to trainers and owners,prices on Canter and the like

[Sylvie Hebert]

Go to Canter website and look at the price some trainers ask for their horses.can't run,with bowed tendon,chip in knee,and $2500.$4000. Wow! no wonder they don't get sold and end up starving in an owner field or auctionned for meat...The horse is lame or cannot run at the bottom and you want double what he is worth?And lot's of times he is skinny,has bad feet,and is unrideable....or high on steroids.Be reasonnable,people that can pay $4 or $5 thousands will go buy a sound,in good shape horse they can at least try and get vetted by a real vet(not a track one..)...not a bottle of black ink you have to pour to see what you got and certainly not damaged goods.The ones that buy at the track are pros mostly and re-sellers they will get 3 to 5 thousands for those horses after putting them in shape and start re-training a bit and they will loose on 25% of them for unsoundness that are not seen at time of sale(injected joints...).I buy over 100 a year and sell 70% of those at profit,find homes at cost or give away the rest.And lots of times at the track trainers ask a bundle for a horse only for me to learn he went to New Holland a few weeks later...Why is it you rather kill the horse than have someone make money on it...this is sick...Okay i have said it...now i feel better...

[Skipitgirl]

amen......

although, I recently looked at 30 horses at one farm. The owner was asking $2000 for any gelding over 16 hands. When I said that was to much since I was looking for 3-4 to send to Florida for retraining as hunters, he said buy 3 or more and you can have them for $700 each. Asking price isnt set in stone I guess.

[walaa]

So, so true. I see many people ask about horses here and other people say go to canter, you can get all kinds of nice prospects, sound for 1000-2000, NOT. maybe you can find a deal for a mare if all you want is a broodmare but some of those horses look awful, and they still want 2000 for trail prospect. which is fine, they all deserve homes, but when they say "appears sound" and you can see a huge bow, you arent going to get 3000. I think Canter is a wonderful thing, and do a great job, it isnt their prices they set, so I am not knocking canter at all. Also, has anyone else noticed on canter, how much better all the horses on the california site look than all the other sites?? Is it just the weather is nicer, as far as coats and stuff, or is there some mysterious better care from trainers there or something?They all look so healthy, shiny, good weight. Even the unsound ones, look so well cared for compared to some of the other locations. probably just me being weird. Also they all seem to sell rather quick, even the 4000 ones.

[zinn21]

Walaa wrote:

Also, has anyone else noticed on canter, how much better all the horses on the california site look than all the other sites?? Is it just the weather is nicer, as far as coats and stuff, or is there some mysterious better care from trainers there or something?

That's a good question. Many of the horses at the Cal. site are stabled at Pleasanton-most of the trainers I know and would say in general all the horses are with trainers who are very good caretakers.

[Vindicated]

I am going to agree 100% with this..

I honestly feel that better than half the time, the owners tell the trainers "Find the horse a home" and the trainer assumes he can try to make some money...or the owner thinks that they need to recoup some of the loss....

Either way....I think alot of trainers need to understand that life is life, human or equine...it is still life you know...not disposable!!!!
owners too for that matter

[Shammy Davis]

I agree. I've gotten some really nice horses through CANTER, but you've got be careful and know what you are looking at. Some of the trainer/owners that advertise through CANTER have no intregrity whatsoever. That being said, CANTER is a plus for the industry.

[bridlewise]

We have a CANTER-like program here in North Dakota that runs through the track...but we also have horsemen that KNOW the local horse industry...ie that you buy a very nice, well broke gelding at auction for less than $2500 and that kill prices are not lucrative anymore! As a results, with the exeption of one TB that happens to be trained to work cattle, all of our horses were listed in the last 6 months for under $2000 and we're going along at a 75% placement rate...and that is in the middle of nowhere!

We will also be working on an incentive program in 2009 in conjunction with our local English riding association...wherein each OTTB that raced at Fargo, Canterbury or Winnipeg in the last 5 years and that competes in the North Dakota Horse Park's eventing, dressage or H/J show will be eligible for a CASH high point bonus award...the idea is to actually give someone a reason to buy one of our OTTB's RATHER than the random horse down the road for the same price! Follow the money so they say!

[jumper77]

I just bought a CANTER CA horse last month, and while I paid way more than I normally would for an OTTB with very little training, I bought her as an investment horse and expect to make a tidy little profit. I still feel like I got a good deal. I also paid less than she was listed as. I was put off by her price, so I didn't call at first, but when she didn't sell, I figured I'd ask if she was negotiable. She was, and I'm so glad I asked. I ended up with a real gem.

In my case, the seller also had hunters, so she knew the potential my horse had, and she was priced accordingly. I do think the CA horses are of better quality than some of the other locations. I heard someone say that was due to bigger purses at the tracks there, and that the prices reflect that. Maybe it's just the high cost of living.

I think many of the prices are 'OBO deals', but I agree that there's no excuse for asking too much, then sending the horse to the killers when no one wants to pay that much.

[witherbee]

I think the horses on Canter NE look great as well. We've used Canter NE in the past and they've been a great resource. We have often sold our horses for good prices and some have not been listed on Canter because they are over the $4,000 limit. I've sold 3 for more than $10,000 (one for $20,000). It depends on the horse and yes, the sconomy to a certain extent. I think the key is to work with the Canter volunteers if you are a buyer - they can tell you what prices are generally being offered and accepted and which trainers seem to be more honest and have the better horses and better experiences for the buyers. I see no problem with them asking whatever they want for the horses - many just take them with them and keep racing the horses, so, while it may not suit YOUR agenda for the trainer to ask for $2,000, perhaps the horse is still worth more in day pay and potential earnings for them and sometimes it IS the owner that is pushing for that price. Everyone is so quick to judge and make generalizations about race people. Can be very frustrating when I know so many who ARE doing the right thing by their horses.