Would you buy a cremello? *Update, went to see pony*

[OveroHunter]

We had a beautiful cremello tobiano paint mare not too long ago… They are not completely pink skinned horses. Like someone else said, there is a clear difference between their pink skin under their white markings and the rest of their body. They are just very pale horses due to having two cream genes on a red base coat.

We only had to worry about her during the summer. We kept her inside from about 8 am - 8 pm during the summers and she was fine. Killer show horse! She was a WP mare and my friend stuck an english saddle on her just for fun at a local show and she kicked my gelding’s butt who I had been riding for 5 or more years in huntseat.

[TrailPony]

Well, I went to see the cremello pony and while she was cute, she was not at all as advertised. I’m not sure why I am surprised by that, but I was just a bit surprised. The poor pony seemed miserable and depressed. The seller stated the pony was very lazy and would be a great beginners horse. I saw her daughter ride the pony in the arena and then we walked down the driveway some. Pony seemed easy going, but there wasn’t much life in her.

I hopped on the pony and realized why after riding around for a few minutes, poor pony appeared lame. I asked the seller about any previous injuries and the seller stated she had no injuries while under her care and has been sound since she arrived. :no: The trot itself was enough to tell you something was wrong, either lameness or balance issues. I’m not expert in lameness, so I can’t be 100% sure that it was just lameness. I tried a canter, just to see if I could feel any more lameness. The pony couldn’t turn at the canter, she could only go straight.

After riding I was even more surprised to find out they were asking 1500.00 for this pony. The pony cannot back under saddle and when I tried to pick up her feet, she only picked up one willingly.

Maybe it’s just me - but I expect a beginner friendly horse to be able to pick up their feet promptly when asked, back under saddle and be able to canter in a large circle with no issues. If I had the extra income laying around I would love to have her as a project pony and get her out of the horrible situation she is in.

What do you guys think? Am I being too unrealistic to find a decent beginners horse for $1500.00?

[Highflyer]

At least around here $1500 would be on the low end for something that is truly beginner safe w-t-c, unless it has soundness issues that require maintenance or is elderly.

[OveroHunter]

[QUOTE=kmartin85;8145454]

What do you guys think? Am I being too unrealistic to find a decent beginners horse for $1500.00?[/QUOTE]

You get what you pay for. I know that my husband has never sold a horse at the ranch for that little money and called the horse a beginner horse for a kid. You could probably find an older child’s beginner horse for that price though.

[Toaster]

No, but you will have to look very carefully in that price range. You should be able to find a well-minded (but not fancy) greenie or very old schoolmaster for that price range.

The problem is that in that price range you also have the crazy and/or lame horses that no one has been able to sell. So keep looking but know you are going to have a harder time weeding though the unsuitable horses at that price.

I personally would recommend taking 6 months to a year to save up so you can have more options. Just put the couple hundred dollars a month you planned to spend on board/vet/lessons for the $1500 dollar horse you are ready to buy now, in 6 months to a year you’ve probably double+ your budget and will have SOOO many more options.

[TrailPony]

Maybe I am being too unreasonable. I just want a nice level headed trail pony, not a fancy little show pony. I guess I always assumed the trail ponies would be a bit cheaper than the show ponies, but I am finding out that is not the case.

ETA: I haven’t been in the horse market for about 9 years. Prices seem to have gone up a bit since I last looked.

[fordtraktor]

Yep, I would double your budget for well trained kid safe. For quiet but doesn’t know much your budget is OK but that isn’t really what I would want for my kid’s beginner pony. Maybe a move up pony.

FWIW, my kid’s pony cost twice what any of my horses did! And she was 17 at the time. Worth every penny, too. Not willing to take risks with THEIR safety. :lol: seriously, though, kid’s pony is not the place to go budget.

[RiderInTheRain]

In my area (rural IL) you could find a beginner safe horse in that price range, if you were willing to buy one that was (1) on the older side (17-18+ years), (2) had some minor physical issues that could be managed with regular maintenance or (3) one that had essentially had trail experience only and doesn’t really understand “arena” type activities but is safe and steady.

