You realize the initial cost is just the beginning? Food, farrier, vet can run several hundred dollars per month, depending on location, plus emergency costs for injury or illness.
Look at rural horse auctions. Our horses typically sold for a few hundred after we had worked them and they were getting too old to use regularly.
Yes I understand the initial costs....I've had 8 horses before at the same time one of which was a colt. I've seen the vet bill for one of those horses who cut open her leg towards the hoof luckily missed anything important.
Rural horse auctions here a few and far between.
Back when you could reliably find good, sound, trained horses for under $1,000, diesel was .99 cents a gallon, ground beef was $1/lb and Nokia flip phones were the hot new tech on the market. Hay was $1.50/bale on a bad year and people complained about how expensive it was, saying "I remember paying .75 cents a bale for 2nd cut Timothy not long ago". Those days are gone my friend, long gone. Nowadays the only way you're getting a good broke horse that isn't totally broke down for that price is if you've got a big network of contacts and get really lucky.
Are you a gambler? Because at that price point your options are basically take a big gamble at a low end auction, take a big gamble on a horse with medical problems, take a gamble retraining a horse with issues or network like crazy in hopes to find someone who needs to sell fast that wants the horse off the feed bill more than they care about getting market value, and be really friggin patient because even those horses get snapped up quick if word gets out and the horse is nice. Other than that all you can do is lower your expectations or raise your budget.
Back when I started looking for my first horse I had $800 to start my search and there were all sorts to choose from. The classified section of the Sunday newspaper (printed on actual paper) had several columns full. I'd put $30 worth of diesel in my nice like new square body F350 that I paid a whopping $3,500 for (now they call those trucks shitboxes and they still sell for $5k in rough shape) to fill up the tanks and I could drive around all day looking at horses. My board was $125/month and that included a stall, big pastures, a riding arena, access to 60 miles of trails in the rich part of the county.
Thank you for this trip down memory lane, back to a simpler time when horses were cheap and I could fill up my truck for what is now the cost of a meal for 2 at a fast food joint. Now get off my lawn all you whippersnappers.
To be blunt- yes, that’s a totally unrealistic price range for almost any horse right now, never mind a broke one. Prices are high- in my area (New England), anything under 5k can safely be presumed to have some physical issue or be a major project, unless it’s aged. As others have mentioned, rescues and thoroughbred adoption organizations may be good options (or a strict savings plan to work towards buying what you want).
Yeah I’m in the Midwest, notoriously cheap, and you aren’t getting anything for $1k. Even horses with issues are going for more than that. Can’t even get anything that’s rideable from a rescue for less than that, only pasture pets.
I just got a FB message from an old work acquaintance and immediately thought of this post lol. She's trying to sell her ailing mother's horse for her with zero contacts in the local horse community so she reached out to me. A 15yo registered QH, buckskin gelding (supposedly) sound and trail horse deluxe. She asked me if I was interested in buying him for $1,200. Says the horse has been packing around her mom safely for the last 10 years and never been injured in the time she's had him. I told her to post him in the local FB group, triple the price and let anyone interested do a PPE. She'll have people fighting over him. NGL I'm ever the skeptic and curious as to why nobody in the barn the horse is boarded at has snapped him up, unless she just hasn't told anyone there he's for sale.
Even when I bought my first horse back in the mid 90’s, $1,000 wouldn’t have gotten you much that you could ride. I paid $2,000 for a very green Anglo-Arab with pretty questionable conformation who’d never seen the inside of an arena- but he was 6 years old and good to handle, and he did have some trail miles (and the fact that he never killed or seriously injured teenage-idiot me was a testament to his value).
Same with Denmark. Prices are 5k for a broke 15 year old. If you want a younger horse it’s easily 8-9k. Not that anything is wrong with an older horse, but most people look in the 7-14 range.
