On East Coast, looking for a fancy junior hunter who can win in good company. Willing to look at winning 3’ or 3’3 horse that can step up this year. I know the market is crazy right now but don’t want to be taken advantage of either.
Upper upper 5s to 6s. No way of getting around not paying for a horse that wins the hack and can take care of the rider. You will alway pay $$$ for that. If it has a vet issue you can live with you may be able to get a little less off but if it been sound and campaigning general they won’t budge. Good luck
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I am assuming you are saying figures not thousands of dollars?
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Yes, but that depends on age and experience also. But if you looking for fancy, hack winning, ready to move up to 3.6ft on the east coast it’s easily going to 6 figures and don’t be scared if they say 500k. Market is hot and it is what it is. 
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Anywhere starting from mid fives but if you’re specifically looking for a proven packer, six figures.
Yes, I anticipate 6 figures, hoping 250 will get me there. Seems to be a lot of competition for what I need right now!
I think that’s doable if you don’t mind something that’s doing the 3’ or 3’3" now.
I hope you’re working with a good agent. You should be able to get this horse at 250k but be prepared to look outside the coasts, just because the supply is exceptionally restricted. Horses at this price point are actually priced fairly systematically. Buying on your own risks overpaying, sometimes quite significantly.
Unless you are actively buying/selling and “in the game” you’re not going to get a steal anyways. Those are usually found through sellers who have an emotional connection to their horses and want them to go to someone specific, because they have a training problem, or rehabbing an injury, or they want a promising young rider to get to the next level.
A good agent who cares about their reputation will get you market value and take their commission.
If I were dropping that kind of money, I’d decide my firm upper limit, tell the agent my ceiling is half of that, and hope to pay 2/3 of my real limit.
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I sure know there will be no “steals” but I’m trying to avoid my agent padding the seller’s price excessively, if possible. l like the idea of sharing half of my “firm” upper limit negotiating to a split between the two. Not knowing what the seller’s price really is, makes it hard to know how much I could be giving away.
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Helpful to also define “good company”. Are you talking WEF or WEC/HITS caliber? Both are going to have lovely horses, but one is going to require to go more to the mid 6’s to stay in the high ribbons.
I agree to look beyond the coasts… but even anything of quality from bigger names in the midwest is still going to cost you, as they’re well aware of the market rate, and after people bought off of videos in Europe sight unseen during pandemic, it opened up a lot more opportunity for sales without trials domestically, as well.
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Definitely poke around doing a little research of your own. I always find it interesting & informative to reverse engineer ads from Big Eq & the like. Having a good reference point for what tips a horse over into a certain price bracket is helpful. Horse can course 3’6" & reliably win the hack versus horse can do those PLUS take care of an AA? Horse can do all that, take care of an AA, and hold their hand & sing them the songs of his homeland if they get nervous? Altogether different price bracket. I agree that what you’re looking for is likely - bare minimum - in the very high 5- figures.
Granted, I’ve never shopped in your price bracket. But imo it never hurts to ask & negotiate. The worst they can say is no. We recently bought a teenaged imported jumper that is a 3’-3’3" packer. Quiet enough to hold his own in the hunters & Eq at local A rated shows. Not going to win at Devon or anything, but desirable skill set & priced well, taking into account his age & maintenance needs. We were able to negotiate both a split payment & a small discount. They liked how my daughter rides, knew we’d be a forever home (this poor horse is stuck with me, lol), and were sick of fielding dozens of inquiries a day about him. So you never know.
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good company to me means WEF. The ability, after a year or two at 3’6 to get good ribbons in the juniors is the goal. Not looking for one competing and winning now because the price would be well beyond my budget.
Hope Glynn, a well-known and doing-it-forever agent on the West Coast just created a really useful (and refreshing) podcast with the Plaid Horse or similar on how to be a client in today’s market. A few of bits of advice are worth repeating.
- Ask all questions about costs, commissions and how this works of your agent up front.
1a. Really, it’s the pro who should want to bring that detail-oriented conversation to you. But if not, get complete, adult-level clarity before you engage them.
In my fantasy (for buying horses or real estate), I disclose my budget to my agent completely. I goddamn-well want a fiduciary-type relationship with them and they should be both on my side and quite skilled. No one wants to leave money on the table, so I’d expect them to not abuse my wallet. But perhaps my fantasy is very unrealistic. I genuinely don’t know since I don’t shop for horses this way and at this price level. I will say that I do like to do what you are going: My own market research first.
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The big one: If you are afraid to ask a question or discuss any aspect of the deal and/or how the agent works, that is a sign that this is not the agent for you.
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Get your info about the PPE findings directly from the vet. Sure, you can have your trainer weigh in on just how maintainable a problem is, in her experience. But you paid the vet for his/her services so, IMO and Glynn’s, you are entitled to all of that information and that information put into terms you can understand. There should be no trainer between the vet and buyer. Again, that strong statement is my opinion. That said, I’d absolutely want to hear from the vet about her experience with that horse’s particular maintenance issue. AND I’d want my own pro to be in agreement. After all, it’s going to be this particular trainer who will have to do the day-to-day work of really managing that maintenance.
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great suggestions! Re: speaking with the agent about commissions, etc…it can be tricky when there are multiple people involved in the search and sale of a horse in this price range. However, your point is well taken and questions not asked are the only dumb questions.
Actually, I don’t think this is so.
IMO, and I think Glynn would agree, your agent should be able to tell you (and probably negotiate) payment for any other pros in the deal.
My grown-ass, adult business-y side would want any additional expenses or change in how this was going to work offered to me as something I could agree to purchase up front. No one should be coming to a buyer (whose wallet is now deflated and now has to buy the whole wardrobe for the new horse) after the fact looking for more money.
She gave an example where an agent knew he’d need to go into a different market and ask for help from one of his contacts. The scenario to be presented to the client was “Hey, you’ll have to pay 15% instead of my usual 10%, but with two of us working on this, I think you’ll actually end up saving money for the horse you want.”
And hats off to Glynn for still charging the 10%, which I remember as the industry standard in NorCal back when I was a kid there is yestercentury, which is the time and place where I think Glynn grew her business. She’s doing OK as 10% on the horses she selling will buy you a car or most of a truck. But I appreciate the logic of someone always taking the same 10% and building their income by building their expertise and reputation rather than building their commission alone.
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Definitely listen to the Hope Glynn podcast before you start your search. She is refreshing in her approach which is about honesty , competent trainers, good relationships, and ensuring this is a business transaction rather than an impulsive, emotional buy.
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Where do you find these horses advertised? I have a very nice green jumper to sell and have a hard time finding good sites to advertise
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You can always call the owner (not the agent) and verify the Sales price ahead of signing a sales agreement or wiring funds.
It’s very easy to contact the owner via social media - if you can’t find them them online, you can request their info ahead of a sale to confirm pricing.
Sadly there are a lot of crooks in this biz.
I’ve actually had a seller contact me to verify what I was paying for their horse - I thought that was very, very smart on her part.
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Low sixes unless you are willing to get something older or young.
Honestly, owner might not know actually know as long it’s above what they’re hoping to get. Typically trainer says, “Oh, by the way, someone’s coming to try Dobbin for $300k.” Trainer could’ve told agent or other trainer $400k for all the owner knows, especially if agent is handling the money as sometimes happens.
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