Good Horses Available

[ButtermilkRanger]

With the ending of the slaughter market, why even pay $400 for a good horse? You can just go catch one on public land somewhere and claim him for your own. At least that's the way it seems west of the Mississippi since the bottom fell out on the market. People were turning out unwanted horses on public land, or just shooting them and dragging off the carcass. I was at a horse sale recently where six very nice 2 year old gaited mules sold for $50 ea. One mare, broke to ride, went for $10. Now that the law has been reversed, I suspect this practice will end and prices will go back up somewhat.

[Forrestcavalryman]

six very nice 2 year old gaited mules sold for $50 ea.

Just listen.....You'll be able to hear John Clinch's jaw drop when he reads that!!!! Seriously though, I hope the market does reverse itself, good horses deserve better than some of the ways I've seen them treated since the slaughter industry closed. Okay, off of my soapbox.

[Choatecav]

Notice very closely what Larry says at the end of his post:

"Now that the law has been reversed, I suspect this practice will end and prices will go back up somewhat.

It has ended and prices will start rising some, so the time to buy is now or at least in the spring when the pastures are coming back to themselves.

Mark

[Paul L Muller]

That's a lot better than the other way around, unless you live in France. plm

[Mike Ventura]

There are a lot of good horses in GA at very rock bottom prices. It's the economy. Many people who rode or kept and boarded a horse for a kid to ride can't afford it any more. The local sales prices here are a joke.

[TexCavly]

six very nice 2 year old gaited mules sold for $50 ea.

Did you hear it?! We have wood floors and my jaw hurts now. Even woke momma up. My question Larry, is why didn't I get a call? A $50 mule, gol'dern I got that in my back pocket! Do ya'll realize that broke to ride mules with even a hint of potential go for $1500 up? I ran into a guy today who asked me if any of our mules were for sale by the way haha.

[Paul L Muller]

At this anish sale I want to, The first critter out in the arena was a zebra legged, line backed dun jenny that got all the way to 400.00 .Thankfully It was " no saled". That's when I started to regret not bringing a trailer. I almost bought a mule that ride and drives for 1200.00 but talked myself out of it. plm

[ButtermilkRanger]

Prices for GOOD mules are always up. Of course, most horsemen will argue that there's no such thing as a good mule. Those mule colts hadn't been handled much and at a sale barn, there just isn't much market for a saddle mule. You can get a decent one at a sale for a rock bottom price, but you better be mule savvy enough to know how to fix his problems, 'cause he's bound to have quite a few. I'm a mule man and I've seen some decent ones go through the sale barn at good prices, but you've got to have an eye for what you want. Mike hit the nail on the head about the economy. I wanted those mule colts bad enough to taste it, but I got to thinking about having another mouth to feed and I decided not to take the chance.

$1200 isn't a bad price for a good mule, but it's more than I'm willing to pay around here. The most I've ever paid for a mule was $700 and that was stretching it. Of course, I've never personally paid over $500 for a good horse, either. I guess it's all in what you want and where you shop.

[Johnny Lloyd]

There are a lot of good horses in GA at very rock bottom prices. It's the economy. Many people who rode or kept and boarded a horse for a kid to ride can't afford it any more. The local sales prices here are a joke.

I'm a newbie to cav, but that's good to know. I'd LOVE to do cav, but I have heard hidden expenses do scare many people that would be interested. Is there an online place where cav total costs can be estimated for an authentic impression?

[Choatecav]

Johnny,

Sometimes this stuff is over analyzed. But yes, it is expensive because of the layers involved.

First layer: The unifom and accoutrements. No biggie here as it is roughly the same as in the infantry.

Second Layer: Saddle and tack. This can total in the $750 to $1000 range or can go to $4000 - $5000 based on a ton of factors and how much you want to invest into originals, etc.

Third Layer: The Horse and upkeep. Horse prices are being discussed here. If you have a place to keep them on site it can be managable. If you have to board elsewhere, again it can be all over the chart from $150/mo. to "you name it." Added to either of these scenarios is the following: Feed, hay, Shoeing, vaccinations, coggins, health-certificates, etc. All of this is assuming you have no real health crisis occur.

Fourth Layer: Transportation. Even if you have a pard who you can ride with, you will need the ability to truck and trailer the horse as there are just too many reasons to name that will mandate this. The cost here can be all over the chart, too.

So, past layer number one, the costs can really escalate based on what and how you want to go with it, but even in a spartan endeavor there will be costs on all of those other levels.

All this being said, don't let it discourage you from trying it as we in this side of the hobby are often loaning horses to new fellas to try this out. So, select an event, give us a call and let's try to get you in the saddle!

thx,
Mark
p.s. Do you have experience riding?