Horse shopping. What rings alarm bells?

People genuinely do "sell on behalf" , they may have horse in for sales livery, so don't own the horse. There was post on here by a girl who let her horse go in to sales livery because she was over-horsed, but that does not mean that you would be over-horsed.
If they are selling "on behalf of" are they not also subject to Trading Standards, otherwise every trader would sell every horse this way , as there seems to be no control over "the name" on the passport.
 
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Another not novice ride person.

Men riding the horses in pictures - makes me think small women like me can't ride the horse!!

Photos of horses looking a bit wild are a def. no no.
 
But quite a lot of men will sell a horse at some point!

The best ad I saw when I was looking for my mare was "Hunts and does dressage". Nothing else apart from age and height. I did ring up as it looked good, but couldn't get much more info out of the owner, it was like pulling teeth and I gave up!
 
A 16.00 horse pictured in front of a set of gates and railings, they seem to sell one such every week, they never mention that they all come from Ireland [snotty noses or ringworm or shoes falling off].
No mention of "dealing"
Apparently they are snaffle mouthed, well mannered, have a good jump and will go far in the right hands.
 
Cortez said:
I have several horses which have never seen a vet except for vaccinations. Wouldn't put me off.
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Yes this! I'd be very concerned if a vet knew the horse in question. That would make me think how many times has he needed the vet?!
Generally my horses see the vet once a year, so my vet could be forgiven for not remembering them. A vet would remember the ones with reoccurring illnesses/injuries or the problematic horses that tried to kill them when vaccinating.

When an ad says jumping 110 yet the photo's show said horse jumping 60 cms, well that spells spoofer to me.
Conformation photo's where the legs are bandaged... what are they trying to hide?
And a horse with a strong bit in their mouth for every photo.
Not a novice ride also translates to looper
I've even seen 2 ads saying "not for the faint hearted!" ...enough said
 
'complete novice ride' or '100% bombproof' when describing an under 6/7 year old horse is something I'd avoid. Photos showing badly fitting/fitted tack and rugs and bareback with no hat suggests a lack of care or knowledge to me as well.
 
MrsD123 said:
A 16.00 horse pictured in front of a set of gates and railings, they seem to sell one such every week, they never mention that they all come from Ireland [snotty noses or ringworm or shoes falling off].
No mention of "dealing"
Apparently they are snaffle mouthed, well mannered, have a good jump and will go far in the right hands.
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Yes I see a LOT of these ads
 
"Tentatively thinking about selling" type wording that you tend to get on forums or Facebook. Stop being so coy, you are either selling or not and I bet aren't tentative at all if offered a big wadge of cash.
 
MrsD123 said:
Lets get this right once and for all its ......... conFORMation............
if he is "Confirmed" he is a practicing member of the Church of Pegasus and he will be accompanied by a certificate confirming his Confirmation.
You are expected to conform to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Please confirm you have read, and in future please agree to conform. [rant over]
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Excuse me - I spelt it incorrectly and then made the point that the incorrect spelling annoyed me.
 
Oh my goodness what a lot of replies while I was at work.

I feel like since I last bought a horse (2009) ads seem a lot less clear now than then, everyone uses the same cliches rather than writing the truth.
 
Loubidy said:
Oh my goodness what a lot of replies while I was at work.

I feel like since I last bought a horse (2009) ads seem a lot less clear now than then, everyone uses the same cliches rather than writing the truth.
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That is because so many people have no idea what the truth is. I recently placed a wanted ad. Very specific in what I wanted. 17.2h county level show hunter gelding, I even included a picture of the horse I had just retired and was trying to replace. I had loads of pictures sent to me, horses in rugs on a bit of wasteland, cart horses, weeds, coloured ID's - really ? and umpteen 'stunning' camels.

We looked at two, both were correct and worthy of the word stunning except one was claustrophobic and the other had a leg. 10k and 8k. One had form as a novice but was a nightmare to manage. Nothing more tricky than buying a horse !
 
There was an ad for a hunter in H & H a few years back. It was inspiring, and I almost wet myself reading it. I assumed (maybe wrongly) it had been written by a bloke. He sang the praises of his horse's abiilties/talent on the hunting field - horse looked a real cracker - and then informed any interested parties that the horse "doesn't do any of that fancy school stuff, never seen the need for it myself, so don't plan on any fancy moves". Often wonder if it sold.
 
Regandal said:
There was an ad for a hunter in H & H a few years back. It was inspiring, and I almost wet myself reading it. I assumed (maybe wrongly) it had been written by a bloke. He sang the praises of his horse's abiilties/talent on the hunting field - horse looked a real cracker - and then informed any interested parties that the horse "doesn't do any of that fancy school stuff, never seen the need for it myself, so don't plan on any fancy moves". Often wonder if it sold.
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At least it was truthful I suppose.

