Buying a horse long(ish) distance

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MissMincePie&Brandy

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I've seen an advert for a horse which looks amazing and perfect for me. I have seen multiple photos and had an in-depth chat with the owners. It's a private sale. If what they tell me is true, then the horse sounds exactly what I am looking for.

The trouble is, he's 230 miles away. Logistically is it do-able? I'd have to find a good independent vet who isn't connected to the horse or the owners. I'd want to thoroughly trial him, perhaps over a weekend?

I have an equitrek space trailer. I've never driven it for anywhere like that distance before.
Google maps say a car journey would take 3 and a half hours from mine to their yard. I guess this could go up to 4 and a half to 5 hours in the trailer though? Perhaps it would be better to hire a professional transport company to bring him back if the cost isn't too high.

Is it worth going long distance to get a horse? How have others done it successfully?
 
I did it with my last horse, he was about 4hrs away. Did as you have done and chatted to the owners on the phone for hours to make sure it was worth the journey, went down and booked a cheapy travel inn for the night - good idea if you want to try a horse over a weekend! All worked out great :) I used a professional transport company to bring him up the road though, wasnt too expensive and I didnt fancy towing that distance!
 
I would if it sounds like this is one for you. Buying horses is a lot different these days than it used to be, thanks to modern technology where you are able to see plenty of pics, videos etc before deciding you want to see a horse. It's not like the old days of just going off a written ad in the paper or, if you were lucky an ad in H&H that did have one picture.

I would do as JulzS said and book into a cheapie hotel to get a good trial of the horse. Ask you vet to recommend maybe two practices (just in case one is the vendors) and ideally vet names if they can in that area who would be able to vet the horse for you. personally I would pick up the horse myself but i have a wagon, i don't think I'd fancy driving that far in a trailer so I would suggest, for the difference in cost to book a transporter to do that part for you.
 
If the horse is perfect for you then I personally would definately travel for it. To be honest, you could easily travel more than 200 miles going back and forth to try not-so-perfect horses! I bought one of mine from Wales... (Im NE Scotland) but then I bought him based on video footage, he was a newly backed 3yo though so I figured there couldnt be much wrong with him yet! I got him vetted by one of their local vets and had him transported up by a Welsh horse transporter (only cost me £200).

You'll be fine taking the trailer that far. I've gone 10 hours in a trailer to competitions in England before no problem. It can be easier to get him on a transporter though - phone some companies and get quotes, but then prices vary depending on how big a load they have on a particular day etc. I'd normally prefer a transporter if more than 2 hours away to be honest, purely because its easier to leave it to them in case its a bad traveller!
 
Its definatly worth the trip, i did when i was looking for a pony for my daughter, but what it might be worth doing as the other have said book somewhere to stay, but then see if theres some others worth viewing in the area this one might not be perfect but they may be another in the area, least if theyve lied or he isnt right it wont be a wasted trip if youve seen 4/5 horses.
|If you comfortable driving a trailer that far its not a problem equitrecks are also very good comfortable trailers. Im in berkshire and my boss has just taken 3 ponies in a trailer to aberdeen with no problems,:)
 
i bought my last 2 horses from same place i am in south ayrshire and they were in knutsford it is about 240miles away took about 5 hrs i think? i bought the first kalli from video as just backed so went down the next day 3 weeks before xmas took our own trailer it was well worth it i also seen a nice grey gelding rising 4 while i picked kalli up so when she saddly had to be pts after fracturing her pelvis a month after i got her i didnt have to think twice about going back down to get the gelding both travelled over from germany so they were totally fine travelling in our ifor williams for 240 miles! it was the best thing i have done as no horses up here were what i wanted.
 
Defo worth the trip if the horse sounds like your perfect horse.
I got mine from Ireland. I went to look at 4 horses at diff yards around the same area. just incase you get their and is not as descibed youve got some back ups. stopped in a hotel for two nights. Tried all four horses, only was interested in the one (funny because before we went I wasnt interested at all in him, I was dead set on another one but was dissapointed when I saw him.) then the next two days tried him out jumping, hacking etc. then drove back the next weekend to collect.
My OH drove an hour to dublin port 3 hours on ferry then 4-5 hours home.
Stopped twice for a graze and offering water, but was pretty stress free. and well worth the journey as I couldnt of found a more perfect horse for me.
Good luck hope you find the right horse
:D
 
Did 6 hour journey with horsebox last week to Yorkshire from Sussex to view pony for daughter, it was perfect, popped it in lorry-job done :D
He travelled really well for 6 hr journey back, so very do-able.
 
