You are correct, describing what I am seeing. My budget is low 5s and there are young off-breed horses out there in that price range. I have always been able to find nice, affordable horses. Sometimes a person can find a western-type horse owned by a person who has no idea the horse has potential in another sport. Shopping is like a treasure hunt!
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Fair point, I may have misconstrued what you were trying to say. I completely understand that different people are looking for different things, and if a person wanted an experienced horse their budget would need to reflect that. My point was just that some people complain that there are no nice horses in their budget, but arenāt willing to compromise on certain aspects, like breed, size, or level of training.
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This is so true! Being willing to look outside āthe boxā can sometimes find you a diamond in the rough. And most peopleās budgets would be better suited to buying a young unconventional breed and then paying for a trainer to put the miles on it.
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Yes to all of that. I do have an excellent trainer and we have worked together to bring my young horses along. Iāve started a number of young horses myself but, at my age now, the youngster needs to have a stellar temperament.
Retraining a horse from another discipline is also not hard. I know many horses who switched careers and became very nice dressage mounts.
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I think we mostly agree, but maybe have different perspectives due to differences in our age/needs/abilities. My initial response to you was based on your post about people not being interested in compromising and buying a project horse to stay in their budget.
I am too old and damaged to compromise and buy a project, no matter how lovely it may be. So, ācompromise by buying a project horseā is not going to work for me. 
For me, ācanāt afford been-there-done-thatā means ācanāt buy a horse.ā And thatās not a complaint, exactly, itās just an acknowledgement of economic realities.
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Very true. The prices for fully finished horses have definitely increased and I donāt see those coming down any time soon. Some of it may be residuals from the inflated COVID market, and I have seen some prices that make me shake my head and wonder if the seller is taking crazy pills. But in general, if people do not have a budget in the mid to upper 5s, they are going to have to compromise on something in order to purchase a horse, whether thatās age/experience, soundness, breed, etc. Personally, as a person in my early 30s, I would rather compromise on the age/experience aspect, because I enjoy bringing along green horses (although I have had some doozies in the past few years, so that time may be coming to an end soon lol), but I could understand someone older not wanting to take on that risk. So as you said, they either have to compromise elsewhere, or may sadly be priced out of buying in this market.
I think the main culprit is that the cost to keep and train horses has just gone up and up. The expense of obtaining a nice young horse, caring for it for years, providing training (either yourself or pay a trainer), taking it to shows, etc. is so astronomical now that people have no choice but to raise prices to even come close to breaking even when they sell. And heaven forbid the horse have any kind of injury or mishap that requires any kind of veterinary care beyond just regular maintenance. Breeders and young horse trainers have been discussing this issue for years. It is so expensive to produce these horses, and sadly I donāt see it getting any cheaper.
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I wish you were closer to me! Or I still lived in the PNW 
I have a large pony that needs his own appropriately sized person (I am too tall to make it a visually attractive pairing).
I tried to sell him last summer with about 60 rides on him, and all but one inquiry was from absolute idiot who wanted to use him as a lesson pony for children. The one adult ammy inquiry that sounded like it couldāve been a great fit - could only pay half of what I was asking, which wasnāt a lot.
Iāve resigned myself to being stuck with too many horses.
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They do accumulate, donāt they? My neighbor gave me a sign that says: " Horses are like potato chips, you canāt have just one."
Iām being bombarded with horse ads sent by friends. Itās becoming a full-time job gathering information. 
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Yes. Bo is leased out and at this point itās basically a permanent arrangement, but that still leaves my total count at five. In a perfect world I think Iād like to get back down to 2, butā¦ Iām so discouraged about the average horse-owning public. I just want to see them end up in good hands, not screwed up and passed around or mistreated.
Hopefully one of the many links youāre being sent will contain the winner! Fingers crossed for a sporty pony under budget that ticks all the boxes and passes the PPE!
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Thanks so much! Iām expanding my search to Western Canada. The exchange rate is good and itās not too far away.
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Finally, success! I bought exactly what I said I didnāt want: a chestnut mare. Buying in Canada turned out to be a great move. The dollar is really strong and that makes shipping/pre-purchase affordable. She is a former broodmare, still green but very sweet and willing.
Sheāll arrive in a week or two. I havenāt enjoyed being horseless.
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You know itās criminal to post updates like these without photos??
Congrats. Canāt wait to hear more as she arrives and the two of you get to know each other.
BTWā¦ my two favorite horses of all timeā¦ both chestnut mares. 
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Congratulations! Very happy for you!
But donāt we get at least a nickname?
And I, too, have ridden and loved some fabulous red heads. Sheāll be fun!
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Once she arrives, Iāll post photos. For now, she is āMia.ā
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Congratulations; chestnut mares are the best!
I think this is frequently true. The challenge is that it is so hard to describe horses just right and so many people are not accurate in their descriptions and then the activation energy/cost to go look at a horse far away in the hands of someone you donāt know is large. Video helps some but not enough.
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Congratulations @sparkygrace !
Iāll echo @FromTheGalaxy. I have a nice OTTB, now years off the track, has done clinics & shows, great on trails, nice personality. It is hard to get people to even look. Yet I always know so many intermediate riders who would benefit from a safe, not huge-moving, fun horse. And my price is less than a WB several years younger and greener.
I should know better at my age. People will continually buy a fancy young horse with stars in their eyes, and overlook the horse that is exactly right for them, right now.
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Sometimes horses make liars of you too. Iām in the process of finding a care-lease arrangement for a family memberās horse. His last lease concluded naturally (leasee wanted to buy a horse so bought one). When the lease concluded he was solidly BN/N and going everywhere by himself with his senior rider. I was heavily involved - and still am - in this horseās training the day he set foot on the farm eight years ago. If you asked me, Iād say heās lovely and quiet under saddle but can be a bit pushy on the ground. I communicated this all to what sounded like a good match; the potential leasee wanted to come out and see him W/T/C. I warned her he had the last year and a half off but I was fine riding him, thereās nothing he can pull that would make me nervous.
Tell me how that %@%% tried to buck me off at the mounting block and then spent the next 20m of the ride huffing and puffing and propping.
He was not the horse I recognized, lol.
Needless to say the potential leasee was not interested and I donāt blame herā¦ but Iām mortified that I wasted her time! I think he was pissed he had a year and a half vacation and was then pulled from his buddies. Might be some slight herd-bound behavior going on.
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Good luck! Iāve given up on trying to find what I truly wanted and am looking at horses that are the quite opposite because Iām just tired. Its not about budget, its about trying to find remotely what I want. Oddly I actually may end up with a horse a fifteenth of the price of what I was looking at before! But hey, Iāll be able to buy a fancier saddle(s) that weāll both like hopefully! Fingers crossed, this whole experince is very off putting.
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The business of buying (and selling) IS very off putting. It just drains me.
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