How much is he worth?

[Mizydoscape]

Im seriously considering selling my little horse but as I've had him 5 years im a little out of touch with how much horses are selling for. Would like some opinions if possible?

14.2hh, 12 year old, gelding. Appaloosa cross. Very pretty. Hacks very well in company but can be nappy alone. Will go out alone with a quiet confident rider. Good in most traffic although a little nervous with larger vehicles, doesn't actually do anything though but can jump as they pass.

Good to school in all 3 paces and will pop a jump although I haven't done much jumping with him as it's not my thing. Not done a lot this winter as weather/new baby has made things difficult but has probably been hacked, schooled or lunged roughly weekly.

Up to date with teeth, feet and vaccs, will live in or out with good rugs. Good to handle etc but slow to load. Not a first/novice rider's horse as is sensitive and would suit a quiet, confident teen or small adult.

As I said I've had him for 5 years and would be gutted to see him go but time and money are tight at the moment. Any opinions gratefully received.

[maxelly]

Really hard to say and it will depend a bit on where in the country you are, but I would take a stab at around £2500, depending on quite how much of a not-novice ride he is, plus all the usuals of course of whether he'd pass a 5 stage vetting and is completely clean in limb, wind etc.- the trouble (if you advertise him totally honestly) is that someone mainly wanting to hack rather than compete will likely want them to be 100% to hack, and someone wanting to compete would probably either want something younger or more of a schoolmaster/with more of an established competition record so you might find yourself falling a bit between the two camps.

That being said if you (or someone else) could take him from 'nice to school and will pop a fence' to 'has won/placed in local unaffiliated prelims and 80-90cm showjumping' and/or 'has done all PC/RC activities' and/or 'has hunted sensibly', which could be done in the course of a few weeks, then you could probably bump that up to £3500 or even more quite easily, so if you were serious about selling it might be worth doing that yourself, or putting him on sales livery for someone else to do so as it would likely pay off.

A dealer would probably throw him over a few huge fences for pics and then advertise him as a total saint, novice mother/daughter share, perfect for all PC activities at £5000+

[Mizydoscape]

@maxelly I have no doubt a dealer would do that and that could potentially be very dangerous! Im going to wait until a little later in the year and perhaps put him on sales livery. I can keep him ticking over until then. They could potentially get him out and about a bit then and it may be worth the money, especially if it gives him a chance of getting a better home. A good home is more important to me than anything really.

[Mizydoscape]

@maxelly also considering how he behaves when the hunt come nearby I would definitely think he would not hunt sensibly!!!

[Booboostwo]

I also think 2k because he falls between two kinds of horses people want. If he was a bombproof hack alone and in company he would be worth 5k. If he was a seasoned unaffiliated competition pony, again 5k would be realistic. Inexperienced with jumping and slow to load at his age will put off anyone interested in competing.

Look at the costs of schooling livery. I would imagine he would need 4-6 weeks to be brought on with flatwork and jumping and then another couple of weeks to be advertised and sold, so by the time you have paid for 8 weeks of schooling livery you probably won't make much of a profit from the increased sales price.

His size probably limits him as well, I am picturing a LW type pony? Is that right? More suited to a lightweight adult or teenager?

[maxelly]

Ha, maybe not hunting then, but def getting him out and about will help you find him a good home. Lots of people do market their horses at less than their potential worth of course, because like in your case a good home is more important than the money, but I always worry that the bottom end of the market tends to attract the well-meaning-but-incompetent and/or less-than-genuine buyers, particularly for pretty horses of fashionable colours/breeds. The last thing you want is someone picking him up as a 'bargain' and either being out of their depth or worse trying to move him on at a profit without putting the proper work in, which as you say could be very dangerous!

Have you considered loaning him out to a (very well vetted) active loan home, ideally a teenager who wants to do PC activities? This could be just the thing if you don't really want to let him go but need a bit of a break, of course you will have to be totally honest with the loaner that at the end of the loan period (6-12 months?) you will either be having him back for yourself or selling on. If you do decide to sell eventually and his loaner really likes him, you could then let them have him at a reduced price if you know he will have a good home, or if they don't want to keep him, you should be in a better place to sell if he's been kept busy and is 'known' on the local PC/RC scene. Of course on the other hand the risk is that he gets injured or the loaners circumstances suddenly change so you'd have to be prepared to have him back at short notice at any time, and you need to check any potential loaner out very carefully as there are very credible-seeming but dishonest/cruel people out there, but I have known it work out very well in similar cases.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Mizydoscape]

@Booboostwo yes quite fine built. He's excellent to hack in company and lots of fun to ride. He's very fast! His lone hacking improves the more he does and in the summer he's so chilled.

