second / third / fourth? viewing

[Bustalot]

How many times would you go view a horse you liked before making an offer? Although even if say on the third viewing the horse did something and you realised that said horse wasn't for you after all. Just that the term 'timewaster' seems get thrown around a lot.

 

[PaddyMonty]

As many times as necessary to confirm to myself that the horse is the right one for me. Normally thats twice but could be more.
The first visit is to get a general feel of the horse. Second visit to further investigate any concerns I might have. Third visit if something still doesn't seem to sit right and so on.

yes there are genuine time wasters but also sellers who seem to feel the first person who views their horse should buy it within 5 minutes based purely on their word it does X,Y,Z.

 

[sprite1978]

I think its a balance.....Ideally you would go and see the horse more than once. However if you go back multiple times, it would suggest that you are very cautious as a person, and inevitably all horses will do something wrong at one time or another. it all depends on the reason for declining after so many veiwings.

eg If after the 4th veiwing, someone said "Sorry but I think hes too forward for me" then i would feel this is a decision that could have been made earlier!

 

[PolarSkye]

In a perfect world, I'd be going two or even three times. A friend of mine viewed her horse four times before she parted with money for him - but she had already given the owner a deposit. However, we only viewed Kali once . . . he was in Hereford - a good three hours away (one way) so it wasn't practical to go back . . . but we did see him caught, help tack up, see him ridden (flat and jump), ride him on the flat, jumped him, hacked him (some roadwork and some in an open field), untacked and fed him, rugged him up and turned him out . . . so we were pretty thorough.

I guess it depends what the horse did to put you off?

Also, I know some sellers won't necessarily hold horses or stop other prospective buyers while you are making up your mind . . . when we were horse shopping I tried a lovely boy called Billy - both Em and I tried him and I wanted my trainer to go and see him too - while we were arranging that second viewing a young lad came to see him, put down a deposit and had him vetted (in 2 days!). Just a case of first come, first served.

P

 

[Natz88]

I am a person who likes to go more than once (depending how local it is), this is purely because in the last couple of years we have had bad luck. So last year when we was viewing horses I looked at 2 horses both I viewed 3 times & done different things each time such as, hacking, schooling jumping/xc, but both failed a vetting. We looked at other horses that we viewed once as just seeing them the once I new they wasn't for me so had no need to go back. The horse I did get I viewed twice & new he was for me & thankfully he passed the vetting.

I do take the view tho, if I liked a horse & wanted to go back, but the horse sold in the mean time then it wasn't the horse for me...

 

[AmyMay]

Twice.

 

[NooNoo59]

Go with your gut feeling, although i bought a horse six years ago that i was not sure about and he has been an absolute star!! so what do i know?

 

[nikCscott]

I have only ever viewed any of my horses once and then slept on it- I follow my gut and so far it's done me well.

My trainer has just had a woman come 4 times to few a horse- 1st in school with instructor, 2nd for hack on roads and around grounds, 3rd bringing Mum, 4th just to confirm (all fine trainer would rather she and horse were well match and happy etc etc) agreed to have horse then called up and backed out saying she didn't want a grey!

Think anything up to 4 is reasonable especially if it's a 1st horse or your nervous etc, but like the above poster says horses are animals and like us WILL do something 'wrong' at some point.

 

[BigRed]

Don't let anyone try to harrass you into making a quick decision. There are a lot of people out there who don't tell the truth when they sell a horse. They hope you won't see the bad points until you get it home. So, if you find something you don't like at any stage before you hand over your money, walk away.

 

[PolarSkye]

I have only ever viewed any of my horses once and then slept on it- I follow my gut and so far it's done me well.

My trainer has just had a woman come 4 times to few a horse- 1st in school with instructor, 2nd for hack on roads and around grounds, 3rd bringing Mum, 4th just to confirm (all fine trainer would rather she and horse were well match and happy etc etc) agreed to have horse then called up and backed out saying she didn't want a grey!

Think anything up to 4 is reasonable especially if it's a 1st horse or your nervous etc, but like the above poster says horses are animals and like us WILL do something 'wrong' at some point.

OK - that's just ridiculous!

 

[jeeve]

If I was buying a horse - then 2-3 times to make a decision. Once not really enough. Twice very reasonable - but have lost horses to other buyers when i have not made a decision on the spot.

when selling a horse, I say to any potential buyers that i do not mind them coming back several times. I think if it got to 4-5 times and they had not put a deposit down i would be a bit over it. But then I would also not hold the horse for them without a deposit either.

 

[1Lucie]

Umm i purchased my first horse after one viewing. I am very nervous on new horses and i felt so comfortable with him and knew he was the one!

But when i tried him i did the following;

Rode in manage walk, trot, canter and jumped a small course of jumps. As well as watching the seller ride.

Rode in the field and had option of popping xc jumps (wasnt wasnt brave enough as they were large for me!)

Hacked up road and back (even past bulls which is an achievement for me as had horrible near miss with bulls).

Also, untacked, hosed, groomed and fed him afterwards!! Sellers were brilliant!

 

[Kaylum]

A couple of times. But I make sure I am there for the vetting.

 

[Marydoll]

I have only ever viewed any of my horses once and then slept on it- I follow my gut and so far it's done me well.

My trainer has just had a woman come 4 times to few a horse- 1st in school with instructor, 2nd for hack on roads and around grounds, 3rd bringing Mum, 4th just to confirm (all fine trainer would rather she and horse were well match and happy etc etc) agreed to have horse then called up and backed out saying she didn't want a grey!

Think anything up to 4 is reasonable especially if it's a 1st horse or your nervous etc, but like the above poster says horses are animals and like us WILL do something 'wrong' at some point.

I would rather someone came several times as above to make sure this is the horse they want , than come, spend ten minutes, buy and be on the phone within the week saying horse isnt suitable for xyz reason, will i take it back.
I think it gives you an insight into the person and a chance to see whether you want them to have your horse or not, use the time to suss them out, while they do the same with your horse

 

[Fairy Dust]

I have only ever viewed horses once and it has always served me well up until I bought my gelding last year. He was not the one for me although has taught me a lot. My problem is that I always end up viewing horses 1.5/2 hours away which means second/third viewings with trainers etc is hard.

I have just sold my gelding and so about to embark on my new search, but I will definitely be viewing any horse at least 3 times and will try and stay local!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Every horse we have bought has been local - my gelding was bought here on loan with view to buy - had seen him the field, never sat on him or seen him ridden! I had him for 5 week to hack out, have lessons one etc - he never went back...

The other one was for my neice and also at a local yard - they were happy for her to go and have a couple of lessons on him and hack him out before he was vetted and bought

Some of the liveries here have bought horses to quickly/been pressured into making a descision and we have had some total disasters because of it we also had a livery here who did a bit of dealing - some fo the rubbish spouted to potential buyers was frankly scary and there was more then one bad accident with people trying horses that were totally unsuitable for them - not that she would have let get in the way of a sale.....

In the end I think it is important for you to feel happy with the horse - they are a huge time and money commitment - as some one else said if the horse goes its not the right one but I think when this happens a lot of peole then rush into buying the very next horse they see without really lookig at it - their desperation to buy a horse takes over and common sense leaves.

 

[stencilface]

I saw my horse once, after my mum and sister had been timewasters and gone to see him because they were interested in his breeding (alleged Luso x Tb - no proof though!). My text me on holiday to say she'd found a horse for me, I'd just finished uni and hadn't even been looking. I tried him as a 4yo, so basic walk-canter on each rein, and fell over a few v small fences. Attempted to gallop across a field but he didn't understand. Agreed to buy (after much haggling and a creation of another interested buyer by them ) and were meant to meet them at a yard halfway where out vet would be to get him vetted. They never showed so vet drove to theirs and vetted without us being there, luckily we trust the vet implicitly!

Normally I'd say twice, once to do the school bit and maybe a hack and second time to make sure. Mine was such a blank canvas, there wasn't really much else to test

 

[FestiveBoomBoom]

First and second horses were bought after 1 viewing, due to being about 5 hours away from home respectively. With hindsight it would have been nice to try them more than once, the second one I probably wouldn't have bought after a second viewing to be honest as I was unsure after 1 viewing but decided to go for it (it didn't turn out well). The third one I rode several times as he was with a friend who did a bit of dealing so that worked out really well but wouldn't be the norm.

