How many times should you see a horse before buying it?

sally87

sally87

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 March 2009
Messages
533
Visit site
am looking at some horses this weekend & want to know how many times I should go back?

obviously you need to make sure it is the right one but am worried that if i wait around too long then someone else will nip in & buy it first?

I will be getting more experienced people to see the horse as well so its not just my opinion as at the moment i fall for anything with 4 legs!

Thank you

Sally
 
Entirely depends you on and the horse tbh. You might want to see it in more situations or competing, or you might be happy with all you see on one visit. I saw my mare once (and tried her on the same visit), then decided to buy her subject to vetting. I then saw her when she was vetted, handed over the £ and took her home! Depends on what you are after doing with the horse, and what standard it is up to with its education. Mine was a super green happy hacker - we found her to be very safe out hacking and in traffic - so we bought her. There wasn't much more to see or try out as she didn't do anything else!
 
Don't rush yourself into a decision because someone else might make an offer. That way lies madness and an unsuitable horse. I would say at least twice and remember to do a little of everything you would want the horse to do - that includes hacking.

ETA: When I said twice I meant view once then return once!
 
saw my Cob foal once and the filly I bought a bit later not even in the flesh...bought her from photos and a vid I had seen. Not the wisest thing to do, I know, but it worked for me (this time at least).
Previous horses I bought I saw once mostly, tried them (if they were broken already) and bought after vets ok.
 
Think it all depends on what you have seen and what you are looking for. I bought my mare having only seen her once, but I had viewed plenty of others so really knew what I was after, I had a clear tick list in my head and she ticked all the boxes.

And always, if in doubt - DON'T! There are plenty of horses out there, if it's meant to be, it will work out.
 
I've purchased all my horses with only one viewing, however, if you have your doubts, defo dont do it! You will know whether the horse is right or not. Perhaps take someone with you to give you extra advice?
 
This is what I do ......

See the horse once in the field.

Ride past a few weeks later and have another look.

Try it once.

If its grey......buy it..:o:D

In all honesty, it very much depends on you, the horse and who/where you are getting it from. To be fair, I'm not a total muppet- I have frequently bought horses which were 'known' to me and /or other people so I have had background history etc before trying out.

Be honest with yourself too.....if you like a horse, but it has certain issues....or if it is young and needs bringing on....do you have the time, patience and ability to sort the issues out? Or would you be looking for a more rounded/finished get-on-and-go horse?

I am, in all truth, more a 'heart-rules-the head' person where horses are concerned.....so in fact please disregard this reply:o:D
 
every horse i have bought i have only seen once, apart from Pilfer who i saw twice (once in school and then took him xc schooling).
 
I like to try and see them twice. My mare was a super green just backed 4yr old, so I saw her once when she had been loose jumped, and ridden by someone else first, and then again when she was straight out of the stable, and I wanted to get on her before having the "buzz" taken out of her.

My gelding was in Ireland, and I only rode him once, but went again the next day to play around with him and get a general feel for him :)

TBH I pretty much knew with both after the first viewing I wanted them, the second was just to make sure ;)
 
thanks for the replies. i dont think i will buy the horse just because its grey though! ;-) it will be my first viewing of all of them this weekend so I think if I like them I will have to go back at least once more if I like them. Also can I ask how vetting works? what are the different levels of vetting? I want a horse for hacking & riding club level shows/ jumping so what level is appropriate? is there a big cost difference between the levels? Also should I be there when the horse is vetted or not? I have never had a horse vetted before but do not want to take the risk this time.
 
I think it depends what kind of horse owner you are.

I am a one-horse owner. I was looking for a real partner rather than just a horse, offering a 'forever' home. I didn't want to sell on whatever I bought, so it had to be right.

I was very lucky, the seller was in no rush to sell & she wasn't advertised anywhere. I went back several times over a fortnight, tried pretty much everything I'd want to do with her. Even if I'd said no, I think the owner was just glad she was being ridden! ;)

I know I was lucky! But personally, I would always go back at least twice. If you miss out, maybe is wasn't meant to be...:)
 
yes i think i would rather miss out on what seems to be the perfect horse than to buy the wrong one. its quite difficult to be sensible though when so excited about getting one!
 
im currently selling my mare, she is a comp horse/show horse and is being bought for a 16yr,. the people were stung on their last buy so are being very cautious. they have been out to ride 3 times so far... 1st time i rode then daughter had a play in the school, then i took her out for hack then she meet up with a friend to go for a typical teenagers hack. they are back this weekend where i will ride again, then give daughter a lesson and do some jumping. in the middle of all this they have had a 5 stage vetting. they have also caught/tacked up/washed off/seen horse in stable etc.

i think this is an unusal case, im not in a rush to sell, and the people are local to me and being very careful which i understand. my horse it so special to me that id rather this then sell a 5yr that does have a bit of attitude to someone and they couldnt cope.

vetting wise id advise being there, my mare is a saint but got very upset over the flexion tests the on the ridden part was full of it and had a little bounce.. id of like the buyers to of seen this.

vettings are 2 stage and 5 stage., the main difference is in the 5 stage the horse will be ridden fairley hard to check soundness/wind etc again. for example if a horse had say arthuritus it may not show up on a 2 stage but after being worked hard it would be more likley. Blood tests these days seem standard. they draw bloods then store them so if your new horse has any issues they can run the bloods to test for pain killers/seditives etc.
 
