dealers disclosure?

[WeeLassie]

I am being ultra careful about buying my new horse, and am preparing a list of questions to ask - I am assuming the seller has to answer questions truthfully. Would it be ok to ask a dealer where they got a horse from and how long theyd had it? Would they be obliged to tell me? TIA

 

[Damnation]

Whether they are truthful or not is entirely up to the dealer.

If I were you, go onto Facebook onto the Dodgy Dealers page, if you ask on there for reccomendations in your area you are in with a chance of finding a good dealer.

There are good, honest and upfront dealers out there, but don't get duped by the bad ones!

Make sure you do things like get a 5* vetting, from an independant vet. Don't let a dealer bully you into using their preferred vet.

With the vetting have bloods taken incase the horses behaviour changes dramatically once you have got them home - these can be sent away for testing within a certain amount of time to test for painkillers and sedatives.

Always go with someone experienced like an instructor or a good friend.

Ask to see the passport and ensure it matches the horse you are looking at and check for any anomolies.

Good luck!

 

[oldie48]

Yes, I would certainly ask that. I'd also want to see the passport and ask if the dealer is selling on behalf of a client or if he owns the horse. The history of the horse is very important to me and I like to speak to previous owners if possible and I've found that genuine people who have nothing to hide have been fine with this. However, I have tended to buy older, slightly more expensive schoolmaster types. Why the horse is for sale is probably the most important question to get an honest answer for.

 

[Irish gal]

Yes absolutely, any decent dealer will have no problem answering your genuine questions so no need to feel shy about asking. Obviously there are some they would not answer like what they paid for the horse, but that's not really of importance.

Dealers understand that buying a horse for most people is a really big thing and that answering all your questions is an integral part of the selling process. As someone who deals with a lot of sellers as an agent, I would see it as a bad sign if a seller was growing impatient answering questions. If he was growing frustrated just answering questions imagine the reception you would get later if there turned out to be a problem with the horse!

 

[SEL]

And have a strangles test taken before it goes out with anything.

Once bitten & all that..... :-(

 

[stormox]

I don't think a dealer would tell you the truth if he'd bought from a low class sale or a gypsy fair like Appleby. He would make out it had come from a loving home........... I don't know that he would legally have to answer that question anyway. Sellers (to him) confidentiality.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

My last two horses were from dealers (different ones in different parts of the country). By a random stroke of luck it appears I've managed to buy two good horses but I wasn't impressed by the dealers selling techniques. They were both difficult to arrange appointments with then just plain rude to me - accusatory to the point of bullying. Plus when I said I'd like to vet the horses they both tried to push their preferred vets on me (because apparently the other vets were rude and failed vettings!!!). With the first dealer it took a very long time to find a vet who would visit the yard as it was blacklisted by quite a few vets. With the 2nd one I just gave in as the horse was so nice and I decided he was worth the risk. In both situations I suspected all the horses I saw were sedated (or dehydrated) which I can kind of understand in a way. The horses were young and had been shipped from Ireland prior to me visiting and were probably shell shocked. Now that I have them at home their behaviour and health hasn't given me any cause for concern so there was probably no need for sedation - unless it was a client safety thing.

Things to look out for:
Bad feet (check digital pulse too)
Face pulling when being tacked up
Head tossing when riding (might be teeth)
Horse twitching, head hanging low, stumbling over poles/jumps (possible sedation)
Horse not standing still at mounting block, or dealers holding onto horse for grim life while you mount...
Horse not picking up its feet (especially hind feet).
Check your breeds beforehand too for example with Connemaras - make sure the pony has been tested for HWSS (usually stamped in passport)
Get a strangles test done - this is very important!


One of the questions I asked the dealers were 'why do/did you like this horse, what made you think he/she would be a good one to sell?'. That usually makes them think.

With both horses I managed to contact the breeders / previous owners afterwards to get more info on horses which was useful - so if you can get a look at the passport maybe you could do that in advance? Google can also be your friend here.

Good luck!

 

[stormox]

. In both situations I suspected all the horses I saw were sedated (or dehydrated) which I can kind of understand in a way. The horses were young and had been shipped from Ireland prior to me visiting and were probably shell shocked. Now that I have them at home their behaviour and health hasn't given me any cause for concern so there was probably no need for sedation - unless it was a client safety thing.
Good luck!

Am I reading this right? Do you think its OK for a dealer to sedate or dehydrate a horse before a viewing???? It definately isn't!!!!

 

[Snowy Celandine]

Whereabouts in the country are you looking OP? I know of two dealers that I wouldn't touch with the proverbial bargepole due to personal experience.

 

[WeeLassie]

Fairly near Essex/NE London Snowycelandine. But I have a list of no-nos from the dodgy dealer FB sites....