[Booboostwo]

He’s lovely, but his slighter frame restricts a bit his potential rider. Maybe a light teenager who would enjoy a forward going horse, but that type of rider also tends to enjoy jumping so he may need a bit of schooling in that direction.

If you have time to sort out the loading that would also benefit him.

[Booboostwo]

What’s his showing potential like? I don’t know anything about showing, but it’s a big market for the right horse.

[Biddie191]

As previously pointed out, sales livery is expensive - we bought a pony at sales livery, and the seller was paying £500 a month - pony had been there 2 months, so seller was desperate to get her gone as she couldn't afford the livery.
If you could find a good, trustworthy young rider who would either loan for 6 months and put the work in, or ride for you and get the pony out competing for some 'pocket money' plus experience, that may be better (as long as you make it clear upfront - I had a loan pony that I spent a lot of time and effort re-schooling through a very wet winter on, only for the owner to sell him in Spring when I had all my plans set up. I was 15, they offered him to me for a very inflated price which I couldn't afford. I was gutted). My daughter has helped out on a couple of local ponies in that way and has just been given a small cut of the sale price at the end, and had entry fees covered, so she was very happy. Local Pony Club often best to ask around at, as they DC will know who is suitable.
He's nicely put together - good luck!

[Mizydoscape]

Thank you all. He has a sharer who hacks him once a week but she hasn't been for a few weeks as she was away then the weather has been so awful at the weekends when she can ride.

I think I'll revisit my thinking around May time when stuff is happening and the weather is better/evenings are there. I'm not in a rush to sell him as I'm on maternity leave at the moment and don't go back to work until July. I do know, however, that once im back full time, he won't be getting much attention after a full day's work and baby time as well. It makes me feel pretty sad but priorities change over time.

[Serenbunny]

Prob about 1500 if he can pass a 5 stage vetting. Could get more if you put in the schooling. Maybe advertise at 1800 open to offers. Have a look at horsemart or horse quest to give an idea of prices.

[Mizydoscape]

@Serenbunny I wouldn't be expecting a £1500 horse to need/pass a 5 stage vetting!

[maxelly]

Sounds a good plan Mitzy.

Booboo I wouldn't market him for showing. My knowledge is pretty limited too but I do know from a friend's experience that Appys and Appy crosses are quite limited in the classes they can go in however nice a type they are, they are too fine for hunters and too stocky for hacks, at affliated level anyway, and they can't go in CHAPs classes either, so they are pretty much limited to specific breed classes and the odd mixed 'exotic breeds' class. At local level pretty much anything goes though, coloured horse, riding horse, family horse, whatever and I'm sure he'd do well so that's another option for OP to get him out and about!

[Herpesfreesince03]

I’d expect EVERY one of my horses to pass a stage 5 vetting, even if they were free. Low cost doesn’t mean poor health

[Booboostwo]

I'd also expect any horse I buy for any price to pass a five star vetting. The veterinary costs of treating a cheap horse are exactly the same as those for treating an expensive one. The same with the retirement costs of a cheap to buy as opposed to an expensive to buy horse.

[Mizydoscape]

Sorry I guess what I mean is I personally wouldn't bother vetting a £1500 horse, unless insurance specifically requests it.

[Mizydoscape]

Not that he wouldn't pass one!

[HappyGirlNow]

I'd also do a vetting on any horse regardless of purchase price as it's later costs, hassle and heartache I'd be trying to avoid and those would be the same regardless if the horse cost £500, £5000 or £50000

[lastqueenofscotland]

I think a horse that isn’t for a novice but is just at the stage where he pops a jump and moves nicely enough in the school would need to be marketed as a project for someone to be honest.
Novice riders would be happy with a quiet ride to school/hack, but I’d say most more experienced riders want something back from a more buzzy horse - such as ability. I’d say 1500-2k depending on how good the market in your area is.

[OhMrDarcy]

Might be worth asking your local pony club if they know of anyone wanting a project loan horse over the summer. I'm saying this as my keen 13 year old is looking for a project to bring on over the summer (we've limited winter turnout) and your horse is exactly what she is looking for. And timing-wise, lighter evenings for riding are here already so don't delay.

[Mizydoscape]

@OhMrDarcy that's a good idea, I might put some enquiries out. You're not in Devon by any chance?!

[OhMrDarcy]

I wish! We're in the north unfortunately.