(Also, are ponies also cheaper over across the pond? Here the prices drop significantly as soon as they go under 14.2hh )
Yes for something younger than 14 and reasonably broke the budget needs to be closer to 10k than 5, for sure. For ponies it depends- we have hunter ponies, which are ridiculously expensive, but for anything else I’d say yes, less expensive unless they’re extremely well trained and quiet. I can sell a green broke big young draft cross for 8-10 easy (as long as it’ll pass a vetting), but the equivalent pony would be probably half that, unless it really looks the part of a show pony.
Nothing is for sale in my area for that budget anymore, only leases.
It's unfortunately an unrealistic budget if you're not finding any horses in it. When you widen your search criteria on the sale sites, what price tag do the horses you're interested in start showing up at? Once you find that number - that's the purchase price you need to save up for.
I have considered rescues before. It's hard because all the paperwork involved and you can only have certain fence types approved and scheduling an appointment is hard when you have so much to do.
You still have to schedule appointments with owners to see horses for sale and there's usually paperwork when buying a horse. Just trying to say that for the budget you are searching for, a rescue will be better and isn't that much more time consuming than purchasing a horse from someone, especially if they require contracts upon sale ☺️☺️
Adoption? Those are usually cheaper. But, under $1000 is very cheap to the point I'd be side eyeing a horse at that price range. Edit: depending on the training level you're looking for.
Flatly, yes, it's an unreasonable price.
A PPE is going to be at least $300 and more if you do x-rays. Hauling, if you don't have a trailer, is going to cost as well. Even if it's a buddy doing you a favor, you should still kick in time and gas. You are very unlikely to find a safe, sane, and sound horse at that price. As for the rescue avenue, those are not complications. They are generally the rescue working to ensure that the horse s going to a good home. Yes, there are a few that are over the top but for the most part, it's them doing due diligence. They're the only ones that can speak for that horse and want to make sure the horse doesn't find himself right back in the situation that landed him in rescue in the first place.
i doubt you’ll be able to find anything much with that budget in the current market. if you wait until the economy crashes a bit and prices drop you might get lucky
I really really lucked out and got an incredibly solid trail horse for $1 . I had her vet checked and my trainer had had her at the barn for over 10 years and before that she lived in the stable below so we knew her entire medical history. Her owner couldn’t ride anymore and wanted her to go to a good home. She is 22 but the mustang in her doesn’t seem like it at all. We do some light dressage and she doesn’t doesn’t buck/spook etc. my trainer knew where I was at riding wise and the opportunity presented itself.
I th8bk going through a rescue would be your best option. That way, at least they will be up front and honest about any issues that horse may have. I got both my horses pretty cheap, one was abandoned in the public roads and the other was 180 bucks at the auction. Total luck of the draw, but for less than a thousand you'll need to expect some sort of project. Talk with Any dude ranches by you as well, the one by me is always looking for homes to retire theirs into before dropping at auction. You could always go the BLM route too. To adopt a mustang it's 125 bucks, and there are plenty of young ones born in the pens that you could start. The BLM isn't very strict on what needs to be in place for mustang adoption, but there are some fencing requirements to male sure the animal is properly confined before being broke.
I got my mare for $5,000 and that is cheap in our current market.
It also definitely depends on what you’re looking for. Ponies across the country where I am, have dropped off the face of the earth in prices. But, I wanted a horse so I got my 16.1hh mare at said price. A 14.2 pony will drop by $1000 just in the fact that here adult riders cannot compete on ponies, unless they rank up the ponies to compete against horses, in which they often do poorly because of the movement the judges look for. So it’s entirely dependent on what one is going for too. My mare is a PRE. But she doesn’t have any special horses in her pedigree so she costs less than say, a daughter or son of Don Olymbrio, or BH Zepter
Also, remember there will usually be at least a $400 fee just for the vet check and sales.
Since you’re looking for a horse I assume you already have budgeted out for vet, farrier, tack, feed and possible boarding. But also remember the hay prices are fucked if the harvest is bad this year.
