Horse buying - Advice please

Spyda

Spyda

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Re:

Horse for Sale

See previous post about him:

Previous post

He's located close to me and I have had an email from his owner. He's been well handled and is shod, wormed, vaccinated and had his teeth rasped. He suffers from mild sweetitch (hence price) but comes with a full Boett blanket. I'm not too concerned about that though.

He was bought as project for her daughter 2 years ago but the daughter has gone off horses. He's been bitted, long-reined and had a saddle on, but has not been backed yet. Nothing untoward, except she did say [ QUOTE ]
He is an affectionate horse with a lovely temperament and would excel in a one to one relationship - any discipline.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's the 'one-to-one' comment that raised a concern in me.

I am unable to speak to the owner until tonight, but just wondered what everyone here thought. Should I pursue? What questions would you ask?
 
they said teddi would love a one to one relationship. but really i dont think he cares who sits,leads, feeds him etc etc.

He does prefer me to everyone else though, and will follow me like a lost lamb round yars and fields.

So i wouldnt look into it too much, might just be a way of saying he will like you
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She might just mean he needs more time and attention than he's had so far....
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I wouldn't make too many assumptions from a slight phrase, if he's so close, just go and have a look
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Yes, I know what you're both saying. I suppose I am just doubly cautious because he has gone from being £5000 in May 2009 to £1000 ono in October 2009. He's four and been worked with. Just wonder why he's not been backed? Maybe lack of time, etc. and a genuine reason. But makes me wonder.....

 
It's quite a price drop - maybe the owner realised she was kidding herself asking for £5k for an unbacked young 'un, or maybe it's something like a redundancy that means they need to sell asap? As Puppy said, why not go take a look? You may be able to approach the price drop question easier that way - it's so easy to take offence at things in writing. Have you asked if he's had any vetting done?
 
A bit odd. It could be that something has gone wrong with this horse, or it could be that the owners just want rid of the livery costs. If I were you I would not say much on the phone, but arrange to go see him with a friend as a witness. Then I would ask every question under the sun, esp on medical history, time off, etc and on previous backing history in case they tried to back him and he went mental.

At the end of the day he could just be a bargain which is not unheard of in the current climate!!!
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Just go into it with eyes wide open. Make sure you have a 5 stage vetting plus a good trainer to help you. However there may be some behaviour issues to work through. To get a quality horse like that so cheaply you have to expect some problems. Certainly worth looking at though.
 
Yes, I'm sure that many will disagree, but I would want a thorough vetting, no matter how cheap he is
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[ QUOTE ]
Yes, I'm sure that many will disagree, but I would want a thorough vetting, no matter how cheap he is
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[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely agree.

Don't think he's kept on livery, so doubt cost in that respect is an issue. Know sweetitch is a P.I.N.A. but it's controllable, so wouldn't necessarily warrant such a drop.

I'll speak to the owner later and see what's what.
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I'm always suspicious of a youngster who is CLOSE to backed - but sold as unbacked. Lameness due to OCD often shows up only when a horse starts work - immediate box rest lets it settle down. But when you start working them again .....

In the current market he was dear at £5,000 unbacked and with sweet itch - he's now very cheap!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm always suspicious of a youngster who is CLOSE to backed - but sold as unbacked. Lameness due to OCD often shows up only when a horse starts work - immediate box rest lets it settle down. But when you start working them again .....

In the current market he was dear at £5,000 unbacked and with sweet itch - he's now very cheap!!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's pretty much what I am thinking
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Don't know whether to just not bother? You can't really afford to 'throw away' the cost of a 5-stage vetting on a horse which your dubious of from the off. Head says NO, hearts says.... well, maybe he's a genuine bargain? I doubt it though. I wouldn't bother.
 
Its too much horse for that price. There's bound to be a big reason why they're virtually giving it away. The question is whether its a permanent or a fixable reason - but if it was fixable it would still probably cost more than £1000. That said, if you can afford the gamble and you want to amuse yourself with a challenge, why not? You could probably get your money back at an unwarranted sale, or a fair percentage in meat money, realistically.
 
Mmmm.... more I think about it, the more doubtful I am about even looking. I can't afford to take on another 'problem horse'. I did that before and ended up having it PTS 4 months later. No siree, I do not want to be going down that path again.

My 2 year old filly will be ready for a bit of work next year - maybe I should just concentrate on her
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If I had my own land it might be another story, but taking on another livery just before winter.....

Thanks guys. I knew 'talking it through' on here would sort my head out
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As he's close to you, he must be worth a look. TBH it's the 'daughter gone off horses' quote that might put me off. Years (and years) ago, when we were teenagers, sister and I went to look for our first horse to share. One gelding we saw was shown to us by a man who said the horse had been his son's but son had now taken up football. WE KNOW WHY..... I couldn't persaude it to go out of the gate and sister couldn't even get on. We would have seriously considered taking up football if our parents had insisted on buying it
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[ QUOTE ]
We would have seriously considered taking up football if our parents had insisted on buying it
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[/ QUOTE ]

LOL
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