My

[Funky Feathers]

X10!!!

I sooooo want one! They are amazingly gorgeous!!

Did I mention

? Just the thought of one makes my head spin (in a good way)

 

[jettgirl24]

Your daughter should have no issue competing with a vanner. I know nothing of the breed's temperament for a child but from what I've seen talent wise I'm sure one would be fine for lower level competition. I don't know what discipline your daughter rides but it's probably safe to say that they are unlikely to advance to upper levels in most disciplines, which is likely fine if she's young or not super focused on the competitive aspects of riding. Do beware, they are a fad breed right now and as such they are way, and I mean WAAAAAY overpriced for what they can do athletically. You will end up dealing with a lot backyard breeders and total nutjobs. trying to sell c**p horses if you're not careful. If you see butterflies plastered all over a breeders website run far, far away. LOL

To get a sense of how much people *should* spend on one of these horses search some of the sales sites in the UK. Over there they are just called ponies, cobs, gypsy horses or gypsy cobs. You can pick a decent one up for well under £2000 (about $3200). For example: http://www.dragondriving.co.uk/horsesunder2000.php. The $15,000 people are asking for untrained babies is INSANE, please don't let yourself get ripped off. For that price you could purchase a drop dead gorgeous, impeccably trained show pony that will teach your daughter everything she ever wanted to know and drown her in blue ribbons.

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

Quote:
Wow, I wish I seen horses that looked as nice as some of those for those types of prices around here. I never seen anything that comes even close to that.

 

[cassie]

I have known of people that showed athletic Percherons in dressage and done very well. I have never heard of a riding class that cared what breed the horse was, just how well it performed.

 

[jettgirl24]

Wow, I wish I seen horses that looked as nice as some of those for those types of prices around here. I never seen anything that comes even close to that.

Precisely my point... Because they've become such a fad breed in America prices are outrageous and are way more than what the horse would be worth in a reasonable market. Once the fad passes a lot of people will find themselves with horses that are worth a tiny fraction of what they paid. Its the problem with buying a breed like this at the height of the fad. If you have the means, feel it's worth it, and understand that you may not get anything near what you paid when you turn around to sell the horse then you should go for it. If you're stretching yourself financially to afford the horse and/or you're worried about what it will be worth when you want to sell in the future it's probably a bad investment. In reality that is how we should think about any horse purchase since we never know what the future will bring, but even more so when you're purchasing something that you know is priced well over what the horse will be worth when the market normalizes and the novelty wears off.​

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
x2

She can ride just about anything (I think even mules and zebras qualify) in a fair show provided she is wearing correct clothing and tack for the class. Locally, there is a lot of prejudice against Saddlebreds and Arabs, but mainly they look like they are "rushing" next to the slower, more common, stock breeds.

I personally would not spend the money on a Vanner. I paid $600 for my DD's Welsh Pony and she has worked out quite well for local shows and short endurance rides.

The Vanner trend has been going strong for about 10 years now, but again, the price you pay for a Vanner you can buy 4-5 other well-trained horses for that. A friend of mine has her heart set on an Andalusian. She almost bought a 2 yr old stud colt (she planned on gelding him) for $14,000 but he didn't pass the vet check--had juvenile arthritis. She said something about trail riding on him which my thought was "You're going to pay 14 grand on a horse to trail ride?!"

And the friend is probably just jealous. Though I would never spend the money on a Vanner, I will admit that they are GORGEOUS!!

and would love to try riding one. And if someone had one that they wanted to *give* away to a good home ...

 

[lockedhearts]

A good judge will judge each breed at how it should perform. I am President of our local saddle club, we have all breeds come and show with us, judges judge on the breed, does not matter what they are. Let her show and Good Luck to her.

 

[al6517]

Cool looking horses, I like the look, I can see the old knights of England crusading on them.

 

[FlaRocky]

Hello, Are there any GV breeders in your area? I would go visit tons of bigger farms and check them out. Ask lots of questions on the care and upkeep of Vanners. All the white and ALL the mane and tail hair, not to mention the feathers are tons of work. I also know about fad breeds(had before fad). The Rocky Mountain Horse at one time sold for $10,000+ in utero with No color choice ,I know it is next to impossible to keep my cream base coat horses clean. I also have horses with flaxen mane and tail. (Very hard to keep clean)

If this is the horse she has her heart set on, please visit many breeders and ask for multiple references. Don't buy the first one you see or ride. I always tell people you cannot ride color, let your seat tell you which one is right for you. If you get one try driving it is fantastic and you can share the experience with someone you love.

BTW I ride drive, show saddleseat, trailride, horsecamp, move cows, western, ACTHA, and will try just about anything with my Rockys. Oh' also breed demos and parades.

Please pm and will share some info with you. Have some GV breeders close by and the prices are going down like crazy. Have seen some sell for $2000. down here. Was close to a dozen breeders within 250 miles. Some have gone under, the horses went dirt cheap.

Maye

 

[SourRoses]

That friend is full of it. Probably doesen't want her daughter to be shown up.

I plan on getting a gypsy one day... one day.... but in the meantime, everything I have read on them and the people I have spoken to... they aren't just about hair. The gypsies have an amazing temperament and amazing strength. I wouldn't doubt they could do a LOT of things with the appropriate training.

If thats what your daughter has her heart set on and you find you can afford it, I wouldn't hesitate a moment to get one. Just make sure the particular one is a good fit for your daughter

It's just the nature of show horse people... and show dog people too I suppose... to look down on anything they think has some "advantage" or something they don't have. No matter what breed you get, what kind of show, or where it is, you are going to encounter this. Oh.. you have a black horse.. mines not black. Oh... your horse has more training, so I must be a better rider... on and on and on

For instance, when I was a girl and showing my Paso Fino mare... She was such a talented mare, but a pinto (beautiful buckskin pinto)... and there was a hefty portion of Paso people that despised horses with pinto coloring. We won many blue and red ribbons... then some shows, friendly fellow pinto lovers would come up and warn me about this judge or that judge and their bias.. and sure enough some bay horse would place above us on those days

But it didn't matter much to me... showing should be about FUN.. especially for kids. Theres alot they can learn without winning that is more than worth the time and investment. When I took my pinto mare to the National Paso Fino Show... in the youth class.. I'd shown enough by then that I was just out there to have fun... I was so relaxed and happy, we had the best class we ever had, Fantasia did so great... and out of 32 horses in the class, we placed 3rd

I was so unbelieveably happy with that!!!!