Honest experience from those bought un seen.

ILuvCowparsely

ILuvCowparsely

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What are your views on purchasing a horse abroad un seen.
A livery bought a horse recently was thought from a sales livery, but instead it was 4 stables off a lane with just a couple horses selling. I went with her the second time but due to traffic took 3+ hours to do a 1 hr journey and time running out but they rode the horse and seemed ok for the family. He past the 5* vet with only a minor issue. and he came here, once here it was found he was very dominant with the other horses, double barrel and kicked one, and his ground manners were very bolshy, walking into you trying to drag you and would not stand still. So ended up being too much for the family so he went to sales livery and now sold.

Then they got another horse which sadly failed the vetting and now that has been returned today.


They just want a family type cob 16hh good ground manners friendly and good with kids, but trying to find a good honest sales livery who sells cobs round here is hard, as they all sports horse types.


Now it is making me think, I want a draught or draught cross, and round here all ISH and any draughts get snapped up. What have you found from personal experience buying unseen?.


Did the horse meet expectation.
Were they an honest dealer.
Which dealers are honest from a horse you imported.


The girls are so upset now as this horse was so sweet but with failing vet mum could not go on and keep her. So this is their last time, trying to find the right one.

Also got me thinking I have never bought unseen, and so far when I have bought horses they have been more or less what I want except my recent purchase ISH who is on rehab livery prior to sales, as she is a sports horse very elevated movements too much for my knee and I wanted a draught but no draught around. As with my TRKR I like the movement of the draught.
Thanx for reading.

Any replies appreciated.

Seen one lady Hannah Taylor sells and imports has anyone used her.
 
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I have- unseen and unvetted (cheap, during covid). Be aware that people, even when being honest, will not tell you everything. For one thing, horse owners tend to be blind to their horses' faults and for another, definitions can be very subjective. One person's sane and sensible is another's neurotic mess.
I'd also say that if personality is at all important, go and see the horse- the pony I bought unseen I wouldn't have bought if I'd met her. There's nothing wrong with her, but she has such a different outlook on life to my others that I really struggled to read her. Oddly enough, mum understands her much better but doesn't 'get' my sec D.
If you are buying unseen and paying decent money, I'd have them vetted and also get the vet to measure them, most people aren't great at eyeballing a horse's height.
 
I have only seen good things about Hannah Taylor, I believe NBequine in Surrey imports from her.

I bought a young cob from a local dealer (so I tried him and my vet vetted him) who had been imported from High Meadows Farm. He is a lovely boy and has been well started, the only thing is they are young so you need a certain amount of competence to bring them on or get experienced help. I've had a few problems due to me forgetting how old I am now (i've had a couple of youngsters before) but we are getting there and I adore him. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from High Meadows Farm if I was brave enough to buy unseen, have a look on their facebook page. They also have a HMF horses facebook page where people who have bought from them can show what they are up to, I think that gives a good indication that they have faith in their horses.

I bought young because I couldn't face trying to find what I wanted that wasn't broken in some way.
 
Bought two unseen. Both were youngsters. They were as described and I was very pleased with them. They were from a reputable stud and I already owned a horse who was by their stallion.
 
I would not be buying unseen for a kids/family horse.

You have to have the mindset you are happy to get on and ride whatever turns up or sell on, potentially for a loss.

I have bought one unseen. It was as described but in all honesty I would not have bought had I sat on him first.
 
I have bought unseen a few times, from Scotland and Germany, but only ever foals, personally I wouldnt buy a backed, adult horse unseen. I have never bought from a dealer, only from private sellers or a stud, in all cases I've been sent multiple videos and pics, and everytime the horse has been exactly as described and I've been delighted when I have eventually seen them.
 
I’ve brought plenty of youngsters unseen over the years, and I’ve had bosses buy older horses but none of them were for keeps.

Most of my youngsters were ok, and this is going to the ‘picture in a magazine’ days, not videos and messages.

I did accidentally end up keeping one, but in general, it was a gamble because you can never get a feeling for their personality. I wouldn’t buy a family friend type unseen, in case I didn’t like it.
 
I bought Lottie unseen from a dealer as she has breeding I like and I was assured by many that the dealer was as honest and straightforward as they come. And she was exactly as described right down to the grumpiness! She was higher mileage than I realised till I looked up her BS record after she was with me - but I could have done that anyway.
 
Never for a child, I honestly think it only works if you are either getting something young and inexperienced with a view to doing all the work or you are a professional and have extremely good connections. Otherwise try everything!
 
I've bought a few unseen,

A section A 2 year old with a show record - exactly as described.

An 8 year old ex racehorse for my eldest daughter who was 16 at the time, she was a very capable and confident rider - lovely horse as described.

A 16 year old LR FR schoolmaster with a show record, including Royal International, for my youngest - again totally as described.

All from private homes, all vetted and I did view videos.

I wouldn't want to buy unseen for a nervous rider unless I had a lot of good references for the horse in question.

Interestingly the TB wasn't my daughter's cup of tea to ride when we first got him and she always said if she'd tried him she would never have bought him, and she would have missed out on the horse of a lifetime. We lost him last year after 15 wonderful years - I'm so glad we didn't view him first or we would never have brought him home!
 
Bought a 17h 4yo unseen from Ireland from videos. Was pretty much exactly as described. Tall and gangly, very sweet, green, enthusiastic about hacking and jumping and not a fan of the school. She's now 8, perfect for us, and very much part of the family.
 
I bought H unseen from Ireland. He was 4, not that long backed. He was as described.

As I was taking a gamble, I had a less breedy one than I was initially planning on. The dealer was ace, but sadly has now stopped selling like this due to bad experiences with riders maybe bigging up their experience and expecting perfection from a 4yo.

I've had him 4 years now and he is very much part of the family. Is he a world beater? No. Was he the finished product? No. But he is exactly what I need and is even teaching my BF to ride.

Would I do the unseen thing for a child or nervous rider? No! I would also say that I chose one who would sell on well had he not suited. As it is, I could have sold him many times over and he is lovely so is staying!

He is the horse in my avatar.
 
Bought two. Both unbroken. The right horse turned up but both had small concerns that weren’t mentioned (veterinary wise) which I had to sort and both rough around the edges. Turned into lovely horses but my criteria was broad and I was willing to take the risk, also have the skills and set up to deal with most things.

With that criteria and lack of experience there is no way I’d be buying unseen.
 
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