 

[dunkley]

From a selling POV, I have allowed a pony to go on trial - never again! Far too upsetting for the small child to wave pony away, then get it back and have to do it again, and thoroughly unsettling for a pony. Next time I tried to sell, I allowed someone who was 'very interested' a thorough try out. First time was at home, second time the child came and stayed, being taken to a local ec for a training show with well known instructor, at my expense, and hacking out alone and in company. I was prepared to do anything reasonable to ensure the pony went to the right home, however many visits it took. The people then didn't contact me for three weeks, and when I chased them up, they said they needed to sell their other one first, and mine didn't tick all the boxes. The 'ticking' I could live with, but surely if you know you need to sell before you buy, don't go looking? And if you decide something isn't 'right', please can't you do the seller the courtesy of letting them know? Even with this, I would still rather someone come several times than sell to the 'wrong' people. Maybe I wouldn't be quite so generous, though

From a buying POV, the last one was bought on the back of one viewing, and a vetting. He was tried on the flat, over SJ, and XC. Felt the seller was very genuine, and didn't doubt the usual "excellent box, shoe, clip, traffic etc". He has proved to be everything described on the tin. The one before that was a visit to try/jump, then a return for a weekend, where he was 'done' for 48 hrs, plus XC schooling/hacking. Any nastiness or problems would have shown up as no one else did anything with him for the entire weekend. There was nothing to hide, and he also is a star. Maybe we were just very lucky!

 

[rhino]

I have always put down a deposit subject to vet on first viewing though know exactly what I want and am willing to put plenty of work in, I don't look for a ready-made horse.

If I were selling then I would hope after 2nd/3rd viewing the buyer would be ready to make a decision.

 

[noodle_]

i went once...........took 10 minutes and she was delivered the next day

I had no stable. nothing


ets - you KNOW if the horse is right or not from the first viewing imo.......

ive never viewed any horse more than once..........

 

[stencilface]

I let my second pony go on trial when I was 14 - he never came back and had a great life taking the next crop of kids through the PC. He did do a nice job of tanking of in a large circle when the girl came to try him (in our hilly 6 acres) which is exactly what he had done with me when I got him at the same age. She didn't care, she did tetrathlon and thought he was ace

 

[Cocorules]

I am another who has bought each horse after only one viewing. If I were selling I would be losing patience if asked for more than 2 unless I could understand the reason for so many viewings. I think what I am saying is let the seller know why you need to see again and they are less likely to lose patience dddddddddddddmmmmbeafter aafter

 

[Cocorules]

Sorry for strange typing at end of last post wretched phone!

 

[Enfys]

I would find it annoying to be honest, twice and a Vet check is fine, more than that and I would suspect that they were tire kickers.

However many times a person comes back I always make it quite clear that the horse remains on the open market unless a 20% non refundable deposit is paid which secures (subject to Vetting or unless I back out of the deal) for a reasonable amount of time (2 weeks)

If someone else came along, wanted the horse and had the cash/deposit then I would I would sell it, and sorry, but bad luck to the other viewers.

 

[HashRouge]

I think you have to strike a balance - you need to have seen enough of the horse to know that you feel happy with them, but you don't want to mess the seller around. I have only ever bought 1 horse, around 10 years ago, and we viewed her 3 times; the first time just my mother and I (I was only 11), the second time with my RI and the third time was for the vetting. I don't know anyone whose done more viewings than that, I'd say most people I know go for 2 viewings, but I do know lots of people who've bought at first viewing. Although I think that when buying for children it is important to go more than once, because you want to make sure you're buying something 100% suitable. I still own my mare, so obviously we did the right number of viewings to make sure we were getting the right horse for us .
I would consider 4 to be slightly excessive in terms of viewings, but it wouldn't necessarily put me off as a seller if I thought the person was serious about the horse. Anymore that 4 though, I consider too many.