Buying Unseen

[Cortez]

If you have the experience, money and guts to PTS if needed, then it can be worth a punt.

You need all of the above to buy any horse, in any way....

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Only twice - once from USA and he was rather expensive, I had him vetted by an independently recommended vet and fortunately he arrived exactly as described if not even better than I had hoped for.

Second time from Poland for a Polish warmblood mare - middling price so did not bother with vetting as I could afford to lose the money at that time and I was buying from a dealer recommended by a trusted friend. She was mainly as described but rather more 'hot' to ride than her description and videos would lead you to believe!

I think a lot of it depends on what you are prepared to risk financially - and if horse arrives with ongoing health issues would you be prepared to pay for treatment if possible or put down if not?

 

[AandK]

You need all of the above to buy any horse, in any way....

In theory, yes. But there are plenty who buy horses who don't have all or even one of those...

 

[paddy555]

Yes, I do it all the time, but I'm pretty experienced, not sentimental, not buying a pet, and am always prepared to lose if it turns out wrong. But then I am like that even if I do go to see the horse. I've had a very good strike rate; never had a dud.

problem is though does OP have your experience?

 

[daffy44]

Yes, I've bought a few youngsters (under a year old) from videos, both in this country (scotland) and Germany, no problems with any of them, all arrived looking like I expected them to, and they worked out well. I bought my current GP horse from a ten second video clip on a phone when he was two weeks old, I didnt see him in real life until he was two years old, no regrets!

But I wouldnt buy a backed horse that way, I'd want to ride before I bought.

 

[Steerpike]

Yes I have, he was exactly as described, and I was given good photos of horse standing square and good leg shots with videos of walking, trotting in hand. I know what I look for and want though, would do again.

 

[Flicker]

Not me, but a mother and daughter I know did. They bought a full ID for the daughter from a dealer miles and miles away. Had to retire mother’s horse a couple of months later after a field injury and contacted the same dealer. Couple of weeks later the dealer sent a cob, who was absolutely cracking. I would have snapped him up. The ID got sold a couple of years later but they’ve still got the cob.

 

[texenstar]

I bought my mare unseen from Portugal. Buuuuut, it was from a well known seller i had met and had lessons with previously so he knew my style and abilities, several friends had bought horses from him in the past, and a friend of mine was out there on holiday and test rode her for me. So a lot of added extra securities. I would probably do so again from the same person but I think I would prefer to fly out and try them In terms of payment, i paid for a vetting then paid full buying and shipping price up front (sounds dodgy, but I knew them well and I took a risk). I'm not sure if I would want to buy unseen from someone I did not know. Hope this helps

 

[FestiveFuzz]

For those of you who have done it, what did you do with regards to paying? Did you pay half up front and then half on delivery or through PayPal, credit card or straight up bank transfer?
Any issues with exchange rates etc?

I used transferwire as they had the best exchange rate at the time. Paid in full 24hrs before transporter arrived to take into account any potential delays in clearing. I can’t imagine anyone would let a horse leave their premise without full payment, especially so when buying unseen. Also make sure insurance kicks in from the moment payment is made.

 

[Aperchristmas]

I did it once. Complete disaster - horse was a hand smaller than promised, as green as grass and with an attitude to boot. Entirely my fault in hindsight - not enough diligence done on the seller. The horse was a different horse from the one in the videos. We kept him for a while to get him safe and confident enough to sell (he was just too small for me sadly) but the financial loss was not insignificant. A huge shame - even with the greenness, if he had been even 2 or 3 inches taller I might have kept him. However, all in all it's not an episode I'm proud of. While I'm an experienced horse owner, I certainly don't have the same buying experience as many on here.

I also bought one from an auction. 13 years later, he is still my best bud.

My honest advice is to only do it when you have a recommendation from someone you trust and if you know you have a) a seriously good eye for a horse and b) the means and willingness to deal with a big mistake.

 

[jnb]

A little bit more on my experience, I bought from a seller in Ireland, who I know has in one year, supplied 12 of the HW cobs at HOYS. Several of my showing acquaintances have bought from them, multiple times.
So, I was lucky enough to have a video and pics of my cob and I couldn't walk away.
So, 21 days later (they get a full load and ship over), this arrived, he was smaller (and about 6-9 months younger than I had thought, but I was OK with that because of my circumstances)...


Turned into this.....