Advice on buying a horse

[EA73]

Does anyone have any advice on what questions we should be asking when first call about a horse we have seen advertised and what further questions we should ask during a viewing or anything we should look out for when we are there.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[PorkChop]

You need to decide your priorities and what is a must have for you, for example does it have to be a safe hack, or is it more important that it is calm in a competition environment.

If you are a novice, take someone experienced with you. Always ask for a clinical history, if there is one. It's not a deal breaker for me but I would want to know whether it is good to load/travel/shoe/clip/in traffic/vaccinations up to date/passport/microchip/catch/good or grumpy in stable/any vices - the list goes on. As I say you have to decide what you are prepared to put up with and what you are prepared to work on.

I also trust my gut feeling, if I have any doubts I walk away - good luck on the horse hunting!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I usually ask what else the vendor can tell me about the horse, then as the conversation progresses, check the details in the ad. If a particular aspect is particularly important to me but hasn't been mentioned either in advert or conversation, I will ask a direct question, e.g. "What is he like for the farrier?" Sometimes these details are omitted accidentally from the advert, sometimes it is deliberate. The conversation is a good way to assess the level of expertise of the vendor, which is often but not always an indicator of the manners of the horse. As LJR says always take someone experienced with you t a viewing. It helps if they can be not just experienced with horses but in buying them.

 

[WindyStacks]

I'm careful with the wording of my questions - rather than "Is he a good hacker?", I'll ask "what happens when you're out and a car comes around the corner too fast?", or "What does he make of the vet pulling out a big jaggy needle?". By keeping it light, people relax and tend to be more candid.

 

[oldie48]

Ask what they would change about him and if they say nothing, ask them why they are selling him. unless they are a dealer there's always something that has prompted the sale. I think it's also helpful to try to establish the level of competence of the owner, a really experienced owner will make light of things that a less experienced owner will find a problem, eg horse can get a bit stressy at competitions, isn't a problem for an experienced rider but can be a huge issue for someone less experienced and perhaps less confident. Also agree with Windystacks, get them talking, it's sometimes interesting what they say when their guard is down!

 

[cornish rider]

don't be afraid to go back more than once!!!! don't let someone push u into buying a horse its a lot of money to spend u want to make sure u getting what's best for u! make sure u ride it,if you are a first time buyer maybe take an experience friend to jump on first. but make sure u get on.if the people/ horse for sale is genuine they will have nothing to hide and wont have a problem with you going out a few times.

 

[LizzieRC1313]

Make sure you do as much with horse as you can before buying. Don't just take sellers word for it. If you wanna compete & they say horse competes, ask to see it in a comp environment. If they say it has done BE, check it's record. Also I know this will make me sound like a massive stalker, but a friend was buying a horse last year & some of the stories about it just didn't stack up. I found the seller on twitter & went back through her tweets & found many about bad behaviour of the horse, including one about being thrown out of a clinic, totally unsuitable for my friend. Social media can be your friend in this situation!! Also I always google add details, it can give loads away about the horses previous sales, we discovered a horse advertised as a 1* eventer was actually a total dud XC through a previous seller. If you want to hack alone, take it hacking alone. Canter it in a field, & try and ride it in fairly heavy traffic. Pick up all it's feet, ask to see it in a field in company, ask to see it caught (better if it's leaving it's friends behind), see how it reacts to multiple riders getting on. If you want to do schooling/dressage with it, & if you're not very experienced yourself take a good rider to ride it for you. Anything you can't do with it, have they got video of it doing? E.g XC schooling. I'd be suspicious if they have had a horse for a few years but had no footage of it schooling etc. Ask what it's being fed & why (if it isn't being fed, why not? Be aware if it looks lean then it could be not being fed cause it gets sharp on food). You can ask to see it's vet record. How long has it been in it's home for? I'd always prefer to have a horse that has had fewer homes (altho this is by no means a hard & fast rule). Hope this helps! These are the main things I've learnt over last few years from personal & friends experience. I wouldn't worry too much about initial convo, if you like the ad & it's not miles away I'd always go have a look!

 

[Wiz201]

Ask if he/she comes with tack/rugs etc. I was at a committee meeting with my rda group leader discussing the group buying a new pony and he's coming with absolutely nothing but a headcollar lol. Could be something to think about with the price etc.