I sent a hunter through market years ago, truthfully described as a cracking hunter. It was, jump anything, hard as nails, ugly as sin but if you were brave (I was not and remain a wuss) enough to ride him he was a star. I omitted anything about hacking. He would refuse to leave the yard as soon as hunting ended. He was a lovely hack on exercise during the season but a nappy git out of season, hence not daring to advertise him to be tried from home. He went into hunt service and had an ideal life.
 
I spent ages looking at adverts for 'absolutely stunning 4/5/6/7/8 year old 15.2-16.2h excellent breeding - sire (need to look up the name) dam (never heard of either) bred for dressage/showjumping/eventing, 3 excellent paces will be a superstar at dressage/showjumping/eventing (but hasn't actually been out and competed or won anything yet or you would have thought they'd have said so) must sell hence £hugely inflated price at least 4-5k' accompanied by two obscure photos often one in a severe bit heavily on the forehand or sailing over a jump looking as though it's never seen a filler let alone a jump before.

What we got was a friend saw daughter was getting a bit big for her pony and commented had seen one suitable at a dealer friend of theirs, and said 'I've seen a gelding that would suit your daughter' - turned out to be a mare which didn't overly matter and she was fine, beautiful manners, easier ride than the pony, excellent all rounder and saved me all the agro of actually having to go round heaps of places and look and the bonus was it was well within budget.
 
I found a really funny one recently. The photo must have been taken from 200m away at least so I assumed that was as close as they could get to it :D
 
I have not read the whole thread. However, I have two three year olds who will be advertised next year after backing but not schooling on.

They will be advertised as 'not novice rides' there is nothing suspicious in this. Newly backed youngsters are not for beginners.

I will also require references from prospective purchasers. It cuts both ways.
 
THe words 'no timewasters' always makes me think that they believe you are out to have a free ride! Bit like how in the eighties I used to traipse around all the show homes with my Mum, not because she was thinking of buying a new house, more like she was just blooming nosy and wanted to see what the decorations looked like!! :) :)
 
Rollin said:
They will be advertised as 'not novice rides' there is nothing suspicious in this. Newly backed youngsters are not for beginners.


I will also require references from prospective purchasers. It cuts both ways.
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I think describing the horses as newly backed or green would sound better.

Out of curiosity, who would be giving the references? Vet? Farrier? Instructor? I think my Vet would die laughing if I asked him to provide me with a reference to show i'm worthy enough to buy a horse.
 
MrsD123 said:
A 16.00 horse pictured in front of a set of gates and railings, they seem to sell one such every week, they never mention that they all come from Ireland [snotty noses or ringworm or shoes falling off].
No mention of "dealing"
Apparently they are snaffle mouthed, well mannered, have a good jump and will go far in the right hands.
Click to expand...

LOL You have just described one of the bigger dealers round here but a few knowledgeable friends have got cracking horses from them but novice buyers beware!
 
NOthing... except crap movement on videos... People can write anything in adverts and be lying or not understand - what would put me off is not being allowed in the stable with a horse or tack it up or handle it from the floor - and the owner refusing to ride it - or it being doped or them not letting me vet the horse with my vet.

But adverts - the only thing that puts be off is no photos/ video.
 
<small off topic rant time: feel free to ignore>

Oh dear. The Ireland stereotype has appeared again I see.

Fine. I get it. I am clearly failing in my role as a person from Ireland. My pony is healthy, well handled, and I have no intention of even backing him lightly until he has turned three, preferably four! He sees the vet and trimmer regularly, and is wormed, vaccinated, etc. I do apologise, and shall of course rush out and book pony in for a nice day of hunting as his second birthday present. Silly me, for planning on producing him slowly! Not at all in keeping with the Irish stereotype, how inconsiderate of me...

Seriously, there are plenty of poorly bred and badly produced horses that don't hail from Ireland. And many lovely ones that do. Can we try to remember that please?

<end of rant: insert leprechauns here>

When buying, there is the usual list:
Take a knowledgable friend, have it vetted (the horse, not the friend!), have your farrier check its feet, confirm passport and microchip details, and get a detailed receipt from the seller. Avoid pity buys. Insist on decent pictures prior to viewing. Do not go alone, or carry large amounts of cash on your person. View several times, try potential animal as much as is required. Make sure that someone knows where you have gone, and when you are due home. Run a background check on sellers via Facebook and other social networking sites. Check various sales pages etc for other adverts by seller. Be paranoid. Be blunt. Take a written checklist with you of must haves/must nots, etc. Remember that no is a full sentence. Ask beforehand if the seller has any loose dogs on their property, if this is likely to give you concern. Ask your horsey contacts if they know of the horse or the seller. Bring a packed lunch and a blanket in colder weather in case your car breaks down. And plan your route carefully, and make sure you have a fully charged mobile with enough credit to phone for directions when the sat-nav inevitably fails...

Happy horse hunting :D
 
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