Have you ever bought or sold a horse via video only?Advice needed....

charlie76

charlie76

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I am in the process of selling my horse and I have had a lady who lives a very long way from me very intrested in her. I have sent her lots of videos and pictures plus as much info about her as I can possibly give her but I am nervous about the whole thing as I have never sold a horse to some one who has never seen the horse before!
The horse is being vetted this week and having x rays so will have a full ver certificate.There is no reason what so ever that I can think of but if when she got there , there was something they didn't like her then what come back would they have?
(They shouldn't want to send her back as she is perfect and I have been VERY honest and straight with them as I am not dodgy- this horse means the world to me and its been a very hard decision).
 
I haven't gone that far, although know others that have - I have bought one that I only saw standing in a field, and had no real idea of whether it could even be ridden - but maybe I like to live dangerously (she could be ridden and turned out to be lovely)
 
Ive bought one from photos only - but this was a yearling from the breeder, I already have one from her, knew the breeding and was 100% confident she would have taken her back if I had hated her
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Hi, I know of quite a few instances where people have bought of just photos and videos. We sometimes sell horses to America and Holland just of videos. IMO they would have no comeback whatsoever, because at the end of the day the horse has passed the vetting, and they have videos and photos and an honest description. If they get the horse and something doesn't suit, then really it is their own fault for not viewing the horse in the flesh.
It would be up to you whether you would take the horse back or not :-)
On the flipside, we have bought or been sent some horses over from Holland and Germany without viewing and it has always turned out well. As long as people are honest with each other... and in particular the buyer realizes that horses are horses, it seems to work okay i think :-)

ETA -- the situation you describe could arise if the person had come and seen the horse anyway. My friend sold her Sec D to a girl who came to see her 3 times prior to purchase, got her home, then changed her mind! Well, my friend went to collect her as she loves her pony gave a refund (but took the petrol money out)!!
 
If it were me I would stress to the potential new owner the importance of her meeting your horse. When you say a long way away from you - how far are we talking?
I would say it would have to be a bloody long way for me not to go and see a horse - it is a huge commitment to take on without having met the horse. But then I really believe in horses and people having personality clashes, and i have to meet the horse and spend time with it before I would take it on.
Again, if it were me I would want the woman to meet the horse also to reassure me that they are going to be well suited
only my 2p worth!
 
We bought an andalusian having seen photos and videos only. However we were very sure of the lady we bought from and our experience. All turned out well. On the flip side we sold a pony via phone calls and photos. They decided when he got there although he was all we said he wasnt for them(too long to go into details) sent him back with no warning and we are currently in the middle of a very stressful negotiation so i would NEVER do it again!
 
a friend of mine sold a horse by video...and met half way at a motorway service area to transfer horse into buyers lorry!. It wasn't expensive though.....she was a bit desperate to sell as she and the horse hadn't been getting on and she was worried about getting hurt again - but didn't want to send him to the sales. Apparently horse loved its new home, was much happier, calmer in a different environment.

I've got a mare for sale and I dont think I would.

Ali
 
i have brought 6 from pics, youngster and broodmares though, not to sure about a ridden pony though, my friends brought a lovely conamara from scotland from videos showing eveything. they would have no come back if they just didnt get one with her, only if she wasnt as decribed eg had stable vices not mentioned etc
 
mine was originally bought via video. when she arrived the new owner (dealer) decided after a week to sell her as she was not what they thought. they then sold her to me and i have all the problems now.
 
I've bought horses from photos and videos before and been perfectly happy with them.

I really wouldn't worry too much about this - selling from vids and photos is fairly commonplace where I live as people live so far away from one another.

I am sure your buyer will be thrilled with her purchase and I'm sure your horse will be fine travelling to her.
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There should be absolutely no come-back on you providing you word your Bill of Sale correctly.
 
Oh - ok!!

I think that the only reason that I would still hesitate would be that if the horse does mean as much to you as you have said, that I want to make sure that the horse would be happy with its new owner. But maybe that's just me and my fussy way!
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I bought my Welsh Cob from Wales having only seen a video of him. I dont regret it! However I would never SELL a horse by video only, simply because Im a picky owner and have to be sure my horse suits the new person and will be happy! I always do a home-check before agreeing to sell them one of my horses too
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It's a lot more common in North America where, as Tia said, prospective buyers can be a long, long way away.

Weirdly, it almost always seems to work out very well. It's not that common for inexpensive horses to be sold that way (not worth organisation or the price of shipping) and usually it happens because the seller wants THAT horse or at least has a very stringent criteria and has given a lot of thought to what they want/need. All of which is good for the horse, if you ask me. People who go through the hassle of arranging vetting, shipping etc. for a horse that lives a long way away are often HIGHLY motivated both to like the horse and want it to work out. If they just wanted a disposable horse they'd buy something local.

It IS important to have a good, binding Bill of Sale, but then that's important no matter how you sell the horse.
 
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