As far as marketing him for showmanship and maybe a kid's horse (which is a lot different-sounding than when this thread began...), I don't think you will find many people who will buy a PURELY showmanship horse that is not also rideable, I don't think you will find a lot of people buying low-mileage babies with a big knee and pathological early-in-life swayback for showmanship, and it is going to be hard to produce this horse as a well-schooled kid's horse if you yourself cannot (should not) ride him.
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Hear, hear. You can't expect to resell a quick cheap project for a *lot* more than you paid, and if people are having trouble selling horses at all in that price range, it is not auspicious for YOUR prospects.
The only exception I could see is IF (and it is a REAL BIG if and probably does not apply in this situation) you could obtain a totally-free totally-sound-and-sane horse and had somewhere basically-free to keep it (e.g. keeping it at home on good pasture, so that your only bills would be farrier, vet and winter hay). There is still significant risk in that, though, especially in today's market.
The thing about so to speak "flipping" horses is that it is calculated financial investment, not horseowning hobby. And you should never invest more than you can afford to gracefully lose. You know? Cuz, sometimes you will lose it. And with horses, unlike most investments, it is real easy (unless you are stone-cold practical and will euthanize or auction a horse who has overstayed his welcome by even a week or has a fixable-but-time-wasting injury) to lose MORE than what you originally put into the investment.
You know what you need, if you want a fun project. You need someone who wants their horse tuned up for free. Either tuned up for them or for eventual resale. You get a horse to play with for free (or if your negotiating skills are not as good, or you *really* want to work with a particular horse, maybe just for cheap
) with no ongoing commitment and no big money-pit potential. True, you would not expect to *profit* from it but you know you were not going to profit meaningfully from this horse anyhow.
I've worked with a buncha horses over the years on that general sort of basis, and as long as you and the owner are on the same general wavelength about things it can be quite a good arrangement. And CERTAINLY makes more financial sense than BUYING a horse
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Quote:
Hear, hear. You can't expect to resell a quick cheap project for a *lot* more than you paid, and if people are having trouble selling horses at all in that price range, it is not auspicious for YOUR prospects.
The only exception I could see is IF (and it is a REAL BIG if and probably does not apply in this situation) you could obtain a totally-free totally-sound-and-sane horse and had somewhere basically-free to keep it (e.g. keeping it at home on good pasture, so that your only bills would be farrier, vet and winter hay). There is still significant risk in that, though, especially in today's market.
The thing about so to speak "flipping" horses is that it is calculated financial investment, not horseowning hobby. And you should never invest more than you can afford to gracefully lose. You know? Cuz, sometimes you will lose it. And with horses, unlike most investments, it is real easy (unless you are stone-cold practical and will euthanize or auction a horse who has overstayed his welcome by even a week or has a fixable-but-time-wasting injury) to lose MORE than what you originally put into the investment.
You know what you need, if you want a fun project. You need someone who wants their horse tuned up for free. Either tuned up for them or for eventual resale. You get a horse to play with for free (or if your negotiating skills are not as good, or you *really* want to work with a particular horse, maybe just for cheap
I've worked with a buncha horses over the years on that general sort of basis, and as long as you and the owner are on the same general wavelength about things it can be quite a good arrangement. And CERTAINLY makes more financial sense than BUYING a horse
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
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