Expert Scott Hassler

Questions (For answers, scroll down or click on question)

My horse shows a cyst on x-rays near the coffin bone, but not in the joint. The trainer has indicated I should drop the price. The vet says it may or may not cause a problem.  Any advice?

How do I determine a fair price for a horse?

Questions and Answers

Q: How do I determine a fair price for a horse?

A: I feel the best way to determine a horse's value is to gather sales information from classified ads, etc.  Then try to determine which horses sound similar to yours and check their prices.  Depending on how fast or slow you want or need to sell, price your horse comparable to the others. 

Q: My horse shows a cyst on x-rays near the coffin bone, but not in the joint. The trainer has indicated I should drop the price. The vet says it may or may not cause a problem.  Any advice?

A: It is very important to keep a team of people on the horse and finding an agreement between them. My question would be: How fast do you need or want to sell the horse? If very quickly is the answer, probably lower the price. If you do not need to sell quickly, maybe keep trying the way you are now. If in 2 years (let's say), you go to sell the horse and take new x-rays that show no difference and the horse has been fine, there should be little or no problem to sell.