My family is new to the barrel racing world. My daughter is looking for her next horse to run 2D/3D. We live in the Southeast so horses are a little harder to come by. What would you pay for a horse that knows the pattern, age between 5-10, and papers or no papers? 

SO many factors to figure in on something like this. 

I have been at this a long time and will advise you to be cautious in your search and do research on sellers. Many will prey upon a newer competitor and take advantage. There are some very reputable trainers in the southeast that have been at it a long time----WHY, because they are honest. Search them out---you may pay a little more, but you will know exactly what you are getting. DO NOT get fooled by someone who posts a video and says the horse is a 2D-3D horse but it is at a local playday with 30 horses there. IMO---that is not a legit 2-3D horse. Hope that helps

All yeah---for a nice 3D horse with minimal maintenance in our area you can expect to pay 20,000 and up. 

Agree with above, also ask for proof of stats on the horse. A seller should have results of previous shows the horse has ran at. If they don't have stats to show or what they have isn't recent, walk away. 2/3D at small jackpots is  avery different horse than 2/3D at bigger shows. They should be advertised by what division they run against 100+ entries, not 40. If you want 2D at smaller shows, 3D at bigger shows you're looking in the 20-30K range, you might deduct 2K-ish for something grade but its not going to be a huge price difference, especially in a gelding. If you want something to run 2D at shows with 100+ you're in the 30-40K minimum. Price will slightly depend on what maintenance the horse needs, some need $1K or more a year to run & some only need $100.

I would do some research, find a good trainer and ask them for help. They will most likely be able to help find you a horse to fit your needs and budget 

If you are new to barrel racing I would recommend you find a good trainer and let them help you find a horse. If this is your first barrel horse, it is most likely not going to need to be a horse that runs 2 or 3D times at supershows, he needs to be a been there done that horse that will help your rider build confidence. Your trainer can access your rider's skills and help find a horse that fits . You need something that is way past just "knowing the pattern". 

I hate to see people new to the sport attempting this on their own. It can be very frustrating for both the horse and rider .

As someone that entered the barrel racing industry in the last decade and that has recently been looking for a step up horse, I cannot recommend what others are saying in working with a trainer enough. I have such a great network of people that I can get help from and it has saved me massive headaches.

In looking for my step up horse, I read probably 100 ads over the course of a year and a half or so and only reached out to 10 or so sellers. I am very good at investiating things online and constantly found where people weren't honest or wrote things vaguley in their ads. I was looking for a 3d 100+ entries horse. I read ads that advertised a horse as 3d but then after doing some digging it was a playday 3d horse or the horse hadn’t even been run in 2 years. Then there are the “Fluffy has never X, Y, Z” and then you dig in their FB and the seller had posts about Fluffy doing X, Y, and Z six months ago…..Then there are also the maintenance issues and what you are willing to do to keep the horse performing where it is (lasix, chiro, supplements, etc). I feel like in horse shopping, you really have to be able to read in between the lines and see what might have been left out of the ad so you know what to specifically ask for and how to specially ask about certain things.

On a side note, I have to say I love my older horses. All of my barrel horses have been ~15 YO when I purchased them. I keep up with the maintenance and I have a 22 YO still running in the 4d at local ~100 entry shows. Those older horses still have a lot of teaching left in them.

I think the most important thing is that the horse fits the child. I don't care how well you think the child can ride, if the horse doesn't fit it just doesn't work. I prefer an older, been there, done that kind of horse. There are several good trainers on the East Coast that would help you. Just watch out for horse traders!  Make sure that you have a prepurchase exam. I think I would include a drug test. I have friends who are good riders and are very knowledgeable about horses and found a horse that "fit", got the horse home and it was a completely different horse. Horse had been drugged.  I also suggest that you have someone that can work with your daughter and also work with the horse to keep everything operating as it should. Dusky Lynn Hall is a 10 year old that is winning everywhere. Aside from the fact that she has a trailer load of nice horses, she said in an interview that her parents have people who work with her and people who work with her horses. I do think the main thing is that the horse fits the child. 

Find her an "older, been there" horse that will teach her how to compete. I always have older rodeo horses standing around I put the beginners or kids on. The horse will teach the so much and the kids have a blast competing. Inexperienced and young NEVER work.