[Revolver]

[QUOTE=RiderInTheRain;8145675]
In my area (rural IL) you could find a beginner safe horse in that price range, if you were willing to buy one that was (1) on the older side (17-18+ years), (2) had some minor physical issues that could be managed with regular maintenance or (3) one that had essentially had trail experience only and doesn’t really understand “arena” type activities but is safe and steady.[/QUOTE]

Same here (Maine), but you’d have to do your due diligence because some will be misadvertised, as you found out. A boarder’s pony is an 18 year old Arab cross who is just a saint and well-trained; she bought him for $500.

ETA: He was advertised as 15.3 and is lucky if he hits 14.2. It’s a bit of a treasure hunt to find a horse that fits your criteria and budget; you might want to plan on seeing and passing on a bunch of horses.

[OveroHunter]

[QUOTE=kmartin85;8145511]
Maybe I am being too unreasonable. I just want a nice level headed trail pony, not a fancy little show pony. I guess I always assumed the trail ponies would be a bit cheaper than the show ponies, but I am finding out that is not the case.

ETA: I haven’t been in the horse market for about 9 years. Prices seem to have gone up a bit since I last looked.[/QUOTE]

Child safe trail riding horses are what we’re always looking for for our trail riding business. If we find a good one we rarely sell them because they’re worth their weight in gold, and if we do it isn’t cheap.

We have found a few for around $1500, but we have found many more that had to become small adult horses because we just couldn’t trust them with kids… You just have to get lucky at that price point unfortunately…

[mellsmom]

I had a cremello for 15 years.He wore a long nosed fly mask. His skin was less sensitive than many chestnuts I have owned. He had squamous cell carcinoma on his third eye lids. we caught it early and froze the spots off. It did not return to the point of needing additional treatment in the 5 or 6 years post procedure. I would not let the color deter me in the least.

[Kwill]

Sounds like a pass, but too bad you couldn’t upgrade the poor thing. However, most of us don’t have space for a lame project pony that could end up being a disappointment.

[RiderInTheRain]

Revolver - that is a good point and certainly true in my area too. The $1500 beginner horse is going to require trying several-many horses who are NOT as advertised (often they are shorter, older, less sound, etc. when you actually see them in person).

I actually recently purchased an inexpensive beginner safe horse for my husband. We had to look at quite a few unsuitable horses first as some of what other folks consider “beginner safe” is not behavior that I would ever feel comfortable with a novice rider having to deal with! I enjoy looking for diamonds in the rough though, so even driving out to look at horses that were unsuitable was still fun for me.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

[QUOTE=x;8139507]
A good horse is never a bad color.[/QUOTE]

A good horse is never a bad color, but if I am paying the horse’s bills, I want to enjoy looking at it, and I do not find the majority of cremellos attractive.

Fortunately for cremellos, other people do.

[TrailPony]

[QUOTE=Kwill;8147066]
Sounds like a pass, but too bad you couldn’t upgrade the poor thing. However, most of us don’t have space for a lame project pony that could end up being a disappointment.[/QUOTE]

Exactly! I started thinking for a second, “Well I could always take on the pony and train it for my niece during this next year or so.” But then I wondered if the “true” pony would start to show as the pony started to feel better. I would be at a huge loss if this pony turned out to be a crazy, flighty pony after the pain went away.

[candyappy]

[QUOTE=kmartin85;8145511]
Maybe I am being too unreasonable. I just want a nice level headed trail pony, not a fancy little show pony. I guess I always assumed the trail ponies would be a bit cheaper than the show ponies, but I am finding out that is not the case.

haven’t been in the horse market for about 9 years. Prices seem to have gone up a bit since I last looked.[/QUOTE]

I have never paid more than $ 1000 for the kid safe , well broke, anyone can ride horses we have had in the last 17 years( 5 of them). The last one we bought was 4 1/2 years ago. She is 13 now and a true gem. I paid $ 800 for her. They are out there, but sometimes you have to weed through the undesirables first. Of course your location might make a huge difference in price too.

[CHT]

The pony is likely sore on both fronts: makes it hard to see, but the symptoms sound right. Really hard to convince people of this until you block one foot and they can see the limp on the other one.

At $1500 in my area? You are likely going to be looking at either a pony in the middle of nowhere, sore, or nearing retirement age. Trail safe is the kicker…likely able to find arena safe in the price range, but safe in the open if you come upon a deer or bicycle? That is where the price goes up.

[joiedevie99]

Around here, I’d say $3500-$5000 for something that is currently kid safe, unless you are willing to try 25 or 50 that are lame or not as advertised in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough.