# colt starting prices



## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

What's the going rate to have an experienced/dedicated horse trainer start a colt from barely halter broke to canter where you are? I'm trying to get an idea how much money I need to save since I don't have the facilities for a 4 year old I have with no work done on her and I have a heart condition. I think I'll have someone else start her for me. I did email a few people but they haven't gotten back to me. One ad said $125/week. One website had all the pricing for everything but the actual training ($50 for feed, $30 for farrier, etc...). The local college does do a good colt starting seminar I could take her to as well but that would be me having to do the work. I'd at least have the facilities and someone else to take hold of her when she's being extremely difficult.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

It's hard to say. You take the cost per month and multiple it by the number of months.

I've owned horses who could go from first saddle to a nice canter, no buck in about a week. I've seen horses that every day, you must teach them the same lesson over and over because they won't retain it overnight, so 30 days later, they still won't reliably lunge inside a round pen.

A lot depends upon how much ground work and what type, and if your horse has just been hanging out for 4 years without much done, I would estimate many months to get it safe enough to take out on the trail.

You are going to have to call trainers to get rates, and i suggest that you speak to a lot of owners and also go and watch the trainer work. Some trainers are great and some are billing for work while the horse never does anything but walk around on the hot walker.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

At one of the top trail pleasure walking horse trainers - it costs 650.00 per month which includes full board and riding 5 days/week.

I charged 500.00 per month 15 years ago.


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

It would be a lot cheaper to sell the mare and buy a made horse. Probably you haven't heard back from some trainers because they don't want to deal with something that's "barely halter broke" at four years old. I would expect to pay $600-$700++ per month (including board) and a minimum of 3 months in training. 4 or 5 months in full training and then 2 or 3 months of you taking lessons with the trainer on the horse would be better. 

I would be a bit suspicious of a trainer who tells you they can do the job in 60 days or less. Might as well have it done correctly from the start, especially if you have a health condition. Really, though, much cheaper to sell/give away the mare and buy something a little more experienced.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I bred these horses myself. I planned and chose and waited. They are going nowhere. I would give anything to be on the back of their dam again and would love a stable full of her offspring instead of just 2. She was the best horse I've ever seen with some old qh lines. The older sibling has been very easy to break I just haven't had time but her sire is a pleasure stallion not a barrel stallion. I went out with my saddle to get her used to it expecting to spend a few weeks and ended up on her within the hour. They are good sane horses. 

The younger of the 2 though got the dam's higher energy side and hasn't been handled plus I have no round pen right now. I got her to circle one direction but the other she ran me over, dragged me, escaped 3 times, and when I collected her the 3rd time we both stood there panting so this is not going to work. I don't have the facilities or stamina but I'd rather she stand in the pasture and I train a foal out of her when I have the funds than sell her. Really though she's so like her mom I just want to be on her and I'd love to feel those gaits with how she moves. She's a nice compact version of her mother. A perfect fix to the overly long stride that gave us trouble in things like pole bending and actually tore part of my barrel saddle. Sham is everything I wanted from Cara except I wish she'd come out roan from her sire instead of just sorrel. I planned and waited and now I just want to ride that overly intelligent little brat but I can't train her myself right now. 

I'm seeing what my mom will pay as my christmas and birthday (my birthday is in jan) present to train her. I did get a reply from one person who wants $500.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

We found a really good trainer and the last horse we sent to him it was $850.00 per month. That was 3 years ago. Expensive but worth the money, because they do have them pretty much finished in 30 days unless you want some kind of specialized training. They actually specialize in reining horses but will do about anything and they have been training at their barn for 3 or 4 generations.

For your money it's training & board. They train Mon. - Sat. They have an open door policy if your horse is there and you can set up a time to come watch your horse being trained if you want. I always wanted mine for trail horses and after the first week or two, depending on how the horse is doing, they'll spend an hour in the a.m. doing arena work and 30-45 minutes in the p.m. riding on some trails they have carved out on their property. At week 3 they want the owner there every day to ride and then they still put another hour on the horse themselves. They don't like to let the horse go home until they feel like you are both ready. They've done 3 for me and never needed to keep one longer than 30 days. Friends of ours took theirs and they ended up doing 60 days. The only thing I usually still had to work on after they came home was neck reining. 

