Horse Shopping

[klthomason]

We've found a place here in West Linton to livery so now we're starting to look for horses for my two equestrians, both girls 14. One daughter is into show jumping and the other is leaning toward dressage. Both girls are a little off their game because of our move and the pandemic. These are our first horses and I did not grow up with horses so I don't know how to go about buying a horse. I don't even know what I don't know! Any suggestions on trusted sellers in Scotland, general advice, or links to articles would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[nagblagger]

Hi, I would put this post in the club house or tack room, you will get far more traffic.

 

[SilverLinings]

Posting in the 'Tackroom' part of this forum will get you more replies as @nagblagger says.

In the meantime, do you have an experienced horse person/friend to go with you to view potential horses? It is invaluable to take a second pair of eyes with you, even for those of us more experienced.

If your daughters are having lessons then it may be worth asking their instructor for advice on what to look for as the instructor will be aware of your daughters abilities and weaknesses (I'm not being critical, we all have weaknesses, how ever long we've been riding for!).

 

[EventingMum]

It really depends on what you are looking for, horses or ponies, what level of competition you are aiming for, what the livery set-up is, budget etc. Ideally, if your daughters are having lessons it could be worth enlisting the services of their coach to help or approach the local Pony Club DC who may be able to help. I would advise getting someone knowledgable to help as it's easy to make very expensive and upsetting mistakes. There are a lot of horse dealers around, some are better than others, some are very dodgy!

 

[onemoretime]

Always worth asking on Dodgy dealers sites on Facebook.

 

[Goldie's mum]

Buying a horse | The British Horse Society

www.bhs.org.uk