Buying a horse from MILES away?

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Sologirl

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I'm just exploring all my horse buying options and looking around - a lot of really nice horses seem to be at the other end of the country (literally!) What's your max mileage for going to view/buy horses?

As gorgeous as some of the horses sound on paper I am just concerned that a) they will be nothing like described and I've had a wasted very long journey, b) it would be extremely expensive to transport and c) as a lot of them are dealers then although there would be that option to take horse back if unsuitable, that's still another huge expense and a lot of time to me.

Do you think the hope of finding a perfect horse outweighs the downsides of an enormous journey, or do you think I'm better off looking closer to home?
 
My max limit for viewings (after months of gradually adding to the drivetime) is 4 hours - i.e. still able to do there-and-back in a day. But only after seeing lots of pics and a video. I'm off to do a 400 mile round trip to look at one on Sunday actually, so fingers crossed...

However it has struck me that if I do like this horse and want to go down in the horsebox for the vetting (and take him home if he passes), I'll have to go down the night before as otherwise if I tried to do a day trip (slower in a lorry than a car as well) the poor horse would arrive at our yard at 8pm when everyone has gone home and not have much chance to settle down before I'd have to leave him for the night too.
 
I would probably no further than a "day out" for me. But I would want every pic and video possible and I would want the owner to be aware how far I was coming therefore, early viewing so less risk of getting there and being told "sorry, he's just been sold!" I would also expect the seller to advise the night before if he had been sold. But saying all that you never know until you get there, I mean you may not even like said horse, no matter how wonderful the pics and vids look! It's a chance you take. Where are you based?
 
If it was the right horse and I'd seen plenty of videos and pics then I'd travel anywhere in the uk and Ireland and poss even some other northern European countries if the horse was really special.

A couple of years ago I drove a 700 mile round trip to see a weaning and it would have honestly been easier to fly to Spain!

He was worth it though, is now 3 and I'm backing him this year :D
 
You could always find a few horses in a similar area and spend a couple of days looking around the area
 
OK if you attend the vetting and use your own vet, which in most cases is impossible or impossibly expensive. Why not ask someone on the forum if they would go and have a look for you first of all - plently of knowledgeable, helpful people here!
 
Was just going to suggest the same and see if anyone on the forum is near the horse you would like to see. Most of us love a good horse viewing!!
 
I have bought from a mile away and many times from over 300 miles away, have not really had any wasted journeys yet. Ask lots of questions, then go see if your gut says yes.
 
Lippyx said:
I would probably no further than a "day out" for me. But I would want every pic and video possible and I would want the owner to be aware how far I was coming therefore, early viewing so less risk of getting there and being told "sorry, he's just been sold!" I would also expect the seller to advise the night before if he had been sold. But saying all that you never know until you get there, I mean you may not even like said horse, no matter how wonderful the pics and vids look! It's a chance you take. Where are you based?
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I'm in Edinburgh and looking at horses in Sussex - stupid me! It's a dealer so I've seen a ton of pictures/videos and progress reports, plus there is more than one horse I could view there so not altogether a complete waste of time! So if anyone lives near Gatwick - PM me if you fancy going to look at some 'osses! :D
 
I bought my current horse from Worcester which was a 6 hour round trip for me, I made sure to see plenty of pictures and talked to the dealers a lot before going to see him!
Coincidentally he was seriously sedated and it came to light that he was not infact fully backed, all they did was get on and hold on! However I didn't let that put me off, I'd produced hunters before so I figured that a near-blank canvas would be easy! I was mostly right, but thats probably down to the fact that he's got the sweetest little nature!
But basically, don't let distance put you off! If I had I wouldn't have my lovely boy now, so I'd say once you felt that you had enough information and you were happy then go see them! :D
 
i viewed a lot of horses that were miles away! and ended up buying one from 5 minutes down the road! i think sometimes with these things you have to take chances, you don't want to let distance get in the way of your dream horse!
 
I'm not far from the OP and find clients are happy to fly or drive a fair distance to us. I do provide lots of pictures and videos though and my reputation is very easy to check out. So in my experience distance is often not an issue for a serious purchaser.

Says the member who is off to Ireland for a day trip shopping tomorrow!
 
