Horse value question

[Bigfoot]

It may be, nobody can answer this question--------On my side of the big river, there is not a huge demand for a calf roping horse, and in my immediate area there is really no demand. I look at calf horses for sale, on the Internet, and I'm actually floored at what they are "asking" for them. Most of these horses, are from where I would call out west. I know asking, and getting are two totally different things.

What would a horse that fits this description actually sell for in your area:

10 or 11 years old
Gelding
Zero maintenance issues, sound in every way
Works a rope good----not prca good, but don't over work, or come look over your shoulder
Quiet in the box
Hunts a calf down the arena, and just about can't be out run
Rides outside, and could be used to doctor on in the pasture

Just curious what real money on an animal like that would be?

 

[branguscowgirl]

I have friends that rope. They have a gelding for sale about like you described. He also packs the kids through the barrel pattern, and is sitting 2nd in our Ranch Hand series. They are asking $7,000 for him.

I know that they can be bring a phenomenal amount of money to the right buyer. Just depends on the market and available buyers in your near by areas. Of course, they ship horses everywhere these days if you can promote them.

 

[J&D Cattle]

I don't rope but have friends that do. Buddy sold a horse just like you are talking about for $7,000 as BCG said above. He had another guy come up from OK and bought about the same horse for $10,000. Big money in my eyes.

 

[Bigfoot]

I had a handsome offer on a horse like that yesterday. We didn't really start the horse, but it was a long way from finished, when we got it 5 years ago. So, you gotta consider our riding is worth something? I haven't sold it, because when I look for a finished horse to replace it with, they are just so high. Man said is offer stands, and he has it to give, if that's what he wants to do. Horses that age, and make are priced at 20k on the web. I knew they weren't getting that, just fishing.

 

[branguscowgirl]

BF I ride with a gal that just paid 20k for her horse. So I am SURE that some are getting that kind of price. But those horses are being rode by some big name trainers and have real desirable bloodlines. I know that it doesn't matter so much for a gelding, but they are expecting the performance genetics to be there.
Now that does not mean that the 20k horse is any better than the 7k horse. It has a lot to do with the marketing and who has been known to have trained them. Good or bad, a lot is in a name.

 

[js1234]

if the horse is exactly as you described him,sound and he is say a very good college or jackpot calf horse or a superior HSRA calf horse, he could get swapped of for 17k-25k easy enough out here depending on looks etc. i agree "names" put a ton of unnecessary or unwarranted dollars on a horse but $20k is pretty pedestrian for a truly good calf horse.

 

[Bigfoot]

if the horse is exactly as you described him,sound and he is say a very good college or jackpot calf horse or a superior HSRA calf horse, he could get swapped of for 17k-25k easy enough out here depending on looks etc. i agree "names" put a ton of unnecessary or unwarranted dollars on a horse but $20k is pretty pedestrian for a truly good calf horse.

Thanks, you just made my mind up. No trade.

 

[talltimber]

They are like anything else. They are worth what someone is willing to give. Well-known winners riding him, well-known trainers starting them, can do the deal, sound (also means passing a pre-purchase vet exam with xrays) , with no vices or attitudes mean big money calf horses. Any rodeo horse for that matter. Used to be you could get a pretty decent heel horse for 6-10k. Not NFR quality, but a good little stick. Nowadays, 15-the moon.

If you are trying to move him, you need to make some contacts with some winners, or a horse broker. I won't call all of these horse traders, as a few just work off commission and deal just in the good kind that they don't have to worry about coming back around, as the buyers are satisfied. You need to get your horse West, or in the hands of a winner, or both.

 

[js1234]

if the horse is exactly as you described him,sound and he is say a very good college or jackpot calf horse or a superior HSRA calf horse, he could get swapped of for 17k-25k easy enough out here depending on looks etc. i agree "names" put a ton of unnecessary or unwarranted dollars on a horse but $20k is pretty pedestrian for a truly good calf horse.

Thanks, you just made my mind up. No trade.

i tend to agree. to my mind if a calf horse has all those qualifications, and i had a high school aged son had the skill set get in the thick of a state finals in HSRA, he would be worth more than $25k to me to stay on the payroll.
of course, I've got a heel horse and my wife and i own a cutter that i might not confess under interrogation to what they cost.

 

[Angus Cowman]

if he us 11 he is just now starting to hit his stride
You say he is not PRCA quality but he may be with the right person on him or he may not be
But a good solid HS or college rodeo horse will bring $15 to $20k to the right people
I know my nephew was giving $10k for prospect heel horses
Also have seen many hazing horses sell that last few yrs for 15k and up

 

[Angus Cowman]

Also if he stays quiet outside and you can prowl and Dr yrlings on him he is worth $10k just for that reason

 

[Ojp6]

We sold one like that a couple years ago that was 12. He was a pretty buckskin though. We took him to a guy we know in Amarillo and I think he got around $11,000 out of him. At least that was what he was asking. We got 10k back and were happy. I've owned one prca caliber calf horse in my life and he died at 8 years old and I could have sold him for $20,000 for 2 years before he died. When you go to bury one like that it makes you wish you would have taken the money. He was as good a calf horse as I've ever got on. I rode a $70k calf horse in Kansas one time but he had a big name attached to him and had a bunch of sevens roped on him. Owned about 15 calf horses and only really like 2 or 3. Seems like a good one that you can get along with is hard to find.

 

[Bigfoot]

I've been expecting something to happen to this horse ever since I turned an offer down on him. He was a little off on his back right Sunday. I couldn't find anything, but I was hoping for nothing. He was completely lame on the back right yesterday. Pressure sensitive on his sole, not just one spot, but the whole sole. I soaked it, and packed it hoping to draw it out. Rather than me digging to find it, I ran him to a good vet this morning. He popped the worst abscess I've ever seen. It blew through the sole, luckily instead of the top. Hope it gets to 100%. I've never seen one not?

 

[talltimber]

I've had good luck with it, but I was RELIGIOUS in the cleaning, soaking in warm Epsom salt bath, and repacking daily. It's a grind but worth it if you like him and he fits you.

 

[ropinranger]

Like talltimber said, keep it clean and packed and you should be good. All of mine that have had them came back sound. Good luck.