I would say defo worth the trip. I drove from Suffolk to North Wales down to the Devon/Cornwall border to buy my recent purchase. I did get a transport company to bring her back her once she'd passed the vets. I would ask your vets to recommend a vet practise where the horse in question is. I was lucky that one of the vets from the practise I use had started up down there so I used him. Good luck!
 
I saw my mare on Horsemart and the minute i saw her pic i liked her,she was the horse i had in my mind that i wanted and i'd been trawling the internet for 2 months with no luck and wasn't keen on any before this,when i saw her location i did ponder a bit as to whether i should bother but curiosity over ruled and hey ho that weekend we were off down there! I live in Oxfordshire and went all the way down to Cornwall to see my mare,my excuse to the OH was a weekend away! We stayed in a b&b and i went and saw her on the saturday,tried her in the school and then took her for a hack,got back and said i'd have her. I um'd and ah'd as to whether to get a transporter or pick her up myself and in the end decided to pay a transporter,the cheapest quote i got was £600 so went with them. Re vets,i asked on here what vets were good around that area and went with one that the horses owner wasn't with,worked out well.
 
Yes go for it you might find your perfect horse. I just travelled 209 miles for my recent purchase. We made a weekend of it and booked into a b&b overnight.
 
Mmmm, dunno what to say really, coz if you don't go to see the horse you'll always wonder what if ......

Do you have any "friends of friends" or whatever in the area who could perhaps go to have a peep at it for you? That would be an ideal scenario coz you could so easily waste your time. I went to see a horse once that was a two-and-a-half hours journey each way and if the seller had been remotely honest I would have known not to bother; as it was I had a wasted journey and wasted petrol and knew as soon as I'd caught sight of the horse that it wasn't going to be any good, later confirmed when I saw it ridden. The "ideal schoolmaster type" turned out to be a nappy little git who just wanted to piss off home the whole time!

Is the seller able to forward a DVD or something technical on computer (sorry dunno how it works or what its called!!) for you before you make the journey? That would help.

Re. the vetting, I had a similar dilemma with wanting to "vet" something outside the area and approached my own vets in the first instance. Your vet may be able to recommend another practice in the area who could assist.

IF you are going to make the journey and/or overnight stay involved ; I'd be inclined to have one or two other horses in the area to view as well, if you can; certainly I'd be researching a few dealers yards in the area just to see what's on offer and give you something objective to compare the horse you're going to see against.

You're lucky to have your own transport; I know someone from Devon who bought unseen a horse in Yorkshire I think it was (silly girl to do it!!!) then when she got it home she was ****-scared of it and never rode it; but as she was keeping it on full livery the YO bought it and after a bit of schooling sold it on!!!
 
My new horse was 23hours away in Southern Ireland, unbroken and green as the grass he stood in. I bought him unseen from a multitude of fairly mediocre pictures, due to weather mostly, He is a stunner with a lovely laid back temperment age 4 and 16.2hh ID/cob, but looks all ID. I am pretty good on conformation but you never really know about temperament until you get them, thats why I was keen to have no TB in any purchase I made. I paid £1400 for my boy and I can see now he is almost backed that he is going to be worth a hell of a lot more than that. I would definately do it again if I was younger.

best1web.jpg


Previous horse ,below was bought this way, from a video and a few pics, he was also an unbacked youngster and I got an outstanding horse for £2000.
He was by Knockboy Hero ID out of TB mare, at 3.5 years at first Dressage show 4 months after backing.
330105-008.jpg
 
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Sorry haven't read all the replies so I apologise if I'm repeating anything but coming from the Channel Islands we always have a long way to travel to view horses.

Before you commit to go, make sure you've seen recent pictures and videos as quite often I've seen pictures and videos of horses which when I see in the flesh look nothing like the media I've seen and it's because they are a few years old. I now always ask for a recent video and pics even if I've been sent stuff already because I've been stung too many times in the past!

What you could also do is look for other horses to try in the area that you're going to so you don't have a wasted trip if you take one look at the horse and don't like it (or it turns out to be 15hh instead of 16hh!), then at least you have a back up plan!
 
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