good/bad idea?

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vickers22

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me and my friend were thinking of buying a 13-14hh pony from somewhere like exeter auctions-the ones where is they dont get sold they go to slaughter
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, one that is already backed and can be ridden, and then bringing it on and selling it. We are both 17, and have had a lot of experience with horses-so do you think this is a good idea or bad idea?obviously it will take a lot of time and effort but to start with i have 9 weeks for holiday (i know it will take longer than this!)and my friend doesnt have any other commitments. So what do you think?
 
Bad idea in my opinion. Lots of heartache is often involved in this sort of thing. Meat horses are generally meat horses for a reason unfortunately
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Do you have your own land/place?.If you have to pay livery it could eat into any profit you might make!.You say you have experiance in horses but do you have the knowledge to bring on or school a horse?.These are genuine questions not meant to put you down or insult you.
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The thing with sales where the horses are bound for slaughter is they are often there for a reason, physically or mentally unwell, and although you say you have a lot of experience in horses, do you have any experience in the rehabilitation and restarting of horses with physical or mental problems?
Also echo rema that if you dont have you're own place and are on livery then that would hugely eat into your profit.
 
All sounds good until you start thinking about the costs. Unless you have endless saddles bridles etc you will have to buy them. Shoes, wormer and jabs cost a bit and then unless it turns out to be a superstar you may not get back what you put in. However if its more about the experience than the money, go for it. But be careful that you don't come home with something thats got poor conformation or illnesses, it could all end up a complete nightmare and cost you a fortune.
 
weve got our own place so thats no problem-and we do have two mums who have brought on many horses so we are not on our own. Agree with you about horses to slaughter means they may have problems-so perhaps not from there(we were just trying to think of giving a pony a better home)
 
My dad is a vet so we would take him along to check the pony out, weve already thought about jabs etc-its not really about the money for us.
 
I greatly admire your motivation to do this, however I do echo what the others have said here. Be wary, as unless you know (and have enough experience to spot it) what you are looking for you could end up heartbroken.

Saying all this, if you are determined to go ahead then some good purchases can be had at auction. You need to set out a limit that you will bid to (and no more), sex, height, age, ability etc. Also transport home.

Do you have sufficient funds set aside for possible vet bills, farrier, wormer, dentist, insurance, feed, hay etc?

I have done this myself on numerous occasions and have always been lucky, but I know of many people who have been 'done'. Could you recognise a drugged horse? Could you tell if it had suffered laminitis in the past or had a bad back, and would you be able to tell roughly how old it is by its teeth?

These are some of the things you need to consider. If you do decide to go ahead, do it with your eyes open. I wish you the best of luck x
 
thanks for good advice Lwyncwn, i will have to consider it thoroughly before taking action.I will let you know if we do go ahead x
 
i can only say both of my horses were bound for slaughter as youngsters and one of them is the prettiest thing and can jump my 5 bar gate with ease my other one is so good with children it is amazing and i can take her anywhere. They are both mentaly and phsicaly sound and always have been i do agree alot are not but you seem to have the perfect set up to take on anything, i had non of that and had to do it on my own as my mum isn't really horsey and i rent a field i am now only 16 and took on my mare when i was 14 i think you should decide whether you and your friends have enough will and drive to do it if you feel it is right then do it. Just remember you don't have to buy one for the sake of it if there is nothing that suits you or is not quite right for you don't feel you have to buy it cause you feel sorry for it you can walk away with nothing on that occation and try again another time.
 
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