Cheap horses

["April" <adlee@mailandnews.com>]

Just a thought, but the Arabian that I rode before I got Apache is not worth
more than around $500.  He's old, not too sound, a hard keeper, swaybacked,
jumpy, bucks, stumbles, and takes a very firm, consistent rider to keep him
in line.  (He has great hard feet, though; the unsoundness comes from his
legs.)  I would have liked to have bought him (rescue mission, plus we were
just starting to bond after 2 years of riding together) but his owner (Mr.
H) wanted much more than $500 for him.  He wanted the price he paid for the
horse ($500) plus boarding fees for two years, plus grain, plus vet bills
(including annual coggins tests and teeth floating), plus whatever else you
want to toss in there.  The figure was ridiculous (especially for this
college student), so I went looking for another horse.  (A blessing in
disguise, since Apache is a much better horse.)

My point is that Mr. H bought the horse in order to have a horse.  If he is
going to have a horse, he has to realize that the upkeep of the horse is his
responsibility and he should not expect the next buyer to pay all his
expenses including the original purchase price.

If I ever sell Apache (NOT in the plan, btw), I would NOT expect the next
owner to compensate me for all his shoeings, any vet calls, his grain, his
pasture rent, his hay, his ride entry fees, the horse trailer, the truck,
etc.  These things are expenses that I pay for the pleasure of owning a
horse.

I kinda understand the breeder's point of view, since they are in the
business of selling horses.  I also understand those "I rescued a horse and
I need the money I put into him to get him sound and fat and sassy" people.
But for the average horse owner that simply buys horses, gets bored with
them, or they clash personalities, or whatever, that's a risk that they take
and expecting a prospective buyer to compensate them for that risk
(especially since the buyer is about to take the same risk) is rather naive
in my view.

Of course, we all know that something is worth whatever somebody will pay
for it.

April & Apache
Chattanooga, TN


PS.  Mr. H still hasn't found anybody that will pay his asking price, so he
stubbornly keeps the horse and lets the bills pile up and the price go up.

----- Original Message -----
From: <MBlanchrd@aol.com>

<snip>

 Now what, do you think, is a horse like that worth? If you had a horse that
you'd spent years training, spent thousands of dollars keeping trimmed,
shod,
healthy, vetted, vaccinated, fed and supplemented, how much would that horse
be worth?

<snip>


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