To Sell or Not to Sell?
Along with struggling economy, horse owners are seeing the direct impact of the looming recession in their own backyards. It is currently a buyer’s market, with prices for horses at an all time low. The hardest hit pricing range is between $8000 and $20,000. Well-bred horses that are moderately priced with clean legs and some show experience are now becoming difficult to sell in this range.
It is the higher end buyers ($20,000 and up) that are mostly benefiting from this trend, as young horses that could have been worth $30,000 with excellent breeding and lightly started under saddle have been cut down by as much as 50%. Some breeding operations are penny-pinching and selling out their young-stock at compromised prices due to rising hay and fuel costs. As it becomes more expensive to trailer to shows and get the horse in the ring, breeders are cutting costs to make space and focus their efforts on the big money horses.
The under $5,000 group has been especially strong, with lightly started prospects (breed dependent) or older horses who are established under saddle with experience. It is a dilemma for the seller, as sound and started horses are being offered as low as in the $3,000’s, which is getting down into the ranges of horses Off-the-Track or horses of questionable breeding and soundness. Being forced into this low range leaves buyers scratching their heads, and passing on the horse without further inspection as the assumption is the low price must be “for a reason” (lameness, problems under saddle, etc).
Another struggling person is the rider who is looking for a part-boarder. Depending on what part of the US or Canada in which they live, standard part-boarding fees have now risen due to inflation, whereas the standard over the last five to ten years has been in the $200 mark. Now that boarding fees are rising, people are trying to withstand the financial pressure and offering out quality horses for part-board that may not have previously been available. As a result, there is a huge influx of horses available for part-boarding, and a general pricing guide is $250 per month. Some horses are available for considerably lower or considerably higher, depending on the desperation of the rider or the increased quality of the horse/boarding barn such as a full-service ‘A’ barn.
So what is the average horse-owner to do? Swallow the cost of selling their horse for a below-market price, or continue paying inflated boarding costs and hunker down until the economy improves? For those who make a livelihood in breeding and selling, they might not have an option depending on their farm’s financial situation. My prediction is there will be a burst of pasture-board facilities available, as barn and horse owners try to reconcile the rising costs of keeping horses. As many of us ride for pleasure and not as a career, giving your horse access to a safe pasture environment might not be such a bad idea until the economy stabilizes. Part-boarding is certainly an option if you want to keep your horse at a training facility, provided you may need to accept less money than you originally hoped for.
Are We Pampering Our Horses Too Much?
A very interesting topic was recently raised on a popular and well-established bulletin board. The topic was regarding horse becoming “hothouse flowers”, too over-maintained by their owners to the point of absurdity.
As we all know, there are up’s and down’s regarding maintenance when it comes to horses. From the high-performance equine athlete to the backyard lawn ornament, horses can catch viruses, injure themselves and simply grow old. As a horse owner for over a decade, I can recall years where there were only maintenance vet bills (worming, teeth, shots) and years where injury due to trauma meant months of shipping out for ultrasounds, NSAIDs, lameness check-ups and all kinds of vet bills that would give the average horse owner a heart-attack. We have all been in that position at one point or another. However, are we pampering our horses too much for prevention or for a purpose?
In the US, pet owners (which included horse owners) spent an estimated $40.8 billion dollars on their furry friends according the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association, Inc. (APPMA) Although caring for a dog or cat can be pricey, the average horse owner most likely pays more for the boarding and training of their horse for a few months than an entire year of a house-pet. The thought is that pet owners now value their pets like family members, and are willing to pay more for their health, food and overall well-being than ever before. Services such as doggie-daycare, pet “spa’s” and the growing amount of hotels that allow your “fur-baby” to travel with you have exploded all over the country.
The horse industry follows that trend, albeit more loosely, with growing numbers of owners resorting to naturopathic treatments, heaping on supplements, consulting nutritionists and even psychics to improve the well-being of their horses. There are magnetic blankets to relieve muscle tension, chiropractors and massage therapist to “realign” everything, acupuncturists, and many new-age therapies that owners are willing to try. Thanks to new technologies, veterinary clinics are able to provide a wider variety of diagnostic services, not only to identify existing problems but pinpoint future potential issues. There was a time when a horse that was “not quite right” was simply turned out until the ailment resolved itself. Now our vets have portable ultrasounds and x-ray machines and other quick and easy diagnostic tools to help the assessment process. Unfortunately, there can be quite the price tag on these services, and horse owners are faced with the dilemma: how much is too much?
At my current barn, we often joke about bubble-wrapping our horses for turn-out, or in some cases the horses receive very limited (an hour or less) turn-out per day at all. Some show barns do not turn out their top show horses at all, rather giving them daily hand-walking or regular intervals on a hot-walker. It is not uncommon for a show horse to only be worked in the ring, therefore eliminating potential accidents or strained ligaments should something unexpected occur while out hacking. Many trainers and owners argue their horses enjoy the quiet time, munching on hay in their stall, out of the elements of nature especially considering a usually intense show schedule to maximize their time on particular circuits. There is a fine line between purchasing a horse for showing, versus purchasing a show horse and treating it as a commodity.
However, the real question remains: is all this pampering hurting our horses in the long run? I believe that it really is up to the individual horse, as some horses do well when their care is highly supervised. Custom diets, massage treatments and expensive supplements could hypothetically be beneficial to any horse. When it starts to crossover into enormous bills for minor ailments, solitary confinement to protect one’s investment or running into debt to afford unnecessary extras, that is when it is time to re-evaluate the situation. Most amateur owners and riders have additional sources of income and do not make a living off their horse. In our “results now” society, perhaps we would do well with giving both our horses and our pocketbooks a break, and see if Mother Nature can do something that endless treatments and supplements can’t.
