06/30/2026
First, I want to say thank you to everyone who has followed this page, supported my horses, shared my posts, purchased a horse from me, or simply cheered me on over the years. I truly appreciate every one of you!
There is something that has been on my mind lately, and I think it's a conversation worth having.
Buying horses is risky. Whether you buy from an auction, a trainer, a breeder, or your neighbor down the road, there is always some level of risk involved. Horses are living, breathing animals, not machines. They can get hurt, get sick, change over time, or surprise us in ways we never expected.
What I find interesting is how differently people view risk depending on where the horse is being sold.
I spend a lot of time at horse auctions and I see horses bring incredible money every week. In many cases, those horses sell for the same amount, or even more, than horses being offered by reputable trainers and programs that have spent months or years investing in them. People will spend thousands of dollars on a horse they know very little about. No real history, no long-term relationship with the seller, and often very little accountability if the horse turns out to be different than advertised. Yet those same buyers will look at a horse from a trainer or professional program and say the horse is overpriced.
That has always fascinated me.
Because when you buy from a reputable trainer or program, you are not just buying the horse. You are buying the years of experience behind that horse. You are buying the trainer's education, horsemanship, successes, failures, and ability to honestly evaluate what they are selling. You are buying the hundreds or thousands of hours they have spent learning what works and what doesn't. You are buying the time they spent putting rides on that horse when no one was watching, the veterinary care, the farrier appointments, the diagnostics, the training rides, the problem solving, and all the effort that goes into helping a horse reach its potential.
Most importantly, you are often buying transparency.
What I find ironic is that many buyers expect perfection from a horse coming from a trainer. The horse has to pass a flawless vet exam. It can't have any quirks, maintenance needs, or imperfections. Yet those same buyers may be willing to spend the same money, or sometimes even more money, on a horse at auction where they have far less information and far fewer guarantees.
This isn't meant to criticize auctions. I buy horses at auction myself, and some truly wonderful horses come through those sales. In fact, auctions can provide opportunities for horses that may never have gotten a fair chance otherwise. But I also understand the risks involved, and I have the experience to evaluate and manage those risks. The average buyer often doesn't.
My point isn't that people shouldn't buy horses at auction. My point is that good trainers, good programs, and honest horsemen deserve more credit for the value they provide. The horse standing in the crossties today didn't become that horse by accident. Someone spent months or years investing time, money, knowledge, and effort into getting them there.
The next time you look at a horse's price tag, don't just look at the horse. Look at the work, experience, honesty, and transparency behind it. Those things have value too, and in many cases, they are worth far more than people realize.
Below is proof of the exact problem with the auction "horse traders" of the horse world. Every horse is "SOUND, QUIET, GENTLE", and apparently every horse is between the age 4-12. You know the age every buyer wants in their barn.
