Poll; Buying Horse

[Tia]

Would you buy a horse unseen; only from the photos and description on its advert? No further information about the horse apart from what is in the advert. Horse is very cheap by the way.

 

[The Virgin Dubble]

Yes, I have done it, and didn't regret it. I have also seen and tried horses and bought them, only for it to not work out.

I wouldn't recommend doing it, but in my case, I just had this gut instinct that the horse was right, and it was.

 

[Brontie]

Well, if it is a foal, I wouldnt ild just ask for a letter from ther vet showing me and issues the horse may have, if it was a grown up then no, ild want to see.

 

[Christmas_Kate]

If i had the money, experience, and own stabling etc, then yes I may well do.

 

[rara007]

No, but if it was cheap enough that I could lose the money and not be to bothered then probably.

 

[Ravenwood]

When my horse arrived, I had only seen her once, 5 years ago! - however the circumstances where a little different because I was helping the owner out as the horse had been on loan to what turned out to be an undersirable home. I bought her 6 months later.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Not if it was cheap, I would be wondering what the catch was. But, if I could speak to the seller, then possibly yes!

And as someone else said, if it was a foal, then possibly.

 

[henryhorn]

Actually just realised I have done that without even seeing the mare, but a mate owned her and said she was ok...!

 

[sikaran]

I would if it was VERY cheap but normally no. However there are people that I trust enough that I would buy a horse on their sayso without having seen it myself.

 

[Chex]

I wouldn't. I would probably own that horse for the next 20 years, and if it had something irritating about it then I think it would slowly drive me insane!

 

[Rachel_M]

No, I would not buy a horse without seeing it in person first, no matter the price.


A cheap horse can still have expensive veterinary costs....

 

[JM07]

yes, i have done several times..and will do again.

only myself to blame if it goes belly up!

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

As long as you don't care and can handle any disarable things...When I veiw/call etc about a protenital horse I rarely ask over something like if its good to shoe because to be perfectly honest I don't care.

However....would I sell a horse to someone who hasn't veiwed and vetted (if not a younster) let alone on just the advert....No way.

 

[volatis]

I've done it three times. In all cases I knew the breeding and basic info and went off a few photographs. The yearling ahs worked out beautifully, the 6yo is not quite what I wanted (too small) but conformation is good as is her attitude.
The third one is a fully graded broodmare and I knew an awful lot about her bloodlines, what she had produced, her grading scores etc. She is fab, couldn't have asked for better.

But its bloody nerve wracking and not something I would do again in a hurry

 

[mickey]

No, I never would. It's like saying 'Would you buy a house without having been inside it'?
Definitely not.

 

[TGM]

In most circumstances I wouldn't. For a horse for me to ride I would want to see whether I clicked with it, however much I trust the vendor. However, I can see if you wanted a youngster with certain bloodlines you might do so from a known and trusted vendor. Likewise if it is very cheap and you are the sort of person who can deal with problems, then it is worth a gamble.

However, I would say for the average leisure rider looking for their daily riding partner it is not the way to go about it!

 

[aimeerose]

Yup - if its cheap pretty much fits the bill for what you want - the peeps who are selling it sound pretty striaght up and most of all .................... you are compitant (not in doubt in your case!) and confident to cope with what it may throw at you.

 

[happihorse]

I normally wouldn't, unless a trusted friend knew the horse.

I don't think there are many reasons why I would actually consider buying unseen.

 

[icemaiden113]

My current mare was bought unseen and only photo's i knew she had a large scar on her leg and not been ridden for 2 years (8yr old). she was very cheap and she is a star!! She hunts jumps and is an angel to deal with! Go for it!

 

[Tia]

Ah no, sorry I'm not considering it, I was just wondering if many people will pay over money and have a horse delivered, from the strength of just an advert without knowing anything else about it and without seeing the horse in the flesh.

I voted "no", by the way. Although yes I have agreed to buy horses unseen, I haven't actually handed over the money until they have arrived and in all my situations I have been given more information about said horses either by the owners/breeders or by someone who has known the horses.

Cheap horses do not necessarily mean cheap keepers - if there is something wrong with them then you have to either be prepared to stump up a figure for vet bills or make the decision to have them destroyed.

This is why I often wonder about people who "rescue" these horses from overseas without knowing much about them at all.