Price I should offer for horse?

What price should I offer for this horse- barn owner said 'tell me a price'





Details:


16-20 yr old gelding. relatively limber and only a slight sway. Hind end muscles are very atrophied though, and he has that look where his whole tail fits easily in his butt crack. That may go away with conditioning, I don't know.


Definately needs a good teeth float.


Feet are in horrible condition, but is getting trimmed (I paid) on the 10th.





He was a free horse to the barn that someone couldn't take care of anymore. He has been there for 2 months.


He didn't have a walk gait (was a gaming horse) when I started riding him. I have been his sole rider for 2 months.





He is bombproof- guns, ropes, things that I jump at, etc don't faze him. Is extremely light on his cues- if you hold the reins too tight he will tense and go extremely fast- but not switch out of his gate. You only need light leg pressure and he goes. Definately good for any skill rider, providing they have a light

Price I should offer for horse?
Sounds like he/she should give him to you. It was a free horse to the barn and you have been his only rider. If that is not offered then I would figure you would own 1 months worth of board money. The second months board they would owe you in training/riding. That would seem fair to me.
Reply:He has a LOT of issues but with time and effort and money lol he could be a nice looking horse im sure i would offer 200-300 since hes bombproof horse market is horrible and you said they got him for free so. plus to fatten up a horse isnt cheap.
Reply:If he's 16-20 year's old, he's getting towards the end of his life span, although my fiance had a horse that died when she was 35 years old.





Tell them you'll give $500 cash for him and see what they say. Anymore than a $1000 I'd walk away.
Reply:1,500 i think. If he has a hay belly see of you can start him on alfalfa before you buy him. and light graining. I like the all american preformance, it doesn't make the horses that i train "hot" or hyper. It also keeps condition really well. (just a suggestion) I would also add flax seed to his feed. It helps woith overall health!
Reply:Offer to pay his board for the last 2 months that he has been there and feed that way they have nothing in him and you get a horse it sounds like you want.
Reply:$500 i wouldn't pay anything more than 2000 for him if he was in shape.
Reply:I would offer to take him, pay for his board, vet bills, farrier bills, everything from now on and NOT CHARGE THEM ANYTHING TO DO IT. I'm not kidding, not one bit. They start making money off him from day one when you pay his board, and will get board for him every month...plus, they don't have to pay any more bills on him. You say he is thin but has that unusual fat distribution? This is sometimes indicative of a Cushings horse, look it up. He is the right age, so think twice before you even take a free horse, let alone, pay anything up front for him.
Reply:First of all, this horse is nearing the end of his life, yes, he'll probably get a good 5-10 years dependin on good vet and farrier, but he is on the down hill. Second, this horse has some issues. He's never had propar medical or farrier treatmeant which is a sign of neglect if he's 16-20 years old, he might have even more issues you don't know of because of that. If his feet are in horrible condition, that's not a good sign. It will probably take a year or so to get them pretty much fixed, but you never know how bad they really are until thouroughly checked out.





He sounds pretty good undersaddle, but could use some training it sounds like. It's great to get a bombproof horse, but a bombproof horse that needs training (probably a few months), needs a lot of medical attention (due to lack of medical attention in past, he needs to not only catch up but even further to be good), needs some good farrier attention (1 year should help feet get in good condition), doesn't sound like you'll be keeping much money.





You have to think, you'll be paying training for a few months (should cost between $100-$700 a month depending on area and trainer), a lot of vet care (I'd expect to pay bewtween $500-$1,500 on medical), and ferriar costs (with good work and fixing those bad feet should cost around $120 a shoeing and you'll need about 4-6 a year so between $480-$720 on farrier bills) so adding that up you should expect to pay about $1,180-$3,620 depending on the where you live and the cost of the farrier, vet, and trainer. You might spend more, you might spend less. But to me, spending that much money on a horse, on top of what you pay to get that horse is alot of money for a horse that will only have a few years left!





So if you have to pay at all for him, I'd say between $200-$500 max because you'll be spending alot more money down the road! Good Luck!
Reply:I sold a grade gelding that was in great shape and only about 11 and only got 230 out of him and a nice reg mare that was bred for only 130. I bought a great reg mare with buckskin filly at her side for 800. I would go to the local auction and see what prices are running in your area because it sounds like that the horses isnt worth much. In fact if it was given to the barn in the first place and you have been the only rider and have already started to pay for stuff for it I would start the price off at free and i will take over all expenses if the barn doesnt go for that suggest $100, but i dont think i would give more. Out here you can get some really good riding horses at the auction for less then 500 and alot even for less then 300 with out all the negative stuff you listed. BUT you would not have had the chance to ride and get to know the horse for 2 months like you have been able to do with this gelding. Which is the ONLY reason I would get it.
Reply:2 months of even a minimum amount of hay and grain would probably be about $300. that is what these people have in him already without trimming or vet care for 2 months. they should be glad to get that back, and get him out of their hair. which is a good thing for you. he sounds awesome, and would be luckey to find a home with you. if you went to a horse auction today, you would probably pay 300-500$ for a thin horse, regardless of it's training. offer them $500 cash and see what they say. time is on your side...it is the dead of winter after all and they would be hard pressed to sell him in the condition he is in now.
Reply:being in such poor condition even though he seems like a good rideable horse is the only concern any potential buyer would look at I wouldnt offer more than $600 myself and if I were to sell him i would start at $250 but increase $50 every week you are training him and getting him in better condition.
Reply:First of all, no horse is bomb-proof (although I do know what you mean). If I was you, I would maybe start at the $300 to $500 range. But I wouldn't go any further than $600 to $700 for him. IT depends on what you want to do with him and how much money you want to invest into an animal that is this age....I bought my gelding and I thought he was 15 but he turned out to be more like 25+..but he was well worth the $1000 I paid for him!:)
Reply:Well seems he is older, and sounds like he's in poor condition, id just offer them a good home for him. You will obviously look after him and love him. But they will most probably want money. Seems they got him for nothing offer them 200 dollars, i wouldnt go over 500 though
Reply:Given his age and condition I would say $500.00 would be about right - assuming he passes a vet test to your satisfaction. For his sake I would hope that you understand that he may have only a few years of usuable life left before he needs to be mostly retired and you can commit to provide a nice retirement home for him.





I hear about it all the time where people buy an aged horse and use him until he can't be used anymore then take him to auction where he ends up in the kill pens. Please, if you are going to buy him make a lifelong commitment to him. Otherwise it is not fair to him.
Reply:They should give it to you, he has alot of problems.
Reply:I wouldn't pay over $500
Reply:$23,000 trust me
Reply:Offer 12,000. Sound right? Tats what he sounds like. Maybe 10,000? What do you think?
Reply:Hmmm...


I would start downwards. If the owner says its not enough, then go a little higher.


I'd rather offer too low and have to raise my own price a bit than offer too high and lose some money you didn't have to.


It also depends on how much you have.





Has he been vetted? That would be another big factor.





I'd say maybe around 1000-1050, partly because of the physical condition and age. I don't know exactly how the horse market is in your area. In some regions they're going for lower/higher prices. But don't go any higher than 1200, unless you have quite a bit of cash padding your pockets or REALLY, REALLY want this horse. With those medical conditions, he's past the prime of his life.


If you want to, start even lower than 1000.