Horse Talk

[I Love Layers]

My horse Latte was priced at $800, and they threw in Sunny as a pasture buddy for free . . . .

My horse was $1800
She could've been sold for $4000 though.
Right now I could probably sell her for $6000

 

[ChickenLover200]

My horse Latte was priced at $800, and they threw in Sunny as a pasture buddy for free . . . .

My horse was $1800
She could've been sold for $4000 though.
Right now I could probably sell her for $6000

People say if my mare wasn't so old she'd go for at least $5,000-6,000 if not more. She's around 20-21 years old now, but she's got a bit of spunk still.

 

[Bunnylady]

People talk about what a horse is "worth," but whether you can get that much for it depends on a lot of things.

There is an Arabian horse farm literally a stone's throw from my place. When they first got into Arabians a few years ago, they had animals worth over a million dollars apiece and were making big noises in the show world all over the country. But the economy went south, and the horse world went with it. I'm not sure what they bred this year, but they only had 3 foals last year. Before that, in addition to some very pricey babies, they had several foals from top bloodlines that just weren't quite top-of-the-line show quality, that they were offering at $500, just to get them out of there so they could make room for the next year's crop.

Latte is about 15 hands, Palomino, goes both English and Western, does trails, had been used as a lesson pony and had won ribbons at shows in both English Pleasure and Hunter/jumper classes. She was supposed to be a registered QH, but her former owner never gave me the papers (if they even exist). At the time I bought her, she was about 7 years old, and the only thing "wrong" with her was that she hadn't been ridden in almost a year There was some question about her soundness, but the issue had been resolved months before, and she just hadn't been put back into use so they weren't 100% sure that she had fully recovered. At the time I bought her, she had been for sale for several months, and the owner was considering reducing the price. Sunny had known lameness issues, the owner knew they hadn't much hope of selling her, and they had planned to donate her to a charity auction (which most likely would have put her in the hands of a kill buyer). When I made noises about buying Latte and suggested throwing Sunny in as part of the deal, nearly everybody at the barn did a happy dance.

For the few horses that sell for thousands, there are a whole lot more than go for mere hundreds, or get given away just so the owner no longer has to feed them.

 

[ChickenLover200]

People talk about what a horse is "worth," but whether you can get that much for it depends on a lot of things. 

There is an Arabian horse farm literally a stone's throw from my place. When they first got into Arabians a few years ago, they had animals worth over a million dollars apiece and were making big noises in the show world all over the country. But the economy went south, and the horse world went with it. I'm not sure what they bred this year, but they only had 3 foals last year. Before that, in addition to some very pricey babies, they had several foals from top bloodlines that just weren't quite top-of-the-line show quality, that they were offering at $500, just to get them out of there so they could make room for the next year's crop.

Latte is about 15 hands, Palomino, goes both English and Western, does trails, had been used as a lesson pony and had won ribbons at shows in both English Pleasure and Hunter/jumper classes. She was supposed to be a registered QH, but her former owner never gave me the papers (if they even exist). At the time I bought her, she was about 7 years old, and the only thing "wrong" with her was that she hadn't been ridden in almost a year There was some question about her soundness, but the issue had been resolved months before, and she just hadn't been put back into use so they weren't 100% sure that she had fully recovered. At the time I bought her, she had been for sale for several months, and the owner was considering reducing the price. Sunny had known lameness issues, the owner knew they hadn't much hope of selling her, and they had planned to donate her to a charity auction (which most likely would have put her in the hands of a kill buyer). When I made noises about buying Latte and suggested throwing Sunny in as part of the deal, nearly everybody at the barn did a happy dance.  For the few horses that sell for thousands, there are a whole lot more than go for mere hundreds, or get given away just so the owner no longer has to feed them.

I have to feel a little sorry for horse breeders. It's not exactly the most profitable business anymore, if it even really was very profitable. There are so many horses in kill pens and usually top dollar horses will end up there too because breeders can't afford them anymore.

Just read an article about a Pennsylvania farm that had a bunch of foals die after water contamination. I bet that put a big hole in that farm's wallet.

