This morning I was browsing through a few websites that offered horses for sale, and some of the prices were astounding, both in good ways and in bad. So I thought up a little game. I have selected three horses. They are all in the same age range, same gender, and same breed. It is YOUR job to price them highest to lowest in the comments (which are working again, so if they were giving you trouble before, try now!) based on what you think each horse is worth. I have copied and pasted the ads exactly as they are written. Good luck!
Horse #1: Four year old AQHA 15.2H gelding. Vegas is a very nice 4 yr.old AQHA reg.Buckskin gelding. he has had aprox. 90 days with me in training. He is a very sweet easy to get along with gelding. He has done more in 90 days than most do in a lifetime. From cow work,trail riding to the Grand entry at our local rodeo. He has been trail ridden a lot. He is very safe and solid on the trail whether going out alone or with others. Located in Pennsylvania. 
Horse #2: Five year old AQHA 14.2H gelding. This gelding has great conformation, straight legs with good feet,a very nice head, good ears and very soft eyes, a very handsome fella. He is very well broke and trail wise, alone or in a group and very easy to handle. He rides with a simple snaffle bit. He can go weeks between rides and be just as calm and gentle as the last ride. A good horse for a confident rider. This picture was taken on a trail ride, straight from the pasture, not much grooming done here, can do better pics if interested. Located in Kentucky. 
Horse #3: Four year old AQHA 15.1H gelding. Beautiful, stout, grey, 4 year old gelding. Shown at the NSHA Snaffle Bit Futurity in Paso Robles, in the Amatuer Class as a 3 year old and as a Open Reiner this year. He is a pleaser with a huge heart. He will do anything you ask him too. He enjoys his job and looks good doing it! He has also been used as a ranch horse branding calves and as a turn back. Anyone can ride this big guy. Located in CA.
Well horse # is screaming obnoxious owner. You know, the type that thinks their horse is worth a million bucks. So even though I don't think anyone in their right mind would pay over 2500 for it I'd bet they put it upfor at least 7000. As for #2, they seem a little more down to earth. So I'd guess around 2-3000. And #3 is hard to tell. I'll just throw an offer out for like 4,000.
ReplyDelete#3, #1, #2 (in large part because I think color plays an important role in pricing!). I personally find horse #3 most appealing as far as confirmation and the "pleaser" "huge heart" personality, which I think is more important than any bloodline.
ReplyDeleteCorinna
Both of you are correct! :)
ReplyDelete#3 horse is priced at $10,500.
#1 horse is priced at $7,500.
#2 horse is priced at $1,100.
I personally think they are all overpriced with the exception of horse number two, although 'a good horse for a confidant' rider sent up a red flag for me... still, he's young, and may just need a year or two to settle down into a really nice bomb proof trail horse.
I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that horse number one has been trained in natural horsemanship. Enough said there.
Horse number three seems like he has the most training of the lot in addition to having the show records to back it up, although they failed to mention how he PLACED in his snaffle bit futurity. He's a sturdy guy, but I there is no way in heck I would ever pay $10k+ for him when good solid ranch horses are a dime a dozen out west.
Thanks for playing!
thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteand as far as the price for #3- location in California has a LOT to do with that high price tag! It is amazing how even within California the geographical pricing differences are astounding, for example, buying a horse on the Peninsula vs. a horse in the Central Valley. I'll probably start horse hunting again in about 6-12 months, and I will deliberately look for the big warmblood that is not in an expensive zip code.
You're right, prices really DO fluctuate... maybe that will be my next contest, because this one was kind of easy... I'll list three similar horses + their prices and you have to guess what horse is from where.
ReplyDelete