Present day...It was time to have my little rescue horse trained and I just couldn't see putting that kind of money into his training. While I don't like to start them anymore I'm more than capable of finishing them out. Just can't stay on through more than a couple serious bucks these days. Farrier's son along with wanting to follow in his father's footsteps also wants to start training. Cutter had been an easy going fellow and eager to please since I'd brought him home so I figured he wouldn't give the boy too many problems. Price was 300.00 and I had to furnish his hay & feed. Nick did a wonderful job with Cutter. Not the level of training that the previous place provided, but he knows the basics, doesn't buck and they loaded him up and took him to camp & trail ride just about every weekend. Cutter still needed work on neck reining, backing and transitioning into his gaits a little better. When he says 300 dollars for 30 days he means 30 riding days and so he ended up having him about 6 weeks. I tried to pay extra since he had him extra days but he refused to accept it. I'm very happy I took the chance on letting a 16 year old boy start him for me. He well exceeded what I've gotten from some other supposedly professional trainers (not the ones I mentioned in the first part of the post) for 30 days.


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## JPiantedosi (Apr 23, 2012)

we recently started looking for someone to break a little POA pony we have that my father in law and I are too big to break. We had a guy shoot us a price of $150/week which included training and board.

We talked to some guys down in Amish country and they were about the same.

Id prefer we break them all here but I wont put my wife on this little fire ball till she is at least green broke.

Jim


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Four years ago our trainer worked with Joshua. He didn't really charge us for training (because we're friends and he's too nice for his own good). He boarded only one or two horses and charged around $220/month at that time. 

I know he also trained a horse for a guy because he felt sorry for the horse. Her owner had her in training with an abusive guy. The poor mare, who was pregnant, had a bunch of open wounds from the previous trainer. A friend of his knew the mare and called our trainer because she was scared for the mare. Anyway, the owner wanted her trained because he couldn't approach her without being hurt after she foaled the last time.

At that time he charged somewhere between $440 and $500/month, including board. He said that training horses for others was really pretty nuts. With all the hours you need on a horse, he was risking his health and his life while maybe making minimum wage. Nowadays I'd expect to pay a lot more than that. Feed and hay prices have gone way, way up since that time.

This is going to cost you some big bucks.


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

akane said:


> I bred these horses myself. I planned and chose and waited. They are going nowhere. I would give anything to be on the back of their dam again and would love a stable full of her offspring instead of just 2. She was the best horse I've ever seen with some old qh lines. The older sibling has been very easy to break *I just haven't had time* but her sire is a pleasure stallion not a barrel stallion. I went out with my saddle to get her used to it expecting to spend a few weeks and ended up on her within the hour. They are good sane horses.
> 
> The younger of the 2 though got the dam's *higher energy* side and *hasn't been handled* plus* I have no round pen* right now. I got her to circle one direction but the other she* ran me over, dragged me, escaped 3 times*, and when I collected her the 3rd time we both stood there panting so this is not going to work. *I don't have the facilities or stamina *but I'd rather she stand in the pasture and* I train a foal out of her when I have the funds* than sell her. Really though she's so like her mom I just want to be on her and I'd love to feel those gaits with how she moves. She's a nice compact version of her mother. A perfect fix to the overly long stride that gave us trouble in things like pole bending and actually tore part of my barrel saddle. Sham is everything I wanted from Cara except I wish she'd come out roan from her sire instead of just sorrel. I planned and waited and now I just want to ride that overly intelligent little brat but I can't train her myself right now.
> 
> I'm seeing what my mom will pay as my christmas and birthday (my birthday is in jan) present to train her. I did get a reply from one person who wants $500.


If you already have two youngsters that you don't have the time, money, health, facilities or ability to train, please reconsider breeding another. These ones are at extremely high risk to end up in bad places if "life happens" and you need to re-home them.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I said when I have funds. Even if that's 10 years from now. There's no way they'd have to be rehomed anyway. We trade extra hay for someone to bale our hay, we don't grain, we have enough land and good enough feet they don't need trimmed, we have swallows that eat insects so well we have no flies or mosquitos to pass illness and nothing comes or goes so we don't vaccinate, we have no wire fences so our injuries have dropped to zero in the past 8 years.... My horses are costing me nothing to be pasture pets and they are on my mom's land who is making 6 figures a year. She agreed as my christmas present to pay half the training cost and transport the horses. I just have to come up with enough work to make $250 this month.


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

akane said:


> I said when I have funds. Even if that's 10 years from now. There's no way they'd have to be rehomed anyway. We trade extra hay for someone to bale our hay, we don't grain, we have enough land and good enough feet they don't need trimmed, we have swallows that eat insects so well we have no flies or mosquitos to pass illness and nothing comes or goes so we don't vaccinate, we have no wire fences so our injuries have dropped to zero in the past 8 years.... My horses are costing me nothing to be pasture pets and they are on my mom's land who is making 6 figures a year. She agreed as my christmas present to pay half the training cost and transport the horses. I just have to come up with enough work to make $250 this month.


I will now revise my earlier estimate of cost for breaking this horse. You are probably going to pay through the nose to find an experienced, talented trainer to take a feral horse who has never had veterinary or farrier care.


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