How far did you travel to buy your horse?

Last two - 12 miles and 30 miles.

It depends on what sort of horse I would be looking for as to how far I would travel. I like to buy as local as possible, I think it shows the horse/seller is genuine if the seller knows horse is staying local (and can therefore have impact on their reputation). Other reason I like staying local is the huge amount of horses that turn out to be not as advertised or unsuitable, you can waste days driving about to view unsuitable animals.
 
After scouring most of three nearby counties the horses I ended up with were about 45 mins from door to door. So really local. I gave up looking as my days off were just utterly wasted with nonsense. Just the thought puts me off despite my interrogations and the reassurance what I was going to see did all that I asked(NOT).
 
I was prepared to go probably up to 3 hours away and did look at some a couple of hours away. But in the end H came from just up the road - they hacked him over to me :D
 
1500 mile round trip. Twice... Well two different ponies from same place.

Well worth it, too :)
 
Bella came from a dealer about an hour and a half away, although the dealer we bought her off had only brought her over from Ireland a month before so she traveled a bit of a way really. The furthest one we looked at was two hours away but I'd be willing to travel further :)
 
I travelled three hours each way to see one, which subsequently failed the vet

Eventually I found my new girl just half an hour away which was great, but I would have travelled up to 9 hours each way if I'd needed to go to an approved stud.
 
Bedfordshire to Lampeter. 10 hour round trip in a 'horizontal rain' hurricane :eek:
He was 'The Chosen One'. For me anyway :D
 
I was told about my pony by a friend who had one of the breeders other ponies. I bought him from a photo, a halter trained 4 year old. He was in the very north of England and I am south of Peterborough. The money saved from not viewing payed for him to be delivered. I have never bought a pony unseen before but it has turned out very well. I am very pleased with the pony. He just felt right.
 
Friend and I went on a road trip recently to see a number of ponies in the far North of Scotland, one in Thurso! All in all it was a two day trip and clocked over 1000miles. She did find her perfect horse though :D
 
JFTD said:
1500 mile round trip. Twice... Well two different ponies from same place.

Well worth it, too :)
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Thanks JFTD!:D

...and another possible purchaser is making a similar journey to "that place" in a couple of weeks -- from the far side of Holland!

Two Australians here today, but I didn't manage to sell them anything.

But they did import my stallion's dad into Australia a few years ago. They reckoned it was either the pony or a new 4x4. Not much of a debate, I'd say.
 
Dry Rot said:
But they did import my stallion's dad into Australia a few years ago. They reckoned it was either the pony or a new 4x4. Not much of a debate, I'd say.
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Natural 4x4 - much cheaper to run, too :D


Do you ever sell anything locally? :p
 
I would not have a limit as such. Why miss out on the perfect horsejust for the sake of a longer trip.
 
I'm very picky on the bloodlines of my horses so I will buy the right one from wherever it happens to be. The furthest I've travelled myself to go and collect a horse was 1,300 miles but usually I cap this limit at 1,000 miles as I often don't have the time to drive all that way. In which case I have a shipper collect the horse for me. I very rarely find horses that I'm interested in within my own country therefore buying them and shipping them is the norm for me. My own homebred youngsters that I sell do it the other way round lol! They are born here and then shipped south to their new buyers.
 
I went all the way to Spain for my PRE mare, but then just 30 miles down the road for the next one, both fab buys, hopefully won't need to buy any more, both will see to my retirement with any luck, as my oldest one is 30 !
 
Billie1007 said:
While looking I probably did about 900 miles in total, but the one I bought was about 80 miles away in the end. I did drive 250 miles to see one, as soon as she stepped out of the stable I knew she wasn't right :(
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Exact reason I refused to travel too far. I spotted one that I really liked the look of, but he was a good 200 miles away. I ended up not even going to view.

Rods was about 7 miles down the road. New boy was 30. It makes multiple trips far easier, too.
 
I travelled 130 miles for an £1200 pony! Then I haggled over the price and came away with a pony for under £900 including delivery!

But she was recommended by a friend who knows what I like and it was a chance to catch up with friend and her horses, I wouldn't have travelled that far for a cheap pony off the back of an advert!
 
I went to Wales - South Wales, to find mine. Was years ago when there was big petrol strike on, and we luckily filled our lorry up before the strike happened, so we travelled up and collected her. Guess it took around 3 and half to 4 hours to get there,... Found h in horse and hound mag
 
The best horses I have bought have been within 50 minutes of home. I can also use my own vet which I much prefer to do.
 
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