How Much Does a Dressage Horse Cost? (2005 Survey)

This is an article from 2005 … prices have changed since then!

Just how much does a dressage horse cost?

It might be impolite, but when you meet new people with their dressage horses don’t you want to ask how much that cost?

A better way, and more discrete, is to do your research online. Keep in mind that the “asking” price may not reflect the true “sale” price. But you get the idea. If someone is asking $20,000, I doubt they would sell the horse to you for $1,000. Perhaps $15,000. Or perhaps even $10,000. It would depend on the circumstances that the seller is in.

I did my research using a popular horse classified website. I looked at advertisements that had horse photos with them and noted the age, breed, color, and price. I sorted the horses by what “level” they were advertised at.

Here are the results.

First level horses were selling for between $2,000 and $35,000. The cheapest selling horses were Arabians and Thoroughbreds. The higher dollar horses, of course, included the warmbloods and occasional Friesian. The youngest age of a first level horse offered for sale was 5 years old and the oldest was 17 years old. The most common age was for 8 and 10 year old horses, with the average age at 11. The average price was $12,000. Back to the study…roughly half of the horses were mares and the others were geldings with 1 stallion for sale (out of the 28 horses I browsed at first level). The most common colors were bay and black with several chestnuts and one palomino, and one palomino paint.

At second level I browsed 35 horses advertised. The lowest price was $4,000 for a 19 year old half-Arabian gelding and the highest was $45,000 for a 14 year old Dutch warmblood gelding. The lower priced horses were again Thoroughbreds and Arabians. The highest priced horses were Westphalian, Andalusian, Dutch Warmblood, and Oldenburg. The youngest second level horse listed was a 6 yr old Appaloosa gelding and the oldest was a 19 yr old half-Arabian. The average age was 11 years (same as for first level).

Average price for a second level horse was $18,000. About 40% of the horses cost $20,000 or more. There was one Andalusian and one Lusitano listed at this level of horse for sale out of 35 horses. Only 20% of the horses for sale were mares at this level.

At third level, there were only 19 horses to browse. The lowest price was $3,000 for a 14 year old Arabian mare. This was the only horse listed in the lower range with all other horses at least $12,000 or more. The majority of breeds were Dutch warmbloods. Six mares were represented and 13 geldings.

Colors included bay, chestnut, brown, and grey. The highest price was $65,000 for a 9 year old Dutch warmblood gelding. The average age, AGAIN, was 11 years old. I wonder if this is the average age for all “dressage” horses? The average price for a third level horse was $29,000. The only non-traditional breed offered at this level was a few Arabians, a Morgan, and one quarter horse. All others were warmbloods. About 30% were mares.

At fourth level there were 15 horses to browse. The lowest price was $2,000 for a 21 year old black Thoroughbred mare. The highest price was $70,000 for a 10 year old Oldenburg gelding. The old thoroughbred mare was the only horse in the price range below $22,000. The average price was $34,000 but was closer to $40,000 when you discount the old thoroughbred mare. Choices of color included bay, black, chestnut, grey, and one buckskin pinto. There was one Lipizan ($22,000) and one Andalusian ($45,000) offered in this group. The youngest horse was an 8 yr old Andalusian, the oldest was the 21 year old Thoroughbred. The average age of fourth level horses offered for sale was 12.5. About 27% were mares.

There were 18 horses listed for sale at the Grand Prix level. I did not count horses listed for sale as “private treaty” in my calculations. The least expensive Grand Prix horse was $28,000 for a 17 year old Swedish warmblood chestnut gelding. The most expensive was a $200,000 for a 10 year old Swedish warmblood bay gelding. The average price was $83,500. I counted all horses in this level whether they were FEI-I, FEI-II, or Prix St. George as the same. There was one Friesian, one half-Arabian, and the rest of the horses were European warmbloods. The youngest horse age was 9 and the oldest was 17. The average age was 13 years. Only one horse was a mare (that’s less than 1%).

To sum up, first level horses sell for an average of $12,000; second level sells for $18,000; third level sells for $29,000; fourth level for $34,000; and Grand Prix horses sell for an average of $83,500! The percentage of mares in dressage training is about 50% at first level, levels out at 30% for awhile, then drops dramatically to less than 1% after fourth level.

When you go shopping, do your homework first and be realistic about what you can spend and what you will get when you spend that amount.