I usually view once, but with the most recent horse we purchased we did view twice, as we wanted to take him XC schooling before we made a final decision.
 
Depends on you and the horse TBH, if i was spending a lot of money then i'd want to see it alot but as with Lady we paid £900 for her went to see her Saturday morning was there for about half hour and Monday lunch time she was home...:rolleyes:....never regretted it for a moment, she was intended as a project to sell on, i'm now keeping her as a eventer for me. :)

Depends on your experience as well......i do have a good eye for a horse, done this serveral times where we have got something after seeing it once and then with in days it's at home. not had a bad one yet. :p

mind you if i was paying more than a couple hundred i'd see it more. not so much risk on a cheap youngster.
 
nativeponies said:
I would say just the once..either you like it, or you don't.
Click to expand...

If I don't like the pics I won't go at all; it has to attract me in the first place so unless it's suddenly missing a leg when I get there, it's usually a done deal after a bit of bartering.

martlin said:
I tend to see them once, if at all... but then, I don't buy pets :)
Click to expand...

Same here.
 
I saw all 3 of my current boys once...and ready, shock horror...never rode any of them! This is because i bought them at auction though you do have the option to ride them if you like, i was just never in the right place at the right time. Saying that i have rode some that i haven't bought!
I think as long as you go with your instinct you'll be fine and i have certainly never been disappointed with any of mine. Saying that i bought a 4 year old last year that i didn't see jump and was slightly disappointed when i got him home.
All mine have had basic vettings and i have had them blood tested.
Good Luck :)
 
I think it depends on a couple of things really, my old boy I saw a few times purely because he was down the road and it was easy peasy however now I'm on the hunt again all the horses I like are all up north so I am not planning on making double trips so will need to see them do everything I want them to do on the first viewing.

I do know exactly what I am after and think I am pretty sensible about my own abilities so am hoping that it will all work out!
 
Last two I bought I only tried once. One was unbroken so I was more looking at type, conformation, attitude etc, the 2nd was only backed a couple of weeks so again I was looking at conformation, type etc, the ride was wobbly but just what you would expect at that very early stage but he had obviously been correctly started.
 
You should go several times. Try and ride it in the same situations you want to ride in at home. Ask to see it loaded, if that is important to you. Sadly, there are a lot of sellers out there who will lie, or mislead you, just so they can get rid of their horse.

As for the vetting, I would always have a 5-stage. It costs more - in the region of £200, depending on where you are, and you should watch, so you can talk to the vet while he is looking at the horse. It doesn't matter if the horse costs £1000 or £10,000. It will be no good to you if it ends up lame, or sick and expensive horses cost the same in vet bills as cheap horses.
 
Really depends what you want the horse for.

The only time I've ever bought a ridden horse (my first ever horse) I saw her twice - first on my own, and then the second time about a week later along with a more experienced friend, when I confirmed at that 2nd visit that I would buy her.

All of my others have either been given to me (my 29yo pasture ornament), or have been bought as foals/weanlings. As I've known exactly what type of youngster I've wanted, and of course there were no "rideability" issues to consider, as long as there were no apparent health issues and they fit the spec, I've purchased them there and then on the first visit.
 
only once, I feel if you need to go back then you aren't 100%, unless for example there was a reason you couldn't do/see something. But I usually go on my gut instinct.
 
BigRed said:
As for the vetting, I would always have a 5-stage. It costs more - in the region of £200, depending on where you are, and you should watch, so you can talk to the vet while he is looking at the horse. It doesn't matter if the horse costs £1000 or £10,000. It will be no good to you if it ends up lame, or sick and expensive horses cost the same in vet bills as cheap horses.
Click to expand...

Wow - only £200 for a 5 stage vetting in your area? a 2 stage costs £280 and a 5 stage is £380 in my area! I was having a horse vetted about 2hrs away from London and it was still going to be over £300 for a 5 stage.
 
When Igo with people we arrange a second visit for riding again, just to be sure if they are adamant they want it. I will sometimes phone to go back to have another look if they person has tried several horses and wants to be sure which one they feel in love with.

We don't rush things and a good seller would rather you be sure than sell you a horse you will end up selling on because its the wrong one. One thing I would be sure of though is to make it clear you aren't timewasting and tell them if they have an offer that they consider reasonable then please don't turn them down incase my person decides against it. My friend did this and the pony was still there a week later when we went back armed with a deposit and has the most perfect pony for her because we didn't rush in.
 
I'd say as many times as it takes for you to be sure this horse is the one for you. So whether that be one visit only or numerous visits to be sure then so be it.
 
I've just bought a horse who I ended up seeing 4 times!
She was entered into an auction so I went to try her & 3 others before the auction but she'd been kicked so I couldn't try her, decided to bid on 2 horses at the auction but they went over my price.
The kicked horses didn't sell so I went to have a look at her in the stable, liked her & arranged to take her out for a ride & jump her.
I went back to hack her out & she was very good & nice to ride but she was still a little sore on her kicked leg so I left it until she was 100%.
So I went back a 4th time to jump her which went well & I bought her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top