Why do broke horses cost so much?
LD Muy Bueno Vaquero, 6 year old gelding was highest seller at the 2021 Ranch Country Horse sale in Maple Creek, sold for $22,000.
The 20 highest selling horses that I have personally had the privilege of selling over the last decade have averaged $17,5500.
The top 10 averaged $19,325
Top 5 averaged $21,400
Highest seller to date sold for $25,000
One question I get asked a lot is “Do you have any safe well broke geldings for sale that can be left alone for long periods of time and will stay broke?” Some variation of that question is often followed up with something like “My budget is in the $5,000-$8,000, I don’t need anything fancy and I can’t afford to spend $20,000.”
The person asking the question isn’t just trying to be a jerk or cheap, often they just aren’t fully aware of how the economics work from the perspective of the person who is producing that type of a horse. My intention with writing this is to give people a general idea of some of the costs associated with making a well broke all around gelding that doesn’t require a lot of regular riding and will stay more or less the same.
I totally understand it can be tough to afford the good ones. However from my perspective, as someone who is trying to make a portion of my living raising, training and selling horses, the math has to pencil out to make a profit, otherwise I can’t afford to keep doing it since the cattle side of our operation doesn’t make enough money for me to afford doing the horse training at a loss. I tell people all the time, unfortunately I couldn’t afford to buy the horses I sell on my current income.
First of all, I’d like to start out with a brief description of what the type of horse most people are wanting when they ask for an all around gelding that is safe and doesn’t require much for regular riding. A lot of people don’t realize just how much time it actually takes to make a horse really consistent. In my experience, these horses are typically at a minimum, 5-7 years old, they know what it’s like to hold down a job and they’ve been exposed to a wide variety of things so they are more likely to stay sane when they encounter new things. They’ve had at least few months of riding a year since they were two or three years old and have had time off for weeks or even months in between, this is what really develops the kind of horse that can have time off, be saddled up and have a pleasurable ride.
Now that we’ve outlined vaguely how much time it takes, let’s take a look at what it costs me to do this. I will put the costs in two different categories, the apparent costs and the less obvious costs. Starting with the apparent costs, there’s the cost of acquiring the genetics whether you raise it or purchase it. If you do the math and raise one till he’s six or seven at my approximate annual cost which is about $1,000 per year by the time I feed one, deworm, vaccinate and have his feet done. Then put 10-12 months or so riding at almost $1,000 per month, right off the hop you are looking at a minimum of over $15k if all goes well and you manage to keep him sound of mind and body after all is said and done. That leads me to the second category, the less obvious costs. For example when I sell a broke horse, the buyer is getting an already made horse. I have taken the a big portion of the risk out of the equation for the buyer. You could raise your own horse or buy a cheaper young horse and either put the time in yourself or send it off to a trainer only to have it not turn out, he may not end up being the horse you wanted to buy from a reputable horseman. The horse could hurt himself or die before he ever gets to that point, you may even incur a big vet bill only to lose it all in the end. Then there’s all the risks and loses in my business that often aren’t considered that I take with raising and training horses and owning the mares, sires and young stock:
Having unforeseeable vet bills on mares, stallions or young horses.
Having mares come in open and feeding them another year.
Having a horse that for whatever reason required more training than his value on the market will ever cover.
Have a colt cut himself up in a fence and cost money on veterinarian care and he may not ever be saleable.
Having time and money invested in a horse that’s almost ready to be marketed only to get injured and be unsalable at a price that is profitable.
Have a mare die foaling etc.
I do this for a living and I have crunched the numbers. When I sell a real good six year old gelding with several months training for $20,000, I’m not making any more money than riding horses for the public. I need that kind of money to make it worthwhile to do for a living. So like I said earlier, I totally understand where a lot of people are coming from, I couldn’t afford to buy the horses I sell on my wage.
Now I want to make it clear that this is just a general outline and not to say that you can’t find a few examples out there that fit the scenario that I have laid out. Not every program’s costs are the same and sometimes you can find good deals where a horse will sell for pennies on the dollar for what’s invested in that particular horse. However usually in that case, there is something wrong with the horses and it’s not 100% sound. You may find some quiet young 4 year old horse with an exceptionally good mind may only have a few months training on it that may work out pretty good, however sometimes those horses by no fault of their own, just because of a lack of experience will let you down. Generally speaking, if you don’t have the time to work with a horse on a regular basis and you want something that is safe, you are probably going to have to spend a bit more than a few grand to by him. Maybe one day I’ll learn how to do it more cost effectively but I definitely don’t want to start cutting corners. Usually when a person resorts to shortcuts, the buyer or client takes the hit and that will come back to you and hurt your reputation.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Till next time, Take care and God bless!