Buying a horse via auction

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Rmarshmallow

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Hi
So I'm going to view a horse today. I messaged his seller a couple of weeks ago after I saw his advert and he was just out of my price range. I messaged him again the other day and the seller told me his was for sale on a facebook auction page. I thought 'oh great maybe I'll be in for a chance of getting him my budget then' however then alarm bells start to ring as you wonder why he's up for auction as they are obviously keen to get him rid of him in a rush. I asked the seller about why he was up for auction and he just said that it was because he wanted him gone by Christmas and was sick of time wasters. I asked whether it was because he has any medical issues and he said no. I asked the seller about a vetting and he said that if I won the auction that I could have him vetted. He does have scar on his off hind so I am keen to get a 5 stage done I would also like to get some bloods done seemimg as I'm only going to be able to try him once before I buy.
I am going to view the horse today as well so I won't be buying him blind.
What's everyone's thoughts on buying a horse via auction and is there anything else I should be extra careful of? Any words of advice?
 
Rmarshmallow said:
Hi
So I'm going to view a horse today. I messaged his seller a couple of weeks ago after I saw his advert and he was just out of my price range. I messaged him again the other day and the seller told me his was for sale on a facebook auction page. I thought 'oh great maybe I'll be in for a chance of getting him my budget then' however then alarm bells start to ring as you wonder why he's up for auction as they are obviously keen to get him rid of him in a rush. I asked the seller about why he was up for auction and he just said that it was because he wanted him gone by Christmas and was sick of time wasters. I asked whether it was because he has any medical issues and he said no. I asked the seller about a vetting and he said that if I won the auction that I could have him vetted. He does have scar on his off hind so I am keen to get a 5 stage done I would also like to get some bloods done seemimg as I'm only going to be able to try him once before I buy.
I am going to view the horse today as well so I won't be buying him blind.
What's everyone's thoughts on buying a horse via auction and is there anything else I should be extra careful of? Any words of advice?
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If it was me, I'd view the horse and agree a sale at a sensible figure subject to vetting insisting the horse was pulled from the auction....and leave a deposit refunadable if the horse fails the vetting. You may not get the bargain you were hoping for, but for me a little bit extra is worth the peace of mind.

Good luck!!
 
There is usually no right to return a horse if it fails a vetting post auction - at least not a live one They are sold as seen. I might just be old - but I've no experience of facebook auctions or what safeguards there might be there. But my bet would be none.

Did the seller know of your interest? Did you make a lower offer? I wonder why the seller would go through auction because they want the horse gone before Christmas when they had a committed buyer available at a slightly lower than asking price. To avoid the buyer being able to vet perhaps?
 
Hi. Yes I have asked him whether if I offered him the original asking price or not to if he would take him out of the auction. He said no he would still need to go through the auction process, but I guess we will see how the viewing goes today.
 
Hi I'm not sure. I think he may be a dealer yes as I know he rides for a living but whether he sells enough horses to warranted as a dealer I am not sure. I've tried to look for his name on the dodgey dealers group on facebook but nothing has come up.
 
Normal horse sales have a warranted section where you have a number of days to vet and try the horse and return it if it's no good. It doesn't help if the bute doesn't wear off for two weeks, though.

Is the horse warranted at all?

I think you would be fine to refuse to pay if the horse fails the vet (or if he won't let you vet it) as long as you record your conversation with him somewhere (text, email, letter). So that you can prove that you told him that your bid was subject to a vetting. And don't pay a penny before the vetting is done.

He's hardly going to sue you, is he, and advertise to the world that he wouldn't allow the horse to be vetted?

The passport having no breeding details is irrelevant as long as it matches the horse. I've got two like it. But if it was done when the horse was an adult then it's likely to be a replacement and if he looks anything like a racehorse, he probably was! Or he could be a lot older than he's being sold as.
 
Make sure its the original passport. Having no breeding details is fine, but its very common for dodgy dealers to bin a passport and get a new generic one to hide things.

Please be very, very careful. The online auction sites are where people advertise things they cant shift for whatever reason. Its run by the dodgiest pair of dealers going!
 
Rmarshmallow said:
Hi I'm not sure. I think he may be a dealer yes as I know he rides for a living but whether he sells enough horses to warranted as a dealer I am not sure. I've tried to look for his name on the dodgey dealers group on facebook but nothing has come up.
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If they ride for a living, any horse would be part of his business, and I would not buy via auction, you cannot be sure that you are not bidding against a friend of his.
The whole thing sounds dodgy, and if you can;t afford a horse, best just to get a share, the purchase cost is nothing compared to later costs..............
He might offer you a discount for a cash payment, another dubious practice. I would suggest he is offering any horse for at least twice what he paid for it, so bear that in mind
 
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Make sure the vetting vet checks for all chips not just the first one that registers . How old is the horse? check when passport issued?