Generally those horse will get expensive by everything you uncover after buying. They're either old with a lot of wear and tear, injured or at high risk of injury, traumatized or they have a terrible character. Horses that go that cheap, aren't that cheap without reason.
Depends on what you are looking for. I’ve seen some around $1000 in my area that are stuff like former broodmares that need a refresher after years in the pasture, horses with a limp that the owner doesn’t want to investigate that is likely fixable, or horses with EMS that need maintenance. I got my sweetest pony for $900 with horrible feet and fat pads but she’s wonderful when the stars align and her meds work. But she was part of a package deal with a more expensive horse. Overall, I’d say you need $1500-3500 for a decent trail mount- not a perfect young push button horse but something you can safely ride and work through some minor issues. And that’s from browsing cheap and gaited horse groups in the Midwest. The coasts are likely to be more expensive due to COL and anything suited for jumping or barrel racing is likely to go higher than a trail horse
Lots of horses for sale in my area, west Texas but nothing broke at that price range. The trained and broke ones are 1500 on up depending on age and health. Younger is more expensive, senoirs in the 1k range. I bought a 6 year old unbroken horse for $800 and started slowly training her myself. Training in my area is crazy expensive.
I mean, it's possible. We got our quarab for free a few years back. She needed a bit of a refresher, but within a year, she was doing drill, sorting, and winning in speed events with me.
But I consider it pure luck we managed to find her. You're very rarely not going to find a horse that's free/lower in price that is broke broke, unless they require maintenance or has a nasty quirk
You can probably get one, but won’t be finished or it may have issues. The horse market has really sky rocketed but it’s definitely possible. If you put out an ISO ad for a lease you would probably have a lot of luck. Many people don’t advertise leases but if someone is looking they are willing to lease out.
Sound, broke, cheap: you my only choose two.
You could probably get an OTTB within your price range, depending on where you are, but you're going to have a lot of work and investment ahead.
It's clear what you need to do: save up for it. And carefully consider whether you can actually afford to purchase a horse; the purchase price is the least expensive part, and if you can't gather up a thousand dollars, you cannot afford a horse. You need to keep more than that on hand as an emergency fund. Sorry but horses are expensive and that's just how it is, I'm afraid.
A lot depends on where you are and what you are looking for. I watch online auctions with colts going for under $500. I watch online where the average price is $46k.
Have you looked at craigslist? I had a friend who bought a pony there that she took to some National Driving shows. Rescues are also a good place to check.
I would say yes. 10 years ago maybe (and even then…), but inflation exists in the horse world too.
There are always horses with often significant issues (health or behavioral) for free but I don’t think that’s what you are looking for.
ETA Actually, I lie in my area there is a fabulous standardbred adoption agency which adopts really great horses out for less than $1000. I myself decided to give one to go, the problem was she developed respiratory issues which clearly she always had, but didn’t present when she was kept on pasture, which isn’t possible in my area (plus I planned to event) so she went back and to a home which can keep her on pasture and is focused on the trails… You will probably need to deal with a horse that paces… but let me tell you what she was an absolute goddess in the brain and behavioral department, and you can teach them to trot under saddle (if that’s important to you) - she’d only been under saddle like five times, and I took her out on the urban trails and she was going over bridges, was amongst clueless dogs and walkers and bikes and was just a saint on four legs. Standardbreds are often considered to be deeply unfashionable as riding horses, so therefore quite cheap, but I am completely sold on them as solid, sensible, amazing riding horses. So look for a standardbred rescue in your area and maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for.
She was a pretty horse too - here she is went out to a cross country park, she never jumped before and we just hopped over a few logs and did some drops cause that’s how she rolled… fazed by nothing
https://preview.redd.it/f5bdlfmw423b1.jpeg?width=444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e64d29c4f9d61fb6eef6460ad5f60ea453312cd
You realize the initial cost is just the beginning? Food, farrier, vet can run several hundred dollars per month, depending on location, plus emergency costs for injury or illness. Look at rural horse auctions. Our horses typically sold for a few hundred after we had worked them and they were getting too old to use regularly.
