There is a horse I would love to own, but would like to have a ballpark price of what is normal before asking if he is for sale.
The horse is 11, a TB, and 16.1 hh. He has been hunting 3 years. He has been a staff horse, and used as a guest horse full time, for a year. He can lead the field and also been used as the huntmans horse. He can get alittle strong in the field in the beginning, but settles easily. Hunts in a snaffle. He loves to hunt. Always sound. Can easily go first flight. Whats a ballpark price tag on a horse like this? Thank you.
if really that good it is unlikely he will be for sale
and that is the problem
when I was looking for hunt horse #2 several club members noticed an ad then called it to my attention as they had often seen this horse in shows and hunterpaces.
sadly the horse had foundered and was later claimed to be sound when for sale
the vet took one look and said Xrays!
no sale
the horse I eventually got to replace #1 cost $7500 in '92 and hunted for 10 years
[not counting my medical bills]
[photo in my profile]
never so much as lost a shoe
but strong and pulled
Big? Handsome? Broke? Easy? Sound? Good feet? Athletic?
$25k+.
Big? Handsome? Athletic? Staff horse?
Giveaway.
There’s virtually no way on earth to ‘put a price’ on a hunt horse.
I have a stable full of, literally, a dozen hunters that I hunt, staff, livery, lessons, etc. I paid a grand total of $1,000 for the lot of them - all put together (mostly giveaways/free borrows.) I ‘turned down’ $40k for the best of them (a theoretical offer, mind you, but … still.)
Ride him. Try him. Hunt him. What’s he worth to you. That is the horse’s value.
$40K is about right 2 horses I sold for $7500. each re-sold after 2 yers of wonderful proper hunt education for $35K and $40K apiece.
They both vetted out, 1st flight, one horse is a Masters mount now and they both are exceptionally tolerant patient horses.
Horse like the one you describe is worth his weight in gold even if he requires maintanace and or special shoes etc…
Can’t hurt to just make an offer!
It also depends on the part of the country you live in . In other words; what the market in your area is. IMHO, the days of big prices for field hunters are gone. Cut the pricesof previous years in half…at least.
He’s worth only what someone else will pay for him. Talk to the owner and get a feel of whether they are realistic or not. Make an offer, dicker, make a proposal. Then let the owner think about it for awhile. Always be willing to walk away. In our area there are TONS of horses like this. Selling from $500. to about $3500.
Just sayin’!!
I’m shopping for a proven field hunter and around here (Piedmont) you’d start in the low 5 figures and go up from there.
I’m referring to PROVEN field hunters and one that has been a staff horse - like the one you describe in your post.
It takes a heck of a lot of work and time to produce such a quality field hunter - and they’re worth every penny.
A prospect? Older horse? Soundness issues? Those are cheaper. Lots of folks buy green horses and make their own. That’s certainly a lot cheaper - but then you have to work out the green horse giggles, or find out the hard way the horse isn’t suited to hunting.
But I’m referring to the Piedmont of VA - no doubt prices vary across the country.
Good luck in your search.
Another vote for “It Depends”
Here are my hunt horses (past and present):
Clyde/TB: Free, very handsome but didn’t know much when I got him. Hunted all 3 fields and would whip-in, but can’t hold up to the pounding. I will never sell him, but when he was actively hunting, I got some pretty high offers for him as a gentleman’s hunter.
Belgian/App: Bought for very, very low 4 figures as a pasture bum that may at one point have hunted. Hunted and whipped-in off of for one season, but wasn’t fast enough to be a staff horse. Sold as a Gentleman’s 2nd/3rd Field hunter for mid four-figures.
Paint: Current hunt horse, (in my profile pic) can be a PITA (rarely) but will whip in, go in any field, and be a huntsman’s horse. Whip broke, excellent with hounds, follows and leads. Will probably not be sound forever, not big enough for most guys, but is truly an excellent horse. Bought for $5000 (originally listed for 10k- not a big market for staff horses)
A good hunt horse is worth their weight in gold!
If he is all you posted he probably is not for sale. But if he is find out why. And br prepared to offer mid to high five figures, depending on your area and what hunts he has hunted with.
Mojo joins our Tribe
After dabbling for a couple of years, Mrs. Hotspur got serverly bitten by the hunting bug this past season. She sold her dressage horse this winter (it would just be cruel to post this on the dressage board) and bought a made field hunter a month ago.
Mojo is just coming 7, had hunted with Potomac for two seasons, and was schooling 2nd. level dressage (I can hear the Dressage Queen’s eyeballs rolling). He is 1/2 Irish Draft, 1/4 Percheron, 1/4 TB and a beautiful dappled gray. We love him, have had him out once with our Hunt, and he is wonderful.
Price? We feel like we have a lot of bang for our buck at $12K. Believe me, he was not the first horse that she looked at! We both traveled to KY, MD, and VA on horse shopping trips. What’s that old saying? “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your Prince.”
Good Luck!
It always amuzes me that people pay so much for show hunters, and comparatively little for field hunters. Yes, they may not be as fancy sometimes…but as the old saying goes " So,what is your life worth?"…
I"d much rather have a nice, safe, comfortable horse I can enjoy and trust in the hunt field than anywherre.
Down here in the south (especially near the Ocala area where OTTB’s are give aways…$20K is a big price for a fieldhunter…
However, I agree…you don’t often find the good ones for sale!!
Does the price differ for ponies? Are ponies common in your hunts or is it all big guys? I’ve only hunted a few times with my guy but he(and me!) loved it! However I’ll admit I was afraid of being squished a few times by the draftxs in 1st field!:eek: Good thing the pony’s quick on his feet.:D:lol:
I had a mare, good age (8 yrs), good size (16 hands). Hunted 3 seasons. That any monkey (including me) could ride in the hunt field first flight. Registered paint mare, very pretty. Hardly had any inquiries on her. Finally sold her for $7500 after lots of advertising etc. The person that bought her was very happy with her. I think a lot depends on your location. I’m in the midwest.
The barn I worked for last year had around 40 hunt horses. We had 4-5 quietly for sale (not advertisement) in the 5k-12k range. All these horses only had about a season of hunting on them and were hotter BUT they were also eventing prospects (nice movers, good flatwork). At our barn what you are looking for would probably be around 25k if you could convince them to sell.
