how much should we expect to pay for trail horse?

Looking for a good husband horse for trailriding only. We were looking in the 2,500.00 range and not really finding much that suited us. Found quite a few green horses and others just not what we are looking for. Just to see what we would find we raised our limit to 4,ooo and found just this weekend that all 3 of the 5 we looked at were in this range and more suited to our needs. Soooo what do all of you think a fair price is for something dependable and safe for trail? We really are having a hard time with 4,000 but maybe around 3,000-3,500 might be ok. Thanks so much

Well where I live horses are pretty inexpensive, so a trail buddy would cost you around 1-2,000. However I have lived in places where horses weren't so cheap ( i'm guessing you're living in one of these) and a trail horse would run you a 4-6,000 bill. If you have experience with desensitizing horses then you could find a really good green one and just expose it to stuff. The key is to find one with the correct personality =p. I rode a green OTTB on a trail today and she was completely wonderful....she completely ignored the other horse when he spooked and was SUPER relaxed. You just need to find a nice, relaxed horse =] Good Luck, and keep lookin' until you find a good horse!

I think I set my limit at $2,000 or $2500, I'm not sure. That was last fall and out West which may make a difference. I ended up paying $1500 for a very solid, and big ('cause I am), trail horse. He is not perfect--but most of his problems can be attributed to me, the inexperienced rider.

As I learn to ride him better, I'm sure he will learn to be ridden better. Actually, it's already happening. And I just started "formal" training which will accelerate the process.

I don't know where you've looked, but we had our best luck on DreamHorse.com. It allowed us a lot of flexibility in our searches--price, search area, characteristics.

There are also a lot of horses around here on CraigsList.com. But that wouldn't be my first choice for finding one--in part because they generally don't list much information about the horse.

But, in the final analysis, how much you pay will depend on how much horse you want and how "finished" you want him/her to be. Speaking from experience, if your husband is new to riding I'd suggest you pay a bit more and avoid the frustrations of having to train a horse and a rider at that same time!

I just helped a friend get a really nice horse for $1600 and that included an almost new Tucker saddle. I just bumped into a lady who was running out of hay and didn't want to buy any more. She wanted to sell the horse but was much more worried about it going to great home. She kinda knew me and trust me that the party that took the horse will give it a great home.

Yes you should be able to buy a good trail horse for $3500 to $5000. But with a little luck and some searching, You might find a better deal on horse that just needs a good home.

That's seems pretty expensive for a trail horse to me. If you're willing to travel, check around KY/TN. There seems to be quite a few nice trail horses up for sale all of the time from $1200-$2000.

Gosh..thank you all for the quick and informative responses, appreciate it! All of you have great advice, maybe we just need more patience..have looked at 13 so far, and the 3 best ones were over 3,500. I know there are less expensive ones out there but heck with the price of gas ( and we have used a Lot so far) it might be better to pay a little more for the horse and less on more gas! It is frustrating for sure..thanks again..

Bunny, I mentioned this to my wife who went to DreamHorse and looked it up, just for fun. She set search parameters to Ohio, "husband safe" (under skill), 8 to 15 years old, $2500 max, temperment 5 (out of 10) max. As a reference, that's about what we used for my search except for area searched.

She found 9 horses in Ohio that meet those requirements. She thought "Chet" might be a good fit. One of his skills is "trail riding recreational."

You can also do a search within a distance of a zip code if you live near the edge of the state--or if the state is a bigger area than you want to travel around looking for a horse.

Good horses are out there, Bunny. And you really don't have to break the bank to get one. Good Luck! Please keep us posted and, once you've got the Husband a horse, fill us in on your trail riding experiences!

I should probably add that the horse has been shown in local circuits and in 4-h. Reading from the ad...last year he was shown by an inexperienced youth showman and placed in top 3 in WP, Showmanship and Horsemanship at the county fair. He has been taken to many camping trips with inexperienced riders. Great on trial, loves water! Also used for riding lessons. Clips, stands for farrier, hauls, no vices, UTD on vaccines and worming. He is a very sweet guy, a people horse and selling him only to lack of time with him.

Does this explain why he is so pricey and is this reasonable afterall? Just asking as I have never spent more than 1,800 for a horse for myself and that was 2 years ago. All my other horses were under $700.00 thanks..

Bunny, I don't know if any given horse is worth any given amount, or not. It's a hard call to make when standing with the horse, let alone just reading about him/her!

But do keep in mind that what a seller claims a horse can do and what the horse can actually do are not always the same thing. Heck, if I was selling Mr. Big he'd be the World's Greatest Trail Horse and worth at LEAST a gadzillion bucks! And, since I'd be saying he was the World's Greatest Trail Horse right here on the internet it'd have to be true. Right?

$3500 seems like a lot of money for just about anything. Please do your homework and make sure you're getting what you think you are getting.

End of sermon!

I think you can certainly find a better price on a horse just used to haul around the hubby. Are you looking for something registered? Younger? With show experience? Or are you just looking for an easy to ride horse for your hubby.