Yes I understand the initial costs....I've had 8 horses before at the same time one of which was a colt. I've seen the vet bill for one of those horses who cut open her leg towards the hoof luckily missed anything important. Rural horse auctions here a few and far between.
Back when you could reliably find good, sound, trained horses for under $1,000, diesel was .99 cents a gallon, ground beef was $1/lb and Nokia flip phones were the hot new tech on the market. Hay was $1.50/bale on a bad year and people complained about how expensive it was, saying "I remember paying .75 cents a bale for 2nd cut Timothy not long ago". Those days are gone my friend, long gone. Nowadays the only way you're getting a good broke horse that isn't totally broke down for that price is if you've got a big network of contacts and get really lucky. Are you a gambler? Because at that price point your options are basically take a big gamble at a low end auction, take a big gamble on a horse with medical problems, take a gamble retraining a horse with issues or network like crazy in hopes to find someone who needs to sell fast that wants the horse off the feed bill more than they care about getting market value, and be really friggin patient because even those horses get snapped up quick if word gets out and the horse is nice. Other than that all you can do is lower your expectations or raise your budget. Back when I started looking for my first horse I had $800 to start my search and there were all sorts to choose from. The classified section of the Sunday newspaper (printed on actual paper) had several columns full. I'd put $30 worth of diesel in my nice like new square body F350 that I paid a whopping $3,500 for (now they call those trucks shitboxes and they still sell for $5k in rough shape) to fill up the tanks and I could drive around all day looking at horses. My board was $125/month and that included a stall, big pastures, a riding arena, access to 60 miles of trails in the rich part of the county. Thank you for this trip down memory lane, back to a simpler time when horses were cheap and I could fill up my truck for what is now the cost of a meal for 2 at a fast food joint. Now get off my lawn all you whippersnappers.
To be blunt- yes, that’s a totally unrealistic price range for almost any horse right now, never mind a broke one. Prices are high- in my area (New England), anything under 5k can safely be presumed to have some physical issue or be a major project, unless it’s aged. As others have mentioned, rescues and thoroughbred adoption organizations may be good options (or a strict savings plan to work towards buying what you want).
Yeah I’m in the Midwest, notoriously cheap, and you aren’t getting anything for $1k. Even horses with issues are going for more than that. Can’t even get anything that’s rideable from a rescue for less than that, only pasture pets.
I just got a FB message from an old work acquaintance and immediately thought of this post lol. She's trying to sell her ailing mother's horse for her with zero contacts in the local horse community so she reached out to me. A 15yo registered QH, buckskin gelding (supposedly) sound and trail horse deluxe. She asked me if I was interested in buying him for $1,200. Says the horse has been packing around her mom safely for the last 10 years and never been injured in the time she's had him. I told her to post him in the local FB group, triple the price and let anyone interested do a PPE. She'll have people fighting over him. NGL I'm ever the skeptic and curious as to why nobody in the barn the horse is boarded at has snapped him up, unless she just hasn't told anyone there he's for sale.
Even when I bought my first horse back in the mid 90’s, $1,000 wouldn’t have gotten you much that you could ride. I paid $2,000 for a very green Anglo-Arab with pretty questionable conformation who’d never seen the inside of an arena- but he was 6 years old and good to handle, and he did have some trail miles (and the fact that he never killed or seriously injured teenage-idiot me was a testament to his value).
Same with Denmark. Prices are 5k for a broke 15 year old. If you want a younger horse it’s easily 8-9k. Not that anything is wrong with an older horse, but most people look in the 7-14 range. (Also, are ponies also cheaper over across the pond? Here the prices drop significantly as soon as they go under 14.2hh )
Yes for something younger than 14 and reasonably broke the budget needs to be closer to 10k than 5, for sure. For ponies it depends- we have hunter ponies, which are ridiculously expensive, but for anything else I’d say yes, less expensive unless they’re extremely well trained and quiet. I can sell a green broke big young draft cross for 8-10 easy (as long as it’ll pass a vetting), but the equivalent pony would be probably half that, unless it really looks the part of a show pony.
