"Sold from field"....

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Tabbi

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Would you consider buying a horse sold from the field?
Have seen an ad for a horse that looks promising, but the horse has no rider (for approx 6 months), so is sold from the field..... would this be something any of you would do? ...buy a horse that you have not seen someone else ride?
 
Hi, personally i wouldnt, but im not the most confident of rider and like to be able to see and try a horse out a couple of times if i were to buy.
 
Only if I could have the sellers reasons for the horse being out of work verified. Unfortunately, too many people out there tell a good tale in order to off load a horse that should never be sold.
 
Depends on your level of experience. I wouldn't dream of it myself, as I know I'd probably get busted. I suppose if you trust the seller, and the reasons for him being out of work are genuine, then you could buy from the field.
 
horserider said:
Only if I could have the sellers reasons for the horse being out of work verified. Unfortunately, too many people out there tell a good tale in order to off load a horse that should never be sold.
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Same here, if they could prove the reasons were genuine and the horse didn't have a rider due to dangerous behaviour or illness, and that the horse was right for what i wanted, then i,d go for it.
 
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I bought an unbroken 4yo from the field...still have her aged 22yrs...it worked out well for me. At the time I bought her, though, I was working doing backing and breaking so had much better stickability than I do now.
Now, I wouldn't dream of it - falls hurt too much. :p :D
S :D
 
horserider said:
Only if I could have the sellers reasons for the horse being out of work verified. Unfortunately, too many people out there tell a good tale in order to off load a horse that should never be sold.
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I let my heart rule my head and bought from the field, was sold a good line too:(
All went well with re backing until put a roller on for the first time, cue 15.2 TB chestnut mare throwing herself on the floor, getting up and repeating the process 3 times before standing and shaking for England. Fortunately i have professional help close at hand, OH is an instructor with years of experience using very quiet techniques. He worked with me everyday and after two years I had a fantasic little mare who would give me her all. Would still have her now if she hadn't have had a fatal accident in the field. OH and her taught me so much and I wouldn't have missed a minute with her, but couldn't have done it without the help i received, but there is no way I would have been able to pay for it, she was not a quick fix and would have been an option to send away for a few weeks schooling.
 
I sold a horse from the field. Was a very tough sale!
... She'd had an injury, then she was sound and I had a serious injury!
I got on her with a broken leg after she hadn't been ridden for 11 months to prove she wasn't mad and allowed prospective buyers to talk to my liveries, to my vet, etc ... it was like the spanish inquisition. I then let her go on a two month LwVTB which I would normally never do! Luckily they liked her, payed full price and have now had her for over three years
 
I bought a 16.2hh TB ex hunter off the field from a very scrupulous dealer, it was pity that bought him and my heart ruled my head, he was extremely poor and covered in cuts/bruises/sores, and had the worse case of mud fever I had ever seen, anyhoo after a few months of TLC he was blooming, absolutely stunning but boy did he have a "ginger" side to him, i never really did bond with him, he was a bit hyper for me and although he was an absolutely great ride, never spooked, would go first or last and always hacked alone, we just didn't really gel, so after 18 months i advertised him, a lady in her 60's bought him to plod round her village on, I told her everything about him, she still has him 3 years later and they adore each other, so long story short i'm really glad I did it because I changed his life but keep your eyes wide open, they are not always what they seem. good luck.
 
Please don't buy a horse sold from field to be ridden unless you see it ridden and rode yourself unless you are a genuine experianced person sold from field is for a reason they don't want to ride it neither what evr the excuse
 
if it is meant to be unbroken and under 4yrs old, no problem buying from the field.

if it has been ridden at any point in its life, I want to ride it before I buy it.

Not got a problem if I am the first to ride it for a while and no-one available to show it to me, but I will always ride before handing over any £££.
 
I have done in the past and I would do again but it all depends on the horse, the situation and circumstances. I have sold 2 horses from the field both I am still in touch with and they were sold from the field for genuine reasons and both buyers were completely satisfied, the difference I suppose is that they both wanted to ride them despite the horses being turned away and both were well behaved and vetted beforehand I never lie when selling a horse and have never had a problem with a horse I have sold shame this cannot be said for everyone who sells horses I think you need to go with your eyes well open and read into everything you are told.
 
I bought mine from the field, sort of, and I'm a fairly nervous rider. I did ride him first though, but only in walk around the field. I say "sort of" because the owner had a girl from the local riding school come over and sit on him a few times the week before I bought him, plus another potential buyer had sat on him that morning. The story was "too busy" but it was fairly clear that he'd learnt to intimidate the owner on the ground and she was scared of him - I'm confident on the ground so that didn't bother me and he was just the type, size, age etc I was looking for (and not finding).

