gvpalominominis
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry, I'm a little confused... what is an Amateur-level quality show horse? I don't know about your area... but in areas I show in, including Nat'ls and World... Amateurs many times have trainers showing their horses in the open classes and then they walk into the amateur class with that open horse. Or some amateurs, such as myself, will also show in the open classes. The horse must be a competitive quality to win or place regardless. : ) But I do agree, there are a lot of lesser quality horses for sale out there.... and cheap too. LOLFrom a buyer's (who is currently searching for just the right Amateur-level show horse) point of view, I am seeing a lot of "junk". I am also seeing a few decent, just decent, quality Amateur-level horses that are priced way too high, in my opinion, they are priced like competitive Open horses. I am well established in and very familiar with several "big" horse breeds and I feel confident that I have their markets figured out for the most part, but I haven't figured out the Miniature Horse market yet.Maybe I am seeing a lot of ads for horses that their owners really don't want to sell? However, if that is the case and they have other horses for sale, it doesn't do anything for me. If you want to keep it, keep it, don't advertise it for way more than it's worth because you would sell it if you got that, but you'd really like to keep it. I think it makes a (not good) statement about your breeding program and makes you look not so smart.
Sales in the NW are slow as well. But I'm with the other small breeders that refuse to sell their horses for $500 or less... I do offer huge incentives for show homes however. Buyers looking for show prospects have two options.... take a chance on a so called young 'show prospect' or purchase a proven winner and know that you won't be wasting your money. Buying a proven winner means the horse has had training, exposure to the show ring and environment, trailering, grooming etc. saving the purchaser most likely hundreds of hours and money and heartache.... so if you pay a little more for the purchase price, trust me, you're still saving!
Those areas that say sales are good.... I'm curious at what prices you are selling them at. If its under $1,000, I'd say that's pretty much in line due to decreased sales pricing, not a necessarily a good market. I'm sure if I put the horses I have for sale priced at $500 they'd sell rather swiftly. Geez... I spend over $600 every two months just in a couple tons of good hay!
The breeders that are probably struggling are us smaller, not as well known breeders. We have quality horses that we have put a lot of time, money and effort into and to sell them for $500 or so... just won't cut it. Then if you don't breed because of no room or a bad market, people tend to forget you or figure you have nothing to offer anyway. They'd rather go to those big private farm auctions and pick from 100 horses or more. But honestly... that doesn't mean you are getting the better horse... most likely... you're getting lesser quality for cheaper in many cases. Otherwise... those big farms wouldn't be having 2 or 3 of those auctions every year... do you really think they put out their best to be sold for $150? I'm not trying to offend anyone or degrade their horses... just trying to offer another perspective to horse buyers.
My hopes, that this bad market will weed out the indiscriminate breeders, and new 'breeders' who find out you can't make a quick buck at it, and the number of less than average bred horses starts to decline.
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