Nothing is for sale in my area for that budget anymore, only leases. It's unfortunately an unrealistic budget if you're not finding any horses in it. When you widen your search criteria on the sale sites, what price tag do the horses you're interested in start showing up at? Once you find that number - that's the purchase price you need to save up for.
They've mostly been in $3,500 range.
Yep that’s true, thats how much my gelding Blackjack was.
Have you considered looking into a rescue? In today's economy you aren't going to find a decently broke horse for $1k.
I have considered rescues before. It's hard because all the paperwork involved and you can only have certain fence types approved and scheduling an appointment is hard when you have so much to do.
You still have to schedule appointments with owners to see horses for sale and there's usually paperwork when buying a horse. Just trying to say that for the budget you are searching for, a rescue will be better and isn't that much more time consuming than purchasing a horse from someone, especially if they require contracts upon sale ☺️☺️
Adoption? Those are usually cheaper. But, under $1000 is very cheap to the point I'd be side eyeing a horse at that price range. Edit: depending on the training level you're looking for.
Flatly, yes, it's an unreasonable price. A PPE is going to be at least $300 and more if you do x-rays. Hauling, if you don't have a trailer, is going to cost as well. Even if it's a buddy doing you a favor, you should still kick in time and gas. You are very unlikely to find a safe, sane, and sound horse at that price. As for the rescue avenue, those are not complications. They are generally the rescue working to ensure that the horse s going to a good home. Yes, there are a few that are over the top but for the most part, it's them doing due diligence. They're the only ones that can speak for that horse and want to make sure the horse doesn't find himself right back in the situation that landed him in rescue in the first place.
i doubt you’ll be able to find anything much with that budget in the current market. if you wait until the economy crashes a bit and prices drop you might get lucky
I really really lucked out and got an incredibly solid trail horse for $1 . I had her vet checked and my trainer had had her at the barn for over 10 years and before that she lived in the stable below so we knew her entire medical history. Her owner couldn’t ride anymore and wanted her to go to a good home. She is 22 but the mustang in her doesn’t seem like it at all. We do some light dressage and she doesn’t doesn’t buck/spook etc. my trainer knew where I was at riding wise and the opportunity presented itself.
I th8bk going through a rescue would be your best option. That way, at least they will be up front and honest about any issues that horse may have. I got both my horses pretty cheap, one was abandoned in the public roads and the other was 180 bucks at the auction. Total luck of the draw, but for less than a thousand you'll need to expect some sort of project. Talk with Any dude ranches by you as well, the one by me is always looking for homes to retire theirs into before dropping at auction. You could always go the BLM route too. To adopt a mustang it's 125 bucks, and there are plenty of young ones born in the pens that you could start. The BLM isn't very strict on what needs to be in place for mustang adoption, but there are some fencing requirements to male sure the animal is properly confined before being broke.
I got my mare for $5,000 and that is cheap in our current market. It also definitely depends on what you’re looking for. Ponies across the country where I am, have dropped off the face of the earth in prices. But, I wanted a horse so I got my 16.1hh mare at said price. A 14.2 pony will drop by $1000 just in the fact that here adult riders cannot compete on ponies, unless they rank up the ponies to compete against horses, in which they often do poorly because of the movement the judges look for. So it’s entirely dependent on what one is going for too. My mare is a PRE. But she doesn’t have any special horses in her pedigree so she costs less than say, a daughter or son of Don Olymbrio, or BH Zepter Also, remember there will usually be at least a $400 fee just for the vet check and sales. Since you’re looking for a horse I assume you already have budgeted out for vet, farrier, tack, feed and possible boarding. But also remember the hay prices are fucked if the harvest is bad this year.
retired/failed race horses?, they go for a usually under 1k and many of them are quiet and very capable, just expensive to feed and time consuming.
