Come on now, somebody must have something to talk about.

Here's one. My brothers girlfriend does dressage out in the Los Angeles area. Over the holidays they were out in NY visiting. One of her relatives was talking about taking the horse(s?) to a farm a little ways away to get them some exercise, but the idea was canned beacuse of the weather. They were worried about getting in an accident with a $100,000+ horse in a trailer because of all the rain out there.

That's a damn expensive animal.

What do your horses, working/packing animals usually cost? What is the upkeep? I'm just curious.

Well $100,000 would buy any horse I own and a couple I don't.
I usually try to buy a few yearling colts a year for under $350. I usually start riding them when they are 2 and train them here on the ranch. I sell them when they are 6 or 7. They usaully bring in the $3000 to $4000 range. I think Ray Atkinson has paid some bucks for some roping horses.

No matter what I pay for something it is worth nothing if I am to scared to use it.

Well, I'm new to this forum and I sure like to talk about horses, so I thought I would try to post just to give it a test drive. I sure didn't pay anywhere near that price for mine and there registered to boot. City folks pay big bucks for some of thoses dressage and Hunter Jumper types, warmbloods mostly. If the horse is used in any competitive event then people will pay the big bucks for one to win on. I hear that some of the roping horses in the NFR go for 50, 60 thousand, but the cowboys that win on them can pay for him with just one big event win. If you want to start a good argument just ask what type of horse is best or better yet which style of riding , english or western? Snaffle bit or curb?

In most areas, you can buy a decent quarter horse (registered) for $750 at weaning to 1 year old time. I like to mess with the cutting horses, and as with any competition, the sky's the limit when buying one of those. I saw a broodmare sell for $400000 as the futurity sale in December. He'll not be using her to pack in hunters either. The cost of training one can run to $20-25000 so obviously these horses get expensive, but they're not your average using horse. I'm sure the dressage horses are no different, but they won't work a cow for shit.

It takes a horse in the "English" useage to bring that kind of money. Using horses in the Northwest go for $800-1500 for a decent mountain/riding type horse. Mules sell for more, around $1500-2000. Maybe not the best looking or registered, but a solid 8-15 year old animal that you can trail ride and hunt the backcountry. Unless there are big dollars involved or competition, you will not get those type of high prices for a "user friendly" horse.

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Originally posted by Latigo:
....If you want to start a good argument just ask what type of horse is best or better yet which style of riding , english or western? Snaffle bit or curb?

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Welcome to the forums. That will start as about as much discussion as a .45/70 as a DGR.

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Originally posted by Clement:
........What do your horses, working/packing animals usually cost? What is the upkeep? I'm just curious.

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Somewhere in the range of $125-500. I like mustangs for when I am hunting in the mountains.Don't ride registered stock. Nothing wrong with it. It is just my finances won't permit it. Upkeep for a good mustang usually runs $500-700 per year here.

WyoJoe,
That's a whole lot less than I thought it would cost. Hell I know some people who spend more than that on their dog, an animal that weighs 1/25 of what the horse does!

My Brothers gf's current dressage horse is an upgrade to a previous horse she had that cost her about $75,000. I guess she needed the newer horse to increase her chances in competition. BTW I think she pays about $450-500/month in upkeep (stables and food, etc.).

When you get up to $100,000, a lot of the horses are bought for poor little rich girls who don't have near the skill to properly ride a horse of that calibre. They just want the prestige of having it, and Daddy has the bucks to get it. Kinda like someone having a 700 Double and afraid to shoot it.

Unfortunately, a lot of good horses from Canada are shipped to the US for big bucks, for exactly this use. That leaves a lot of professionals here who can't find (or more appropriately - afford) quality horses for competition. And a lot of quality horses are just rotting away in fancy barns so they can be taken out for a hack two or three times a week.