 

[abigalerose]

I know good horses can be found cheap sometimes, I've came across some pretty good deals, but I hear you on the ISO ads, there's tons of them around here JUST like that one. And lots of people looking for a "good broke trail horse" and they put in there ad that they have $500 to spend. These people hardly ever get responses to their ads. What worries me is if they have a max budget of $500 to buy a horse, what are they going to do if they have an emergency vet bill or something?
I had a really nice gelding that I have $2400 for and ended up selling for $2000, but before he was sold someone offered me $900 for him (I had him listed for $2400) and I was like no sorry I can't do that. And he got all huffy and was like "well fine he's not the horse for me anyways and he's not worth what you're asking." Like okkay. I gave $600 for June and she had 0 training, I always expect to pay a lot more for an already trained horse, and just keep my eye out for the occasional good deal.
And speaking of kill pen horses, the rescue I got Phoenix from brought in a 17h OTTB (I think I already mentioned that) and when he was a racehorse he was sold for $40,000. They got him out of the kill pen for $700 and severely ubder weight. It's just crazy to me. And I feel so bad for the poor horse

 

[ChickenLover200]

I know good horses can be found cheap sometimes, I've came across some pretty good deals, but I hear you on the ISO ads, there's tons of them around here JUST like that one. And lots of people looking for a "good broke trail horse" and they put in there ad that they have $500 to spend. These people hardly ever get responses to their ads. What worries me is if they have a max budget of $500 to buy a horse, what are they going to do if they have an emergency vet bill or something?
I had a really nice gelding that I have $2400 for and ended up selling for $2000, but before he was sold someone offered me $900 for him (I had him listed for $2400) and I was like no sorry I can't do that. And he got all huffy and was like "well fine he's not the horse for me anyways and he's not worth what you're asking." Like okkay. I gave $600 for June and she had 0 training, I always expect to pay a lot more for an already trained horse, and just keep my eye out for the occasional good deal.
And speaking of kill pen horses, the rescue I got Phoenix from brought in a 17h OTTB (I think I already mentioned that) and when he was a racehorse he was sold for $40,000. They got him out of the kill pen for $700 and severely ubder weight. It's just crazy to me. And I feel so bad for the poor horse

Ive hear of lots of TBs heading to slaughter because they don't amount to anything at the race track. It's sad...

 

[abigalerose]

I know. I think his earnings were $47,000. So I guess since they didn't make anything they decided to ship him off. Why not just take the time to find him a nice happy retirement home? I can't stand that once the horse isn't useful then they just try to dispose of them. They said that this thoroughbred wanted out of the kill pen so bad he followed the Mustangs they were picking up down to the trailer and was trying desperately to get on. So they raised the money and went back and got him. And he's just soo skinny. I'd go adopt him in a heartbeat if I could own another

 

[Bunnylady]

Let's try not to get overly romantic about this; it's only natural that he wanted to go with them. That was his "herd," any horse with any sense doesn't want to get left behind. You should hear my "bigs" sound off any time I take one of the minis out of their sight, and they don't even live in the same paddock. Any time someone brought a horse trailer into the parking lot at the barn where I worked, the horses that lived there would cluster near the fence, calling - they knew what that thing was, whether there were any horses in it or not. You would have thought that taking a couple of horses to a show was the most terrible thing in the world, to hear the fuss the other horses made while they were being loaded.

One time, I was out walking Betsy in the neighborhood when my husband left the house in his truck, towing his equipment trailer. The trailer has board sides, and in that respect slightly resembles a stock trailer. When Betsy saw the trailer, she began raising a ruckus, and I had to let her walk all around the trailer and smell it to see that there weren't any horses (known or unknown) in it.

 

[abigalerose]

Well I don't think it was the horses so much as the trailer, becuase I don't think he was in with just those horses. But from what she said he was pretty worked up over it, more so than most horses are when she picks up. He was probably scared being in an unfamiliar place, and being a racehorse I'm betting he thought a trailer was a familiar place

 

[Bunnylady]

Sad, but true, the racing industry produces relatively few stars and a whole lot of "also rans." A lot never show any real promise on the track, a lot get sidelined due to injuries; it's an industry driven by money and those that don't make money are cast aside. There are a number of rescues that were created particularly to try to home OTTB's, but many still fall through the cracks. I have known several OTTB's; most were wonderful (if a little quirky); some had been rescued, at least one had been rescued from a "rescue."