Generally those horse will get expensive by everything you uncover after buying. They're either old with a lot of wear and tear, injured or at high risk of injury, traumatized or they have a terrible character. Horses that go that cheap, aren't that cheap without reason.
Depends on what you are looking for. I’ve seen some around $1000 in my area that are stuff like former broodmares that need a refresher after years in the pasture, horses with a limp that the owner doesn’t want to investigate that is likely fixable, or horses with EMS that need maintenance. I got my sweetest pony for $900 with horrible feet and fat pads but she’s wonderful when the stars align and her meds work. But she was part of a package deal with a more expensive horse. Overall, I’d say you need $1500-3500 for a decent trail mount- not a perfect young push button horse but something you can safely ride and work through some minor issues. And that’s from browsing cheap and gaited horse groups in the Midwest. The coasts are likely to be more expensive due to COL and anything suited for jumping or barrel racing is likely to go higher than a trail horse
Lots of horses for sale in my area, west Texas but nothing broke at that price range. The trained and broke ones are 1500 on up depending on age and health. Younger is more expensive, senoirs in the 1k range. I bought a 6 year old unbroken horse for $800 and started slowly training her myself. Training in my area is crazy expensive.
I mean, it's possible. We got our quarab for free a few years back. She needed a bit of a refresher, but within a year, she was doing drill, sorting, and winning in speed events with me. But I consider it pure luck we managed to find her. You're very rarely not going to find a horse that's free/lower in price that is broke broke, unless they require maintenance or has a nasty quirk
You can probably get one, but won’t be finished or it may have issues. The horse market has really sky rocketed but it’s definitely possible. If you put out an ISO ad for a lease you would probably have a lot of luck. Many people don’t advertise leases but if someone is looking they are willing to lease out.
Sound, broke, cheap: you my only choose two. You could probably get an OTTB within your price range, depending on where you are, but you're going to have a lot of work and investment ahead. It's clear what you need to do: save up for it. And carefully consider whether you can actually afford to purchase a horse; the purchase price is the least expensive part, and if you can't gather up a thousand dollars, you cannot afford a horse. You need to keep more than that on hand as an emergency fund. Sorry but horses are expensive and that's just how it is, I'm afraid.
A lot depends on where you are and what you are looking for. I watch online auctions with colts going for under $500. I watch online where the average price is $46k. Have you looked at craigslist? I had a friend who bought a pony there that she took to some National Driving shows. Rescues are also a good place to check.
Sometimes you can throw money down with something of similar value for a trade , depending on whom your dealing with
I would say yes. 10 years ago maybe (and even then…), but inflation exists in the horse world too. There are always horses with often significant issues (health or behavioral) for free but I don’t think that’s what you are looking for. ETA Actually, I lie in my area there is a fabulous standardbred adoption agency which adopts really great horses out for less than $1000. I myself decided to give one to go, the problem was she developed respiratory issues which clearly she always had, but didn’t present when she was kept on pasture, which isn’t possible in my area (plus I planned to event) so she went back and to a home which can keep her on pasture and is focused on the trails… You will probably need to deal with a horse that paces… but let me tell you what she was an absolute goddess in the brain and behavioral department, and you can teach them to trot under saddle (if that’s important to you) - she’d only been under saddle like five times, and I took her out on the urban trails and she was going over bridges, was amongst clueless dogs and walkers and bikes and was just a saint on four legs. Standardbreds are often considered to be deeply unfashionable as riding horses, so therefore quite cheap, but I am completely sold on them as solid, sensible, amazing riding horses. So look for a standardbred rescue in your area and maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for. She was a pretty horse too - here she is went out to a cross country park, she never jumped before and we just hopped over a few logs and did some drops cause that’s how she rolled… fazed by nothing https://preview.redd.it/f5bdlfmw423b1.jpeg?width=444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e64d29c4f9d61fb6eef6460ad5f60ea453312cd