Sologirl said:
I'm in Edinburgh and looking at horses in Sussex - stupid me! It's a dealer so I've seen a ton of pictures/videos and progress reports, plus there is more than one horse I could view there so not altogether a complete waste of time! So if anyone lives near Gatwick - PM me if you fancy going to look at some 'osses! :D
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Sologirl - can I ask where you are looking in Sussex? PM if you prefer.
 
Sologirl said:
I'm in Edinburgh and looking at horses in Sussex - stupid me! It's a dealer so I've seen a ton of pictures/videos and progress reports, plus there is more than one horse I could view there so not altogether a complete waste of time! So if anyone lives near Gatwick - PM me if you fancy going to look at some 'osses! :D
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I live near Stirling (about an hour from Edinburgh) and travelled to Essex to buy my foal. It took 9 hours, me driving for a few hours then swapping with my mum for a few hours. We then spent a night in a hotel and went and met foalie in the morning. We met her and her dam and then travelled to go and see her stallion, we spent the best part of the morning and afternoon with the horses and family. Before going I recieved hundreds of photos and videos of her, the dam and the stallion as well as talking with the owner at the time, someone else who had bought a foal form them a few years previously by the same dam and sire and also spoke to there vet verifying what they were saying. If i am going to be honest I knew before I was going that she was right I just needed to have gut feeling confirmed. A year later she is a wee star and I regularly still keep in touch with her breeder.
For me Im not sure however I would travel the distance to go to a dealers to see horses, I dont know what your looking for but I doubt that you couldnt find it nearer to home. If you want PM what your looking for and I may know of something.
 
I live in France and bought my pony from Bedford without viewing him and it was the best thing i've ever done. The vet who vetted him told me that "he wouldn't be suitable for a child". I should have known he'd be crazy (yet very lovable)

However i only shipped him over as i have very limited choice in France, if i was in the UK i'd travel 1 hour max
 
Very much up to the individual and how far you're prepared to go!

This time I set myself a max distance of around 100 miles (sometimes 150 if I really liked the look ;-)
Ended up buying local 15-20 miles away this time but have brought from Derbyshire in the past (am in surrey) and think that's about the furthest I've done.

In terms of transport costs I guess it depends on what you're looking for a horse for, is it a life long friend in which case the initial outlay spread over the number of years you're going to have them might be justified, or ditto for something that you believe you could add value to and sell on?

Word of caution I went to see one a well known (& Gatwick area but TBH could have happened anywhere) reputable dealers with lots of videos / photos / reports but it was my own ignorance that resulted in me not noticing that the videos did not show the horse doing a single transition or working on circles ... was sorely disapointed when I viewed - plus it was the best part of a hand higher than advertised. So lesson from the sadder & wiser to look for whats missing as well as what's shown ;)
 
My OH and I drove 6 hours one way with an overnight stop in a hotel to view my boy. (we are in London and he was up near Scotland).
The photos on his ad weren't very good so he didn't look like anything special but my gut feeling told me I had to go and see him so we made a weekend away of it. Best thing I ever did. Before we headed off on our 'road trip' I spoke to the seller a couple of times and asked every question you could imagine spending about an hour on the phone each time. He was 1000 times better in the flesh and has turned out (so far) to be everything and more and is most definitely my forever dream horse. He didn't tick all my boxes in the advert but in real life ticks them all and some.
I keep in touch every few weeks with his previous owner as she was quite upset to sell him but he was too green for her. I promised her I would never sell him and would always keep in touch and she is welcome anytime to come and see him. I would have quite happily travelled anywhere within Europe for 'the one' and even contemplated one for sale in Germany until I found the advert for my boy.
At some point in the future we will be moving back to Australia and my big Bob will be flying back with us regardless of the cost. Once you find the horse of your dreams (then for me anyway) there is no way you could ever let them go. Plus I bought my boy based on the promise to his previous owner that I would keep him for life so I intend to do just that.
 
hi i think its so difficult to find a horse you like ,in my experience every horse i find i like is miles away, and three that i have travelled to see recently for 5 hours travel where nothing like they where discribed or looked like the photos i was emailed ,so gutted to say the least !
 
I once had a horse on loan from Epsom and I live in Leicestershire. It was a long day going to try him as I had one to try in the morning.
When I returned him (he tried to kill my friend who will get on anything) it took us 3 hours to get there.
 