He could only have a 3-stage vetting as he was too unfit and over-weight to canter, but (touch wood) he has been 100% healthy. I had no problems with getting him going under saddle again, but he did have handling issues but I knew that. He has taken a while to get used to hacking out alone. Also, he has changed quite a bit to ride with exercise, schooling and weight loss - he was a bit of a kick-along plod when I first got him.
 
We bought a pony for friend's children from the field. She had been a broodmare for 2 yrs and had previously been broken to ride and drive.
We tried her in as many difficult situations in-hand as we could to check that she really was bombproof. Then took her into the school and then the smallest adult of the 3 of us got on bareback and was led round.
The pony passed all out rests with flying colours, so yes, friend bought her and then we brought her slowly back into work.
There is absolutely no reason why a 'sold from field' horse that has been broken should not be ridden prior to purchase.
 
millitiger said:
if it is meant to be unbroken and under 4yrs old, no problem buying from the field.

if it has been ridden at any point in its life, I want to ride it before I buy it.

Not got a problem if I am the first to ride it for a while and no-one available to show it to me, but I will always ride before handing over any £££.
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This. I would just ask if I could get on it personally. A 'no' would set alarm bells ringing in my head.
 
millitiger said:
if it is meant to be unbroken and under 4yrs old, no problem buying from the field.

if it has been ridden at any point in its life, I want to ride it before I buy it.

Not got a problem if I am the first to ride it for a while and no-one available to show it to me, but I will always ride before handing over any £££.
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Ditto this
 
I personally would never by a horse from the feild. i know someone who did that recently, it was sweet natured when she got it. Bought it the same day, brought it on to my livery yard and after two weeks it started charging both horses and people. It double barrels and spins. It is now left in the feild as it is too dangerous to come onto the yard. She has lost her money as there was no comeback on the previous owners. If anyone buys a horse they should have it on trial for at least 6 weeks at least then you know whether it has been doped or not. This horse was a donkey when it first came on yard, after two weeks it turned. Found out it was doped. You should never trust anyone selling horses.
 
Do you home work - go with your gut feeling and only consider it if an experianced / confident rider - as others have said - you can hear what's being said but the truth is very often silent ! - If the horse takes your fancy then offer a price that you want to pay - if they don't take it - walk away - never pay the asking price as your the one taking the risk ! Yes I have bought several horses from the field but have always offered silly prices so it's a heres some cash - take it or have your horse in afeild / livery for another six months - surprising how many people take the cash !!

GUT FEELING on these purchases.

;-)
 
i have done a few times in the past.

One the owner couldnt ride it as she had an injury from a fall, she had explained thought why her hybby had stopped riding the mare, she had decked him and he wouldnt get back on. I visited her a few times times before agreeing - she was fab although not a ride for the inexperienced, when i was expacting and tried to get someone to continue her ridden work... i couldnt find anyone who could manage her! i think she was a more one to one as the things she did to riders when they came to try her....

another i bought who was a younger one, but had already started work, he was in a pen and due to the bad weather and it being pitch black when i viewed him, i bought him without seeing him out of his pen. Some days he floats across the field and people are wowwww, he is very sensative though so the slighest graze etc and hes hopping lame - i imagine he was maybe like that when i viewed him hence they wouldnt get him out....

there was another that well, the story just didnt add up so i walked away, i later found out the mare was PTS for being a bit of a nutter! i'm so glad i trusted my instinct!


Would i do it all again and buy from the field? A horse for breeding, youngster yes anyday if i liked the animal, saw potential and believed the owner! for a ridden horse, i'm not so sure anymore as now i am a mum myself, i suddenly dont want to take all the risks i used to!

I'd say ask if you can have it vetted..... if there is no underlaying problem then they should be happy for a vet to look at it. If you're not the type to have horses vetted (like myself) then still ask... as if they say no... is it because they are hiding something?
 
millitiger said:
if it is meant to be unbroken and under 4yrs old, no problem buying from the field.

if it has been ridden at any point in its life, I want to ride it before I buy it.

Not got a problem if I am the first to ride it for a while and no-one available to show it to me, but I will always ride before handing over any £££.
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Agree with this!
My last horse was an ex racer sold being sold from the field. When we went to see him it was the first time he'd been sat on in months but it gave us an idea of what he was like, so we bought him :D ... But i would defo want to ride it to make sure its the right horse and not bonkers!!
 
It would depend on the reason why. But I must say it does put me off, as you haven't got much to go on just from looking at the horse in the field. If I did consider it I would want some sort of legal contract drawn up and signed by the horse's owner stating that the reasons that the horse was for sale were genuine.
 