I can tell you that this horse isn't rotting away in a stable somewhere. This woman was a contender (may still be a contender) for the US olympic equestrian team. I hear she is pretty good, and she does compete. And, yes, she has rich parents who make it all possible.

I'm just jealous.

Young horses are about as cheap as I have ever seen them AQHA weanlings at the NILE sale at Billings last fall sold for as little as $400 up to $1200 color probably sells better than anything right now roans,buckskins,palominos and fancy paints.
Well broke ranch geldings fetch a good price in the right sale and timiing and luck have alot to do with that.$1500 to $6,000.
Really good team roping horses even grades can bring as much as $10,000 or more.w/regards

If conditions are dangerous, don't haul the horses, but horses in that price range are primadonnas IMO. when I was shoeing, I had a client buy a Danish Warmblood for $75K and when I went to trim it I was surprised it had Mane, tail, hairetc. just like a real horse :-0.

High dollar horses like that in a topend dressage barn I 'spect are paying $500+ per month in board. I have friends shoeing in CA that charge $250/head. Some of those horses would be incredibly stupid on a trail ride or a hunt in the places we go!

Dressage will make anyone a better rider regardless of what activity they do with their horse. Good dressage may not be exciting, but it is kind of fun to watch.

--Mike

My rope horses are worth about $10,000 and up. If a horse can win each year half of his selling price then he is a bargain regardless of the price..

Many rope horses, barrel horses, and performance horse of all kinds bring from $100,000 to in the millions, and they are worth every penny of it...

Hello;
I was at a horse sale in Grande Prairie, with a friend of mine, a couple of weeks ago. He bought 34 head for an average of about $350. Granted, some of them were purely meat potential animals, but a few appeared to be well broke. It's kind of sad, but the average off the street buyer looking for a horse, figures he should be able to buy one from a breeder for the same price. Fortuneately, there are people out there, who appreciate the finer things in Life and are willing to pay for them.
Grizz

99.9% of the horses in a Saturday sale are there because they have something wrong with them, they are dog food....

A good broke ranch horse today brings $3000 easy..

The latest Montana ranch horse sale topped at $10,500 and the top 20 horses broght about $7000 average the rest about $4000 average, so that is what good horsed bring. Mules average about $2500 with the top bringing a good deal more...

If your going to buy a horse, don't buy someone elses problem, get a good one, one that is safe and well broke, well trained otherwise get a 4 wheeler...

Ray--Never roped in a show but if I remember you
can't hardly get a decent roping saddle for $1500.00. If you do not own land it gets High.

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Originally posted by Clement:
I can tell you that this horse isn't rotting away in a stable somewhere. This woman was a contender (may still be a contender) for the US olympic equestrian team. I hear she is pretty good, and she does compete. And, yes, she has rich parents who make it all possible.

I'm just jealous.

Good additional info - and you are right on point with it too.

Yes, a top competition horse can cost a LOT of money. My nephew, who is a well known Grand Prix horse trainer operating out of his facilities in Florida, New Hampshire and Montreal, goes to Europe with his clients every summer to help them pick their new young horses...some of which cost well over $300,000 by the time they are landed in the U.S.

And, if "syndicated", they may re-sell for a good deal more than that. But, if you want Olympic quality horse-flesh, you have to pay the costs associated with getting truly the best for the game at hand.

At the same time, if you are just interested in competition such as the All-Arab Show at Scottsdale, AZ, you can spend a LOT less and still win. We bought an Arab colt out of Okotoks, Alberta in the early 80's for $3,000, trained him ourselves for a couple of years, then won his class at the Scottsdale show with him. (He won over horses which sold at the auction the next day for up to $1,200,000 !!) If you want a working ranch horse, then you can drop another 90% in price and still do well, if you know horseflesh and know how to teach him what he needs to do.

Whatever you pay, you'll likely end up with a damned fine friend for life if you treat him (or her) square. (One of life's biggest bargains...yes, Dorothy, you really can buy true love, no matter what all the cynics tell you.)