Buying a horse...

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celia

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I'm hoping to buy another horse soon but I knew my current girl before I bought her so didn't really go through a 'standard' buying process.
Obviously have my list of what I want/don't want and questions to ask but was just wondering -
What do you want to know about a horse before viewing? Is there anything in particular you'd definitely want to ask first?
Any general tips on buying are also appreciated!
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Im looking now, and on the phone i ask for tempermant, if there strong, what they hve done etc.

Reason for selling things like that.
 
Try putting a wanted ad in H&H with a box number. The vendors then will try to sell you their animal and you will get much more genuine responses backed up by paper evidence and photographs/videos/test sheets etc.

You may have to travel but at least you will be going to see something that is close to what you want, rather than relying on a sketchy ad and phone description.

I always do this now after scouring the country in the past. If you put a guide price you wont get too many out of your price range either and its fun going through all the responses.
 
my tip is dont skip having a vetting done on a potential purchase, its too risky. make sure it can do the job you want it to do

have a good look at the horse and if he's not for you or his legs arent right etc., thank the vendor and leave, dont waste yours or their time if you dont like the horse.

dont say youll let them know if you have no intention of calling them back

have someone else ride the horse first to see how they go with their customary rider., before you think about riding

also id want to see the horse loaded into a trailer or box, as i dont want to mess around with something i cant get into a box without a struggle
 
Having been horse hunting for a while now, my tips would be as follows:-

-have a 5 stage - the first 2 I liked failed & it's best to know these things.
-buy locally if poss. The person is less likely to pull a fast one if they know that you're right on their doorstep. Plus you won't spend all day on a 400 mile round trip just to look at one horse (who will then fail the vet...)
-ask your contacts if they know of a horse for sale. Vet, farrier, instructor etc. Bit more security than if you're buying from a random stranger.
-rem that there are more horses for sale than buyers, even if it doesn't feel like it, so you can afford to take your time & be fussy.
-don't take any notice of me cos I'm STILL horseless despite my best efforts!!!
 
Always, ALWAYS get the owner or seller to ride the horse in front of you before you get on. No-matter how nice they seem, it's not worth the risk.

If the horse has a questionable health problem (eg. "oh yes, he had a kissing spines operation four years ago, but has never been lame since"), ask the owner if you can ring their vet and talk about it's past. Of course, you don't actually have to phone the vet, but if the owner is hesitant about sharing the number with you, you can guess that you've probably been lied to about someting.

If you don't 'click'/fall in love with a horse's personality on the first veiwing, I wouldn't reccomend going for a second.

Have the owners ride it along a road where there is traffic.

Never take the owner's word as law - They probably want to very best for you and for their horse, but if they love him they're bound to exaggerate the good points and maybe just forget the bad.

Ask as much as you can on the phone, this saves a lot of wasted travel!

Visit as many local horses as you can before travelling far.

If you find one you like, I'd go for a second veiwing with someone who can give a good opinion, and place a deposit if you really love it - Far better then it being sold on before you get the chance to vet!

ALWAYS vet!
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That's a good one jubbily!

You could ask 'what would you say are his/her strong and weak points?', 'does he/she have any little quirks or foibles (however small) that I should know about?' , 'what can you tell me about his/her likes and dislikes?'

It's all kind of the same question really, but sometimes it helps to ask the same question in several different ways - these questions all sound very innocuous, but actually encourage the seller to be honest about the horse's flaws. If you use the horse's name it sounds even more friendly and un-threatening.
 
If you're interested tell the seller you'll be having a 5-stage vetting and ask if there's any reason why the horse should fail.

One of my friends was caught out with a REALLY bad laminitis case. when she was looking for her next horse she told sellers that she would also want the feet x-raying before purchasing. Out of 3 people she said this to, one admitted that the horse had a navicular problem, another said the horse had had laminitis (when before he said it hadn't) and the third horse was suddenly "not available for sale".

I would always want to see the horse ridden in farm/heavy traffic (if that's what you're going to encounter), and would want to see it ridden alone and in company, leading another horse out, going in front and behind on a ride and heading home behind another horse.

I would want to see it load, and see it caught, brought in, brushed and tacked up and turned out afterwards so you can see how it socialises with other horses.

Always ask the owner to pick it's feet up (never do it yourself in case you get kicked!) and if it's supposed to be good to clip, see what happens when a pair of clippers are turned on and laid on it's shoulder. (You don't have to ACTUALLY clip it!)

If it competes, find out when it's next show is so you can go along and see how it behaves.

Ask for the name of the farrier and ring him up to check if it's good to shoe (you don't really have to do it, but if they have nothing to hide, they'll tell you who shoes it).

Try to get proof of ownership and how long they've had the horse. This is easy if it's registered with a breed society, but even if not, their name and address may still be on the Flu/Tet record card. Obviously it's illegal to sell a horse without a passport.

Never, ever decide to buy on the first viewing, if you really like a horse you should see it at least 3 times to make sure you see it in all the situations you need to. If the seller and the horse is genuine, they won't have a problem with that.

Reading all of the above, it sounds like I'm a right pain in the bum when looking for a horse, but as far as I'm concerned, I work FAR too hard for my money to buy a horse without being as sure as I could be that it's what it says in the advert!

Good Luck.
 
And another thing - take someone knowledgeable with you when you try the horse - who can remember to ask the questions that you forget, and may notice things you miss.

I also found it v. useful to take a video camera and if I liked the horse, to get some film of me riding it. (useful to show instructor later on & have a good look at its way of going.)
 
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