Advice on Horse Buying

[Flibble]

I contacted a good friend who used to teach me on my horse and wailed to her about the complex trial that is horse buying.

Here is the last paragraph of her reply

"Think of it like clothes shopping, it can take a whole day to find that perfect outfit and that's after you've been round all the shops and tried on countless amounts of clothes, and we always want a bargain from the sale rail!"

 

[JM07]

"Go with your gut feeling"

that was the best advice ever given to me....

 

[minerva]

you will know when you see them, look at as many as you can, and dont forget the one whos ad you keep seeing but you arnt sure about - that could be the one!! good luck hon xxx

 

[Michelle73]

QR:

This is interesting, more advice please because I'm looking for a horse too!!!

 

[bhpride]

I'm awful at buying - I don't do anything right and I don't know what I'm doing, I just look think "Oh he/she's pretty..never been handled/just broken/green? Never dealt with that before.." and buy it anyway. Awful. Don't have vettings either. I must say each one has worked out very well lol with a bit of luck and graft

 

[saskia295]

NEVER buy a horse you feel sorry for - it just isn't a good enough reason to buy.

(You will see plenty that have the most God awful / clueless / idiotic owners).

 

[Flibble]

I went with Gut feeling when I bought Gully. Just sat on him and thought within 60 seconds mine and we have had 13 years of bliss (barring concussion the odd fracture and some Tate Modern standard bruises).

 

[HollyP]

I bought my mare because she felt safe...even when she was messing around like a loon...but then i did get ripped off in the end....would never sell my princess now though

 

[1pebbs1]

I think this is a tricky one!! Sometimes people buy horses that are pretty, flashy and talented because they think thats what they want- but really they want a good ol' plod! All I can say is be strict with yourself as to the type of horse you want. Know your capabilities, don't exeed them, and take a good knowledgeable friend for back up. Don't rush into buying something just because you are fed up of looking- it hardly ever never works out, trust me. And always have a vetting! I love horse shopping even though it can be VERY frustrating!! x

 

[elliegirl12]

make sure you get it vetted by your own vet go and see it a few times, make sure you know what you want, i bought a horse quite a few years ago from a field and had been neglected but ended up with atheritus and then bought one a year back now and was meant to be green and sensitive and despite 5 star vetting we found out that she had kissing spine. it is like a minefield buying a new horse, people will do anything nowa days to get rid of something that has something wrong with it, if you can try talk to someone up the yard what they know about the horse or ask owner if you can to speak to their own vet. i dont know what else to say good luck