Newsdate: Wednesday February 15, 2023 - 11:00 am
Location: GILROY, California

An article in the Dakota Farmer by Sarah McNaughton addresses the steadily rising prices for working horses and how that is affecting horse sales and the people who need working horses for their farm or business.

Working horse pulling a carriage.

Increasing horse sale prices at the Black Hills Stock Show aren't unique since other sales such as the Horse Sale at Rancho Rio in Wickenburg, Ariz., saw even sharper price increases.
© 2016 by Margo Harriso New window.

For example as stated in the article, "Recently, at the Farm Credit Services of America Horse Sale in Rapid City, S.D., a red roan stallion named Hashtag You’re It fetched over $70,000. Coupled with increasing costs to maintain the animals, now might be the most expensive time to purchase and own a horse."

The South Dakota horse sale is known as one of the premiere horse auctions for working stock and showcases a gamut of horse types. They include finished rodeo horses, ranch horses with proven miles, prospects with potential in timed events, or trail-riding horses for hobby horseman.

Dani Herring, livestock and ag education manager at the Black Hills Stock Show, says the 2023 sale continued to break records in both attendance and prices. “We had buyers and consigners from Oklahoma, Texas, Canada and lots from the tri-state area,” she says. Most attendees come from South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

"Sale reports from the 2018 horse sale show the top seller as a gelding, Playin’ Big and Stylish, which sold for $27,000. Just five years later, some horses are selling from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Herring."

A Horse Sale at Rancho Rio in Wickenburg, Ariz., saw even sharper price increases. During its 2018 sale, I’m Brad to the Bone garnered the top selling spot at $79,000. The average lot price was $15,541. In 2022, the top seller’s price rose dramatically to $200,000, with an average sale price of $48,656.

The American Horse council reports that the U.S. equine industry contributes a total of $122 billion to the U.S. economy, with about 7.2 million horses residing in the U.S., it’s anyone’s guess when the market will begin its eventual decline.

For more information see complete article HERE