Thanks guys for all the advice and stories, good and bad.
I have rang the seller and asked some questions about why there is no rider and it seems her daughter just lost interest and she has another 3 horses to ride so lack of time has meant that the one for sale just has not been ridden.
I am going to give it some consideration.
Thanks everyone
:)
 
I would buy an ex-racer from the field, but never anything else...mainly because a lot of the trainers do turn them away and then decide that they are never going to make a proper money making machine, so just sell them from the field. Gut feeling has a lot to do with it. Bought my recent mare last April from trainer's field - she was a saint until she got ill (nothing to do with racing at all) so I won't be able to start her again til Spring. I didn't really go with the serious intention of buying anything - just to get a feeling as to whether I really wanted another one to go with my oldie, but when I saw her and spoke to the lasses who had looked after her, I knew she was the one I wanted out of the whole field of them.
 
We bought Squizz like this. I saw an ad for him in the local free mag and the seller was initially very against us seeing him - he is 16.2hh and Jenny was only 13. The seller hadn't a rider for him for 2 years so he was sold-as-seen.

When the seller saw how tall and strong Jenny was, she let Jenny tack him up and ride him in the field he was turned out in and he was perfect.

The ad was for loan, but the owner really wanted to sell him (so she potentially didn't have him dumped back on her in a few years time) and said £1000. Mother couldn't afford this so the owner said £500, even £200 as she really wanted us to have him.

We didn't have him vetted, or an instructor etc with us and have had absolutely no problems. Perfect horse who has taught Jenny everything she knows!!!
 
Tabbi said:
Thanks guys for all the advice and stories, good and bad.
I have rang the seller and asked some questions about why there is no rider and it seems her daughter just lost interest and she has another 3 horses to ride so lack of time has meant that the one for sale just has not been ridden.
I am going to give it some consideration.
Thanks everyone
:)
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If this is the case then I think the seller should be willing to have tack put on and to ride it for you a little, just to illustrate it is rideable and safetly broken. At the end of the day, a little light work is not going to do the horse any damage and it will have to be brought into work again at some point.

At the end of the day, it's up to the seller to sell you the horse. If they're being honest he/she should be willing to oblige such a sensible request.
 
Tabbi said:
Thanks guys for all the advice and stories, good and bad.
I have rang the seller and asked some questions about why there is no rider and it seems her daughter just lost interest and she has another 3 horses to ride so lack of time has meant that the one for sale just has not been ridden.
I am going to give it some consideration.
Thanks everyone
:)
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See, this would actually make me MORE wary. The owner can ride, does ride, presumably they have a place to ride it and they know what they're up to. Even if the horse has not been in regular work, if they want to sell it (although some people advertising horses seem NOT to want to sell them! ;) ) then surely the owner could get on a few times and show you the horse properly? I'm not saying I think they're necessarily hiding anything, but they could try a bit!

In the situation where there isn't anyone/anywhere to show the horse, it's a bit trickier. Although these days, in this market I think it behooves anyone who wants a decent home for their horse to at least get a suitable rider out to show the horse to prospective buyers. I know people don't want to spend good money after bad but it seems the least one can do for a horse.

And I've seen a few "out of the field" purchases that definitely had a catch, even if the owner doesn't necessarily admit it to him/herself. The horse gets laid off originally for some reason, perhaps never even fully realised or investigated, then when the decision is made to sell somehow the reason recedes into the fog. Sometimes time heals the wounds and the horse progresses without incident. Sometimes the problem only really shows up again when the horse is in work. Sometimes the problem is evident from the get go.

A friend of mine bought a pony for her daughter. Some of us said "hmm" because the pony apparently had a good show record but the daughter had "lost interest" and by the time they decided to sell it hadn't been ridden. Friend rode it once, out of the field, pony was great. They took it to a place with a school and friend rode it for a week, pony was a star, jumped everything, flying changes, dead quiet. Friend put yard owner's daughter, a very good young jockey, on it . . . pony fired the kid into the wall in the first canter. Kid got back on, cantered again . . . fired off again. You get the picture.

Turned out the pony was "famous" and its show career ended because it would hightail it down to the far end of the ring and dump the kid fairly regularly. No wonder she lost interest! I'm sure the sellers thought/hoped the pony would be okay after the break but they certainly didn't volunteer the whole history.

I know another that was sold because the owner died. That's quite a good story. Except that it turned out to have a chronic lameness when in full work. Maybe the horse had been fine, maybe the owner knew the score but the sellers didn't. But in that case even a "good story" wasn't the whole truth.
 
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