Kathryn's Potential Horse Critique Thread

[kathryn]

Hi, so I am starting horse shopping now officially. Yay! I have bumped my budget to a potential 10k/year fee, of which I could absolutely afford the first six months, but then the last six I would have to wait and see how the first six goes haha. 5k would be perfect and easily be within my budget.

So this guy would be 10k a year, () which is at the absolute tippy top of my budget. What do you think? Here is a page with all his videos.

Marlaw Farms - "Islamorada" Video Gallery
http://marlawfarms.com/islamorada

I think he's gorgeous. Would he be worth 10k a year?

[blush]

10k a year??
Are you buying or leasing? I'm confused haha.
Posted via Mobile Device

[kathryn]

Leasing for now, hoping to eventually buy.

[hflmusicislife]

He's a nice mover and everything, but I wouldn't pay 10k a year for him. And I DEFINITELY wouldn't pay 30k to buy him. I'd imagine most people on here would run away screaming the second they saw the 30k price tag, but since I'm in MD too I know it's definitely not uncommon to see decent-quality horses going for that much all the time...
But anyways, I don't see why he'd be worth 10k a year. He's a decent mover, big, steady pace, all that good stuff. But is he a super flashy, "wow, look at him!" horse? No. At least I don't think so. I don't know how competitive you are and what you're looking for exactly, but I paid 3k for my mare and we've certainly done just fine. There's been plenty of occasions that we've kicked some of those 50k horses butts in schooling shows & low rated shows. Price doesn't always equal quality. There's gobs of big, okay movers out there for a lot less.
I think for that much money you could do better. But that's just my opinion.

[IslandWave]

So are you wanting to lease/buy a horse who you can show a lot at rated hunter/jumper shows?

I wish they had conformation pics of him. ;)

[Hidalgo13]

Beautiful horse! 10k? Weeeell, I'd keep looking.

[maura]

He's lovely. And if you want a packer for the AAs he may well be it. He actually goes *better* with a child/amateur than he does for a pro.

10K/year for a lease is serious money. I *think* (I don't know, I'm no longer connected to what nice horses cost to lease.) that it's a lot of money for a horse to do the AAs. Please check, or have your trainer, etc., check what is reasonable for a nice horse to do the AAs.

I like this horse *way* more than the other horses you've posted; however, he's *way* more expensive than the other horses you've posted.

[kathryn]

Yeah, I know for sure I could afford 5000 for six months, and for 10k for the year I would have to reevaluate at six months.

A lot of my barn mates have horses around price tags like this, unfortunately for me, their parents pay for them. But I want to go to the same show as them and be competitive, and I have a very well paying internship this summer.

Of course, the further we get from 10k the happier my wallet will be and the more likely it will be that I can continue my lease after the six months. Let me see what you think of some other horses.

What about this guy?

Walter O? Hara

YouTube - ‪Walter O'...

He doesn't seem to have lead changes, and seems to have a big scar on his left hip. But he is only 17k instead of 30k.

[maura]

If that's 17K, go for the other horse.

[corinowalk]

I would pass on that fella for much less than 17K. He looks very stiff and at that level, shouldn't his changes be pretty spot on?