Post when you have looked and maybe a rough idea of area as it may raise some alarm bells with the knowledge others may have.
 
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cobgoblin said:
What would be the point of having a horse vetted AFTER you've bought it....sounds as dodgy as hell.
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'twould be "no vetting no sale" for me......... can't understand why the seller can't/won't sell at the original asking price, when he might not realise a sensible price at auction? especially if everyone else knows the history of the horse i.e. it wouldn't pass a vetting.

Accepting that you like this horse and obviously fancy it OP, I think you'd be wise to exercise extreme caution with this one. The seller's attitude sounds about as fishy as a dead mackerel to me TBH.
 
OP what's your budget and current experience? Is this your first horse or have you owned others before?

Personally even as a fairly experienced owner/rider I'd steer clear of the Facebook auctions as from what I've read elsewhere there have been many situations of horses being sold without full disclosure of their issues be it physical or otherwise and very little comeback if they're not as described. I think you'd have to approach it in the same manner as buying unseen and only spend what you're willing to lose if it all goes wrong.

Alarm bells would ring given the seller has someone offering them the asking price yet are still saying he must go through the auction...that makes no sense to me unless they have something to hide.
 
Well the seller has now changed his stance and said that he would be able to accept a offer near the original asking price. I mentioned that I would potentially be in a position to put a deposit down subject to 5 stage vetting with blood samples and he being found fit for purpose which the seller seemed happy with. I am trying to be extra cautious though so if I get the faintest whiff that it's not a genuine sale then I'll leave it.
I will also check the passport issue date and get back to you all his evening.
Thanks for you help guys!
 
Rmarshmallow said:
Well the seller has now changed his stance and said that he would be able to accept a offer near the original asking price. I mentioned that I would potentially be in a position to put a deposit down subject to 5 stage vetting with blood samples and he being found fit for purpose which the seller seemed happy with. I am trying to be extra cautious though so if I get the faintest whiff that it's not a genuine sale then I'll leave it.
I will also check the passport issue date and get back to you all his evening.
Thanks for you help guys!
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That sounds a better buying experience but yes those online FB auctions the horror stories that have come out of them. Also check on the dodgy dealer fb sites for the name of the person your buying off. Dealers use those online auction sites all the time but you are doing the right thing getting the vetting and bloods done. Look forward to hearing about the horse.
 
cobgoblin said:
What would be the point of having a horse vetted AFTER you've bought it....sounds as dodgy as hell.
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It is usually after you have won the auction and transferred a deposit within X time,
then horse is vetted
then if horse passes balance is paid. Most say that deposit will be refunded if horse fails.
 
Rmarshmallow said:
Hi
So I'm going to view a horse today. I messaged his seller a couple of weeks ago after I saw his advert and he was just out of my price range. I messaged him again the other day and the seller told me his was for sale on a facebook auction page. I thought 'oh great maybe I'll be in for a chance of getting him my budget then' however then alarm bells start to ring as you wonder why he's up for auction as they are obviously keen to get him rid of him in a rush. I asked the seller about why he was up for auction and he just said that it was because he wanted him gone by Christmas and was sick of time wasters. I asked whether it was because he has any medical issues and he said no. I asked the seller about a vetting and he said that if I won the auction that I could have him vetted. He does have scar on his off hind so I am keen to get a 5 stage done I would also like to get some bloods done seemimg as I'm only going to be able to try him once before I buy.
I am going to view the horse today as well so I won't be buying him blind.
What's everyone's thoughts on buying a horse via auction and is there anything else I should be extra careful of? Any words of advice?
Click to expand...

There is one seller on Facebook that seems to have nice horses https://www.facebook.com/ricky.moore.5437
 
Hi all.

Well I didn't go to the horse viewing in the end, i chickened out as the alarm bells ringing in my head were just too strong as to why he was on fb auction site (of all ways to auction this seems the dodgiest) and I was a bit worried I would go and see the horse and be overwhelmed by his stunning looks.
The seller was based near derby and no it wasn't rick sawyer/meadow stables as I have also heard the countless horror stories about him! Don't touch them with a barge pole Krujaalass!
Thanks again for the help.
 
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