What's good or bad about the horse buying process these days?

[Ponyplusaninch]

The wider networking and the fact that more people are willing to buy a horse sight unseen off a video and PPE has also driven horse prices up like crazy … good if you’re a seller, I suppose, but not good if you’re a buyer. It’s insane that a nice-but-not-spectacular 2’6” hunter now costs as much as a luxury SUV.

Boy is this not the truth… A friend of mine just got told to consider LEASING a 2’6’’ horse for $35k because none could be bought for that price (that didn’t have issues).

I’m happy enough with my pandemic pony buy and think we both got lucky in our own ways. But if I was at the start of the process right now, though, for the money? I think I’d import something from Europe, maybe even off multiple videos. Even some of the under 5 y/o’s I think are overpriced here in the states.

[Xanthoria]

@Horselove5

Right?! Or pictures of dirty tack & equipment for sale! Like you wanna sell these boots/blankets/pads etc, then clean them or at least remove the dirt prior to photographing, ugh!

I bought a discontinued color LeMieux pad (yes, matchy addiction in the house) and it arrived filthy. Polled the collector groups on whether this was bonkers or just lazy and some people said they actually prefer to wash themselves so they can do it right before risking a rare pad getting damaged by the seller

[Paint_Party]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

The other annoying thing about Facebook ads is how someone will post something like: “Looking for horse for a beginner student, petite, timid, adult rider. 14-16h, nothing green, geldings only, no TBs, some maintenance fine.”

Yes, I came across tons of those “ISO” ads on the facebook groups I visited.

What I couldn’t stomach was all the ISO ads for “unicorns” and on the flip side, nebulous ads proclaiming, “Unicorn alert!” Okay, the first few times the use of the term “unicorn” was cute and clever, but now…

[Sticky_Situation]

@Paint_Party

@Impractical_Horsewoman

The other annoying thing about Facebook ads is how someone will post something like: “Looking for horse for a beginner student, petite, timid, adult rider. 14-16h, nothing green, geldings only, no TBs, some maintenance fine.”

Yes, I came across tons of those “ISO” ads on the facebook groups I visited.

What I couldn’t stomach was all the ISO ads for “unicorns” and on the flip side, nebulous ads proclaiming, “Unicorn alert!” Okay, the first few times the use of the term “unicorn” was cute and clever, but now…

OMG the “ISO my unicorn” posts!!! May as well just write, “I have unrealistic expectations and I’m hoping you’ll sell me your horse for far less than its actual market value.”

And if your expectations aren’t unrealistic… you’re not looking for a unicorn. Just a horse.

[Sticky_Situation]

Also, this is a slight tangent, but what about the people who post “barn help wanted” ads on Facebook … then in the next sentence launch into a rant about how their last worker quit without notice and “good help is hard to find” and “nobody wants to work anymore” and go on and on about how much work ethic and commitment the position requires. It can’t possibly be that they’re a nightmare to work for … it can’t be!

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Oh, wow, I just saw a very polite FB ad by a woman seeking part-time barn work who had extensive experience (working on a ranch, previous work as an assistant trainer locally), saying she was looking for a 3-day a week paid position while she was in college. One of the replies said she’d never get something for being so “picky,” presumably wanting, you know, to be paid and not work seven days a week.

[furlong47]

@Xanthoria

Everything that’s annoying about FB ads: I have started seeing ads with photos showing a messy tack room. Or just a pile of tack lying on the floor. Ad says “everything is for sale. too much to list. Message me for details.”

How lazy can you get?

Horse ads with zero details, ditto. When prices level off I hope people stop putting up with this carp…

I can’t understand why these people want to answer 4,000 private messages instead of just posting the information to begin with. It’s faster to just make a listing of what you have with the details and not have to field all of the questions. Of course, you can post a very detailed description with multiple photos and still get some people asking questions that were already answered… if only they weren’t too lazy to read a few lines or click through an album.

[Sticky_Situation]

Usually they have to PM the price, or else they’ll end up in Facebook jail for selling an animal, so they’ll be responding to a lot of PMs no matter what. But I agree that it would still be far easier to put everything else in the ad … video, height, age, pedigree, detailed information about what the horse knows and has done, etc

[StormyDay]

@vxf111

How does that even work. I see people post “major women’s clothing purge, size X” and then post a stock photo of a well organized closet. How can I even BEGIN TO GUESS what you’re selling?

On the flip side, I was selling a bunch of tack. I made a list with NUMBERS and every detail (color, size, brand, condition, measurements, weight to estimate shipping). Then I took photos of every item from all sides with a PROMINENT NUMBER IN THE PHOTO THAT MATCHED THE NUMBER IN THE AD. Photos uploaded in numeric order. HUGE NUMBER in every photo. Like a huge number 7 in the photo of item number 7 on the list. People could not figure it out. They just couldn’t. It was too much info for their brains to hold at one time. Epic fail. I’d rather burn the stuff or throw it in the trash than have to explain again to people on FB that item #7 on the list is the 7th item in the photo album with a big #7 in each and every photo of the item.

My business is entirely online sales. It has made me loose all faith in the public. The stories I have… the public is so darn stupid sometimes.

[BarbaraC]

@Paint_Party it seems like Dreamhorse is going strong. They don’t have a lot in terms of video though it seems. Was it easy to get video from them? tx

[BarbaraC]

Wow. I guess it depends on geography. In some ways it seems like leasing is always a good value (so you don’t have to worry about resale) but it can also seem like throwing money away.

How did you end up finding your pandemic pony??

