Beeston/horse sales

[AmymBlue]

Hi,

Has anyone brought a horse from Beeston or another horse auction? How did it go and what are your experiences of it? I am debating buying a horse from beeston as my yard owner will be going with me and they know what to look for. I have seen some amazing cases but others I have heard some horror stories

Thanks

 

[ycbm]

Do not buy anything with money you can't afford to lose. No-one can see kissing spines or any number of other problems. Anyone can fake a passport. I've bought there. For me, the mare was clearly an ex racer with a fake passport. That wasn't an issue for me, but she could have hurt someone before I got her retrained.

And please, don't buy if you aren't prepared to PTS if the horse is unsafe. Please do not poss some poor creature back into the market to continue to suffer, either mentally or physically.

You might get a real bargain. Chances are fairly high you won't.

 

[Shay]

Not really for the novice I'm afraid. On so many levels.... They can look like absolute rescue cases and you end up going home with a bunch to "save" them. Or if you don't, you tear your heart out because you couldn't. You can't get them vetted. You can't really see them ridden and you can't really try them out. Not necessarily a problem if you have a lot of experience - but no way to get a first horse. I'm afraid that's a recepie for heartbreak in a handbag. Yes there are good stories from sales - I've had a few. But behind every good one are a lot of ones which didn't work.

And ycbm is absolutely on the money. You must be prepared to PTS if you get it home and its not suitable. There is a reason why horses go to sales like this and it isn't usually because they could be sold another way.

 

[be positive]

As a YO I would not advise someone to buy from Beeston or any other sale of the type unless they are very aware of what they may end up with, for a first time buyer to even be considering it makes me very concerned as to the advice you are getting there may be many success stories but there will be many more failures, the horses are generally at the sales for a good reason and only a few will be because the owners had no other option but to send their perfect, much loved horse to take its chance of getting a good home, I would pts rather than send one of mine there.

Ideally when buying you should be able to try your first purchase in as many situations as possible to get a feel of whether it will be suitable and at least tick most of the boxes on your list of must haves, have the horse properly vetted and see it in the home it has been in for some time before parting with your hard earned cash.

The other thing as a YO is I would not allow a horse to enter my yard straight from the sales, I would insist on total isolation for at least 14 days to ensure it does not bring in anything nasty, I have 1 box for the purpose but it is not totally isolated from the rest so I would be very cautious about keeping it segregated during that period.

 

[conniegirl]

Very defiantly not for the novice!
I've had several lovely horses from beeston, but they all had some issue.
1st was a chronic weaver that could not be stabled at all. Not a problem when I had my own yard/land.
2nd was a hunter pony with a wicked temper on him, he came right after a while but it was very hard for the first year and there was plenty of blood shed.
The 3rd was an ex race horse, lovely but a bit thick.

Unfortunately I've also had a couple of bad ones,
First died shortly after buying it from liver failure
Second we had shot after it tried to kill us, several proffessionals and then put one proffessional in hospital with very serious injuries after attacking her in the field, we are not afraid of taking on challenges, between my mum and myself we have over 75 years experience with horses, are quite experienced at rehabbing abused horses and dealing with difficult or aggressive horses but the horse was beyond help.

 

[JillA]

I just can't believe your YO even suggested it. Maybe you need to find more genuine advice...............

 

[JDee]

I bought some great horses and ponies from there in the past but you need to be very careful when you're looking at them and have someone with you that's 'in the know' where the various regular dealers are concerned as to who's honest and who isn't. Don't buy something because you feel sorry for it or because you're sure you can 'get it right'
If you buy warranted you've got 3 days to give the horse a good trial and get it vetted and if it isn't right as per the description it was sold as you send it back to the seller via the Auctioneers. I'd have a horse blood tested & vetted ASAP.
Don't buy any unwarranted there
If you really want to buy from auction then you tend to get a better class of horse/pony at the Brightwells sales

 

[hackneylass2]

Don't go there! If it does not break your heart, it may well break your bank balance, bones or sanity.

Just not worth it IMO, and I bought a cracker at auction when I was very young, it was an absolute fluke. I have seen and heard many bad stories that outweighed the good. After almost 50 years of experience of horses, I would never consider Beeston, unless I was a dealer with isolation facilities etc and could cope with letting go if needed at total loss. The low prices are very good at hiding hidden costs, both financially and emotionally.