Deposit for a horse/paying in full for a horse?

Birker2020

Birker2020

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Just out of interest before I start looking for another horse..... what is the usual deposit amount that you leave a vendor for a horse you intend to have vetted?
And do you say that you expect that it will be returned if the horse fails the vetting - is that the usual way you go about things?

Having bought six horses now in my lifetime I never had to leave a deposit for the last five but they were from dealers and they knew I was interested.
The last time was 1987 and I have no idea how much we left then!

And how do you normally pay for the horse? The money will be in my building society account so should I leave it in there and get them to do a transfer of funds or should I have it transferred ahead of time into my bank account so I can pay for it on the day the horse passes/collect the horse?

Before I've used a Bankers Draft and they always seemed to be happy with that. TIA.
 
I have never paid a deposit .
We pay not more than 20 k .
Now I just do a Bank transfer when the horse passes the vet .
 
Depends on value of the horse and whether other people are interested, I've paid 10% deposit payable by bank transfer which basically says "Do not show the horse to anyone else" - I would make it clear that it is subject to passing vetting, you need to specify the level of vetting and whether you are having additional X Rays above 5 Stage etc and get them to agree to full refund if it fails - For me that would be a starting point for further discussion if the horse failed not neccessarily a walk away.
I would then pay the balance on collection whilst I'm physically there collecting the horse, or my agent is. It can take a little longer to transfer funds if its a large amount, I had this with selling a trailer it took 45 min for the transaction to go through. If its above £10K then I would speak to your bank and ask their advice as you could be delayed by money laundering checks.

Do you know the seller and are they a dealer?

Make sure you get a receipt and the passport
 
Hanno Verian said:
Depends on value of the horse and whether other people are interested, I've paid 10% deposit payable by bank transfer which basically says "Do not show the horse to anyone else" - I would make it clear that it is subject to passing vetting, you need to specify the level of vetting and whether you are having additional X Rays above 5 Stage etc and get them to agree to full refund if it fails - For me that would be a starting point for further discussion if the horse failed not neccessarily a walk away.
I would then pay the balance on collection whilst I'm physically there collecting the horse, or my agent is. It can take a little longer to transfer funds if its a large amount, I had this with selling a trailer it took 45 min for the transaction to go through. If its above £10K then I would speak to your bank and ask their advice as you could be delayed by money laundering checks.

Do you know the seller and are they a dealer?

Make sure you get a receipt and the passport
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Hi thanks for the advice, horse will be in the region of £7K - I've not really looked yet, I'm just preparing myself by getting a quote for vetting, bloods, xray, etc, etc.
I need a couple of weeks to chill before even thinking of looking - I start my new 2 year plus contract on Monday so need to concentrate all my efforts on that to be honest.

It a completely new start for me in terms of horse and job and a bit daunting if I'm honest.
 
10% deposit is common but depends on total value, might be a few hundred just to secure pending vetting. Bank transfer, generally takes around 2 hours provided doesn’t get flagged for a fraud check. May be quicker if you’ve sent the deposit payment as they are already set up in your account.
 
I put a deposit on my last pony because I wanted him and I had no chance of going back for a second viewing as he was in Somerset and I’m in Oxfordshire. I got a receipt, dated and signed by both parties and it was returnable dependent on the vetting. With DP I bought him from a friend so just did an international bank transfer for the full amount once his import papers had been signed by the German vet.
 
Hello everyone I am thinking of buying a horse the person wants £1500 going to take time for me to save the money.
What kind of deposit do I need to put down please
 
Baker girl said:
Hello everyone I am thinking of buying a horse the person wants £1500 going to take time for me to save the money.
What kind of deposit do I need to put down please
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Usually 10% depending on the value of the horse.

However if it’s going to take time for you to save as little as £1500 for a horse, I’d suggest you can’t afford one just yet.
 
AmyMay said:
Usually 10% depending on the value of the horse.

However if it’s going to take time for you to save as little as £1500 for a horse, I’d suggest you can’t afford one just yet.
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Agreed- they can easily accumulate a £1500 vet bill in a millisecond so I'd want purchase price plus a good buffer of emergency fund saved up before considering buying the horse
 
Baker girl said:
Hello everyone I am thinking of buying a horse the person wants £1500 going to take time for me to save the money.
What kind of deposit do I need to put down please
Click to expand...
Hi, welcome to the forum.
Just to clarify, you don't put the deposit as a down payment & then save up. You put the deposit to stop them selling to someone else just while you arrange vetting, transport etc. The usual timescale for payment in full and collection is one week maximum from you saying you want to buy it. So you need all the money sitting ready before you start looking for a horse.
You also need money up front, straight away, for livery, tack & insurance. You will need hundreds of ££s a month, every month. Buying the horse is the cheap part!
 
Baker girl said:
Hello everyone I am thinking of buying a horse the person wants £1500 going to take time for me to save the money.
What kind of deposit do I need to put down please
Click to expand...
This thread would be a useful read for you.

How much does it rwally cost to own a horse??

In the past couple of years I've shared horses, but my latest share just came to an end due to the owners giving my space to another person while I was on holiday. Such a shame, as I had agreed I didn't have to pay for the month and a half I was away, and they still gave away my spot without any...
forums.horseandhound.co.uk forums.horseandhound.co.uk
 
Gosh this is an old post, my budget is now twice what it was when I first started looking over 3 years ago!

I would expect to put down a deposit of £500. Can't really understand why it would need to be more than that tbh. It was what I put down in Oct 21 after finding Lari.

I'm starting again in earnest third week in Sept when we're back off holiday.
 
Have something in writing that you both sign regarding if the horse fails vetting and return of the deposit. Wasn't there a court case about this recently and the judge said he couldn't understand why people weren't more careful. Obviously that was a large sum of money, but its how much can you afford to lose.

I would say "after discussion with your vet after the vetting" because the horse might pass a vetting as in being physically OK for you, but it might possibly throw up something else that the vet mentions.
 
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