[Xanthoria]

@vxf111

I’d rather burn the stuff or throw it in the trash than have to explain again to people on FB that item #7 on the list is the 7th item in the photo album with a big #7 in each and every photo of the item.

No literally. I’ve given stuff away to friends instead of trying to get people to comprehend simple English on FB ever again.

Another thing is people do NOT understand what postage costs. I was GIVING AWAY 2 Rambo Duos (used) but buyer to pay for actual shipping cost. Weight was listed, so they could calculate themselves… People sent me their zip codes ALL EXCITED and WANTING those $400 rugs. But would they pay $40 to ship it to Timbuktu? NO. Every single custom shipping quote they ghosted me. I gave the rugs away to friends.

Moral: sell w “free shipping” (build it into the price") or just donate them. Life is too short to deal with the alternative.

[Xanthoria]

@furlong47

I can’t understand why these people want to answer 4,000 private messages instead of just posting the information to begin with. It’s faster to just make a listing of what you have with the details and not have to field all of the questions.

Perhaps they will learn that their TIME is worth money too? But other people see them doing it and copy cat… I see three threads like this on various groups right now… I’m tempted to start one myself:
“Thing for sale. No pics - PM me. Kthxbai”

[BarbaraC]

Interesting @Scribbler! What happened to the sales sites? Did they die? I applaud Fb’s no animal policy since we know how quickly that would attract bad actor but it seems like everyone was caught off guard.

[Scribbler]

Dream Horse and Warmblood for Sale still seems to be there. I’m not sure about Equine Now and others. Locally Craigslist was really comprehensive but noone uses it any more.

A web sales site needs to charge and make the owner a useful profit. FB is free.

In general all private websites have limited life spans. The moment passes, or the site requires massive upgrades that are too expensive or the owner moves on to other projects.

Only institutional websites with loads of funding or big vendors persist over time, really.

[2LaZ2race]

The horse market is insane right now, and especially in the lower price ranges I worry about what that means for the horses.

So many people are making impulse purchases and buying sight unseen with no PPE, what happens to the horses when they don’t work out?

I saw a pony for sale semi locally. I messaged the seller and said I was interested and was honestly ready to take a risk because I know how crazy the market is (I own my own farm) and said I could come trailer and money in hand the next day. They literally laughed at me and told me they expected the horse to be gone that night (it was already like 8pm) and who ever shows up with cash first gets the pony. This is also a seller who claims to have a legitimate sales business. I told them best wishes and warmest regards, I wasn’t going to be pressured into a sale shrug.

I’ve told any of my lesson clients who might even be considering buying to not even look, the prices are so inflated. Its like a game of hungry hungry hippos anytime a half decent horse is posted locally.

[Ponyplusaninch]

I think geography definitely plays into it. She’s in the Southeast. But at one point in time not THAT long ago, I remember $35k went a lot further–that had actually been the amount I’d planned to spend on a 3’ horse to buy back in 2020.

I got my pandemic pony through a lot of luck (ie being in the right place at the right time). I wasn’t technically ready to buy, but the trainer knew I was going to be looking at the end of the year, and she knew my budget–even at its top end–wasn’t going to go too far. So when she one day saw a quick vid of a horse online, she shared it with me, and we decided to trailer him in for a 3-day trial.

He was underweight, out of shape, and not a popular breed (OTTB). We got him to go over a 3’ vertical in both ways (he was exhausted after that), and I was convinced enough that he was worth the risk provided vetting went alright. Nothing turned up that alarmed me, and because the shut down orders were going into effect, I negotiated fairly ruthlessly (best advice I got from friends) and got him at a price I felt more comfortable at since a) it was going to take time to get him in shape b) I knew I would be spending a lot of money on training and c) still a risk–older green horse with no auto changes wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

It’s turned out to be a great situation; he had a really successful baby green year and is training at home to (hopefully) move up to pre-greens this next year. He definitely has his quirks, and at the moment I don’t think he’s suitable for every rider–but he has an outrageous jump, is very sweet on the ground, and he has a great brain, albeit he overthinks things sometimes. And those were really my three big requirements when I was looking. Everything else in my book could be worked out.

ETA I’ll go back and say that I really think I lucked out. This is not how the story goes for a lot of folks. So much was simply timing. It did help to have a trainer involved who knew what I needed/wanted–I don’t think I would have found him on my own or seen the immediate potential she did. And because she found him, she was very invested in him. Unpopular truths: it really does benefit you a lot if your trainer/pro rider likes your horse.

[Spudsmyguy]

One of the main reasons I no longer sell anything on FB. Shipping is such a hassle and the people wanting your item for peanuts with shipping included. I take 99% of my tack for sale to a local consignment shop so I don’t have to deal with it.

[DownYonder]

@Spudsmyguy

One of the main reasons I no longer sell anything on FB. Shipping is such a hassle and the people wanting your item for peanuts with shipping included. I take 99% of my tack for sale to a local consignment shop so I don’t have to deal with it.

I recently had a lady want me to ship her 4-5 riding shirts so she could try them on. I told her I would do so if she paid for them in advance plus the shipping costs, and that if they didn’t work out, I would happily refund the price of the shirts as soon as I got them back from her. She declined when she realized I wasn’t going to eat the shipping costs and assume the risk of never getting paid for them or of getting them back.

[DownYonder]

As for horse buying, I keep an eye on FB posts by some breeder acquaintances. I’m not shopping for myself but rather helping a few friends who are shopping. Two of them are also working with their trainers, who are mostly relying on word of mouth. Another friend I referred to an agent in FL that I haven’t worked with directly but know several people who have and they all gave her a thumbs up.