILL price if they actually ever showed up to ride it.

We sold a 9yr old Sporthorse type mare in late May, could have gone for dressage, over fences, trail riding. Good basics, W-T-C, no special skills yet. Wore Western or English tack, easy ride, nice gaits. Nice personality, liked people. No show record. She just didn’t work for our Driving program because she was too small at 15.2, could not match the reach or gaits of the 16+H horses. She did match my riding horse but husband didn’t want to drive the smaller horses as a Pair.

She was for sale for 6 months until a lady called, came to see her and bought her right after the ride. Lady looked quite nice on her, was a good rider, firmly in charge giving directions to the horse. We agreed to deliver horse as part of the sale price. We dickered a bit on price, which I expected. Horse was priced accordingly to let me “give a bit”.

We had some other tire kickers, but they had inflated views of their riding skills when on the horse. She was not dead broke, but willing to obey a rider in charge. Some came to look at her at the Trainer’s barn, didn’t even get on after watching Trainer ride her… I cut off any callers who wanted a lower price, before coming to look. Said flat out, “No talking about price until you look at the horse.” None of them wanted to make an appointment.

Selling is just as hard as trying to find a nice horse! We bought one in our preferred breed at an Auction this year. Bought for his brains and training, he is pretty wonderful and we are really enjoying him! He wasn’t a huge price as others are seeing, but he sure wasn’t cheap either.

[sparkygrace]

Update: I have put a deposit on a young hony. This guy was a find. He is a Lipizzan! Super fancy. The seller is a trainer and she has thrown in two months of free training to get him started under saddle. I would like basic walk/trot. If after two months I am not happy with him, she will refund half the deposit.

My quandary is doing a pre-purchase. The pre-purchase I did on my current horse was disappointing. I paid a very high-end sport horse vet to conduct it and they did not reveal a few things that should have been mentioned. The seller also did not mention the same things. He was purchased during the worst of Covid and I did not see him in person. I felt a little cheated.

Pre-purchases in the past have also missed things that ended up being important. Right now, if I don’t see anything that would cause me to be worried, I may skip it. That could be stupid, but I question how much good it will do without spending thousands. This three year old was pasture raised, gelded at two and send to a trainer for ground work. He hadn’t been handled.

My current horse is on the market for a very reasonable price because he requires a low key job and some maintenance. There has been interest, but his past infection with EPM is scaring people off. (He recovered and has not relapsed.) I may end up offering him on a care lease to someone local who wants to trail ride.

[HJdaydream]

@sparkygrace

Right now, if I don’t see anything that would cause me to be worried, I may skip it. That could be stupid, but I question how much good it will do without spending thousands.

I would not do this. Definitely a bad idea.

[cmdrcltr]

Really depends on the price point and whether or not you’re willing to lose that money if something serious pops. I didn’t do a pre-purchase on my current horse, which I bought in December 2020. $6K was at about the top of my limit for risk, though.

[pluvinel]

@HJdaydream

@sparkygrace

Right now, if I don’t see anything that would cause me to be worried, I may skip it. That could be stupid, but I question how much good it will do without spending thousands.

I would not do this. Definitely a bad idea.

I will chime in to say I have not vetted any horse I have bought. I HAVE vetted the seller. I have bought a horse sight unseen from a 60 second youtube video after being impressed riding a sibling.

I bought a 2 yr old German pink paper branded Hanoverian for low price because of a “bad” left hock X-ray. Fast forward 11 years and I wanted to sell him, so I had bilateral hock radiographs done. The right hock was worse than the left, the left had not changed. The horse was a cross country machine and never took a lame step.

[dmveventer]

I probably wouldn’t skip the PPE, and would also definitely echo the suggestion to vet the seller. I’d be a little skeptical of why she’s offering such favorable terms - presumably a good price given your budget, on a “super fancy” horse, plus two months of her working for free with a refund if you change your mind at the end? The market hasn’t softened THAT much, maybe I’m a cynic but I’m wondering what the catch is. At least the PPE could rule some things out, but ultimately it comes down to your risk tolerance. I’d also spend some time spelling out all the terms of the deal in writing and getting it signed before any money changes hands.

[sparkygrace]

No catch. The owner is older than I am and bought a “mature” horse. The horse is being sold by a trainer. This horse was feral when he was pulled from the field and he is small, 14.1 right now. The trainer who has him is legit. She is friends with many of my horse friends/trainers. I did check her out.

I owned a Lipizzan/TB cross years ago. He was Mister fancy-pants. For some reason, Lipizzans aren’t that popular, maybe because there aren’t many of them around or common in the show ring. They tend to have really good temperaments.

I haven’t decided yet to skip the pre-purchase. There is a top-rated vet nearby, so I have a good option. He spotted an issue in a friend’s horse that all other vets missed.

The gelding will be started under saddle soon. I went to see him last week. He hadn’t been backed. The trainer sat on him bareback and I walked along side. He was fine with that. There was incredible commotion and noise at the barn and he never flinched.

In my 55 years of riding, I’ve bought lots of youngsters and brought them along. His temperament is very impressive.

[luvmyhackney]

Is there any genetic conditions or known health issues with that breed? I’d probably have vet out if any of those are possible

I generally don’t do a vet check especially on a young unbroke horse. But I have a farm where I can retire horses with issues. All about your risk tolerance.

[Lusoluv]

I’ve posted my PPE story on an unstarted 3 yr old Lipizzan gelding here a couple times. Short story:
Adult children dispersing parents’ herd. 3 yr old had fabulous gaits and temperament, limited groundwork/handling. PPE revealed an old hock fracture - assume got kicked by one of his young herd mates. I REALLY wanted this horse so sent x-rays to 2 other Ortho vets. They both said NO. A few months later another vet/rider wanted to purchase same horse, owner disclosed my findings. Vet hoped she could manage any future issues and requested my x-rays, ,but after review, she also declined. Lesson: young or unstarted doesn’t mean a clean slate. I lost about $2k in costs, but saved heartbreak and more $$$ down the line.

[sparkygrace]

That is indeed a tale of caution! Can you pm me? I’d like to know more about this without revealing too much.