The market of horse sales in Poland is relatively more shallow than in other countries of western Europe. Despite that it's consequently developing, most purchasers (especially professional riders) decide to buy a horse from abroad. What should you focus on regarding such transaction?
Sale structure of sport horses, as well as recreational horses, has changes significantly over past twenty-five years. - After borders have been opened, many people who are involved in horse-riding have decided to buy horses from Germany, Holland, Belgium or France, instead of Poland. However, the horse-import in Poland today is significantly smaller than it was ten years ago and it doesn't exceed 2-3 thousand horses per year. People most often buy foals as prospects of the future sport successes and most often they get transferred to Polish farms during or after their sport careers – estimated Robert Pytliński, chief editor of “Świat Koni” monthly magazine.
Price of a particular animal is mostly determined by planned use. Breeders attach great importance to intentional and diligent selection of mares, as well as matching them with stallions that fulfill precise demands. Horses are being assigned to perform specific tasks from their earliest days these days. - Experts are able to see whether a two-year old horse would be better for breaking in, or for horse jumping. Dressage horses usually cost more money, because their training takes longer that training of jumping horses. Moreover, there are not many individuals that are capable of reaching the highest level – explained Katarzyna Bawłowicz, professional contestant and horse keeper of Cortina Sports Club in Kaczenice.
It's worth being aware that there are many factors that determine a price of a horse and that it's good to be cautious towards less expensive offers. Let's add that the average price for recreational horses in Poland is approximately 20 thousand PLN. - Pasture keeping of a horse until it turns four, is alone the cost of approximately 12 thousand PLN. If you feed a horse with special fodder, the costs exceed 20 thousand PLN. This is why a purchase of a healthy recreational horse who has passed a basic training and works under a saddle, should be higher than this amount. Of course, you can find offers that are near 10 thousand or less. However, keep in mind that they concern horses with an incomplete pedigree of their parents or that had injuries. Such offers may often mean that we are dealing with an animal which is old and exploited or, on the other hand, very young and without any training – warned Bawłowicz.
Economic reality of western Europe alone determines that horses from German stables are more expensive than those from Poland. - The European horse market is definitely larger than the marekt in Poland. However, it's much more difficult as well – said Pytliński. Therefore, a young sport horse, for which Polish horse keepers may sell for 40 thousand PLN, would possibly be approximately 50% more expensive in Germany. We have checked the prices at a popular German website, sporthorses-online.de. Prices of sport horses are divided into five categories. The lowest initial price for animals from the lowest shelf is 15 thousand euro, which equals 65.1 thousand PLN (* all currency exchange rates from 15.09.2016, as given by Cinkciarz.pl). We can find similar prices on the pferdeverkauf.com website. For example, a healthy four-year old mare with a potential to participate in contests costs 18.5 thosuand euro. It is also marked with a VHB symbol, which is very common in this sector and means that there is a possibility of negotiating the offered price.
It's also worth noting that horses from the highest category will cost much more. At the sporthorses-online.de website their prices begin with 100 thousand euro. However, such prices are not unusual in the world of professional breeding. - Last year, during an auction held in the Belgian Zangersheide stable, a three month foal was sold by more than 70 thousand euro. This level of prices is absolutely impossible in Poland – said Bawłowicz. However, a demand for luxury animals became a fact. - We cannot forget that horse breed should be determined by the market demand. Therefore, it needs to deliver the demanded product – summarized Pytliński.
If you want to buy a valuable animal, you shouldn't count on low prices. So perhaps, there is another way to make savings? - If you buy 15 thousand euro in Cinkciarz.pl, you will save 3.2 thousand PLN in comparison to exchange rates offered by banks – said Piotr Kiciński, Cinkciarz.pl vice-president of the Board. The money you have saved can be spent for buying a high class saddle. An exclusive version of leather saddle produced by renowned Polish brand costs approximately 3.3 thosuand PLN.