>>>> Wow...things are bit more expensive in the Northeast. You can't even get a >>>> rescue >>>> horse for $300
I could say the same thing about the Charlotte area, if I only looked in certain places. If you're talking about through a rescue agency, no, you probably can't get a rescue horse anywhere for that, not through an agency. It all depends on where you're looking and what you're looking for. There ARE Icelandic's that are being given away across the country, but it takes an owner with guts to admit the horse needs help more than the owner needs the money. Bless those owners for valuing the horses and doing what's right for them. "Rescue" is a very vague term, and rescues come in many degrees of need. Most "rescue" horses don't go through an agency. I have no doubt that Stali and Svertla met the definition as clearly as any Icelandic's that I've heard of, and Janice had to go in very discretely and negotiate to get them, keeping a blind eye to what she saw. That woman had no intentions of surrendering them to any agency. Someone just happened to see them and thankfully word got out. I'm sure many, probably most, rescues are hidden away on some off-road pasture, well out of sight. Do you have auctions in your area? Not "breed auctions," but the old livestock style? I'm sure they exist in the Northeast. That's where you find many rescues and that's where you get the other side of the story. New York breeds a lot of racehorses, right? They have to dispose of the racing industry rejects somewhere. >>> A decent horse around here will cost you at least $2500. A seasoned >>> dressage or hunter >>> could cost you anywhere between $5000 to $10,000...or more depending on >>> breed. Many "decent" horses in this area, even some trail horses, are selling for much more than that - IF the horse has a particular market, fits a particular niche and has an owner who can market the horse. An unstarted filly with known issues is far from a "sure thing." There aren't that many people willing to take on a project, or that know enough that they should take one on. I know, because once I started taking a few, it sickens me how many I have to turn away. But "plain old trail horses" are harder to market, even trained and experienced ones, and many people don't know how/where to sell them. And even if they did know how to sell them, there aren't enough people buying them that are willing to pay what horses are worth. I know a guy locally who takes barely-under-14.2H grade ponies, trains them to jump and sells them for as much as $100,000, many for over $25,000...but he's set-up his market and his image, and SOME people will buy them. That doesn't change the fact that there are also grade (or less glamorous registered) trail horses, and rejected hunters, gaited horses, and all kinds are being given away or sold for next-to-nothing in this same area. It just depends on where you look and how you define "decent". Karen Thomas, NC