I would probably travel the length of the UK to try a horse if I'd seen video footage etc. of it first and felt it really should suit. Definately get video first before making a journey. I actually bought a 3yo Welsh Cob from Wales (I'm NE Scotland) based purely from the video footage although in that case he'd only just been backed so I figured he hadn't had long to be ruined, so it depends what you're buying really. Transport costs arent that bad, especially if you use one of the big companies like Gillies who price according to shared journeys. Cant comment on the dealer query as Ive only ever bought privately. It does shock me the amount of people who will only travel like 3 hours to see a horse...!
 
After looking for a weight-carrier for a novice, rugby-playing (so large) OH along the length of the M62 corridor, so from Liverpool to Hull and slightly up and down to see many too light, too forward-going, too small horses even though I'd discussed our requirements on the phone, only to find the perfect Clydie within hacking distance from home, I now refuse to travel for more than an hour. Admittedly that was before the internet and I hadn't seen photos but even more recently, with photos, I've been to view horses who were not as advertised. Fortunately I hadn't wasted much time/fuel. I did consider one at the other end of the country which sounded perfect and wondered if some-one on here would go and check that the ad was correct.
 
My current girl was miles up the country. I had to stay over to view her.
I wasn't there for the vetting but if I could have waited couple of weeks my vet would have gone for me as he was there for a conference.
When she came to me I paid for a transporter to get her. If your not fussy on days it can work out well. This particular transporter was driving down to pick up a horse and take it back to him.
Don't regret going for a second!!

I had pics, vids etc. owner was aware how far I was coming and didn't arrange for any viewings until I had been. Think she wanted me to have her already!
 
Sologirl said:
I'm in Edinburgh and looking at horses in Sussex - stupid me! It's a dealer so I've seen a ton of pictures/videos and progress reports, plus there is more than one horse I could view there so not altogether a complete waste of time! So if anyone lives near Gatwick - PM me if you fancy going to look at some 'osses! :D
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I'm near Gatwick! Which dealer is it?
 
I got back from my 4-hours-each-way viewing earlier this evening. Arrived, went with the owner to the field to catch the horse (who is living out at the 'mo) and it had lost a shoe overnight.

So I drove 200 miles home again after a groom, tackup and 5mins walk in the school. As a result have just revised maxium viewing distance down to 150 miles / 3 hours. The fuel alone for today's round trip cost £80.
 
If I was shopping I'd be in the market for a bog-standard riding club type horse, so I wouldn't travel for more than about an hour to view. Once you start travelling for miles you might as well just up your horse budget instead, which effectively gives you more choice in any case :)
 
It depends on what type of horse you are looking for.
When my last pony died last year, I specifically wanted another forest bred New Forest filly. I'd looked at hundreds of adverts, knowing that I needed to buy another pony straight away. Nothing stood out until I saw photos on another fourm of the pony I bought. I knew instantly that she was "THE ONE", got in touch with her breeder and arranged to go down to see/pay for her.
I'm just south of Edinburgh, and I travelled down to the New Forest and back. I don't have a car. I decided that the train fare was extortionate and that the bus was cheaper. Train had a ridiculous amount of changes each way, and would have meant being alone in strange train stations, at stupid 'o' clock in the morning. The bus had one change each way, took exactly the same length of time as the train, and cost less than half the train fare.
So, off to the New Forest I went, by National Express coach :D. I left Edinburgh bus station at 10pm, and was in a cafe in London having breakfast at 6am the next morning. Got the next bus from London to Southampton, where my pony's breeders met me, and spent an amazing 2 days with them. I had a personal guided tour around the New Forest, saw where my pony was born and lived for the first 2 years of her life. Met my pony's granddam with her latest foal at foot. Went looking for my pony's dam, but we couldn't find her (the NF stallions had just been put out on the forest a couple of days before, so some of the mares were moving around a lot).
So, I left home on the Monday night and arrived back on the Thursday morning. My pony was picked up by Gavin Jamieson Transport on the Thursday morning, and she arrived up here on the Friday morning. In all, I travelled a round trip of 1000 miles (by bus :D) to buy the pony I wanted. The transport wasn't overly expensive either, just over £300 which included an overnight stay at a livery yard.
My Welsh Cob (which I am selling), I travelled to Aberdeen and back for her. :)
 
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