Sold from field..

xTrooperx

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2011
Messages
420
Visit site
Would this sentance put you off?
I'm looking to buy soon, but very unsure of the above, but seen it on a few nice horse.
Though I'm worried about checking for soundness, ride-ability ie safe ( if advert says safe) if been out if work couple mths due to owner having time/work/health etc issues,
Has anyone done this? Good or bad exerpanices?
 
I have 'sold from the field'. In my case it was because said horse had been out of work for 9 months due to me finding him and not having a clue what to do with him. It took me 9 months to trace as much of his history as I could and to get a duplicate passport so I could sell him to a forever home. I sat on him a few times when he was in my care but didn't ride him as such. Through tracing his history I was aware that he had 'history' (some good, some awful) and I decided that he wasn't the horse for me to be going on with (plus he was a touch on the small side for me!).

I advertised him as sold from the field. The new owners saw him being lunged and handled and where happy to take a punt on him. I was completely honest when I told them that although he hadn't done anything awful with me I had been led to believe that in the past he was a tricky ******. They seemed happy with that and where prepared to take him right back to basics, knowing that there was a chance he may never make a ridden horse. I was assured he'd have a home for life with them although obviously there is no guarantee that this will happen.

I keep meaning to email and ask how he is doing but I'm to scarred that I won't be told what I want to hear :o
 
As with any horse purchase - treat with caution. A friend of a friend got conned and badly injured by a horse bought from the field. She was clearly conned and the horse was sold in such a way so it wasn't tried ridden. On her first attempt to ride him at home he threw her off so violently she broke her neck and now cannot ride again. The horse had a dreadfully painful condition in it's withers, so the weight of a rider made it explode.
There may be legitimate reasons why a horse is sold from the field - it may have had a foal, the rider may have outgrown/gone to uni etc. Ask to see ridden photos - winnings records etc. Ask the farrier who does the horse with the owners permission. There are ways and means to check how genuine a sale is.

Get the horse vetted - as long as there is some hard standing the horse needn't be ridden for vetting. Ask to see the horse's veterinary history - easily obtained by the owner from their vet. Moreover never buy 'sold as seen'.
 
Last edited:
Go with your gut.

If the horse is genuinely meant to be 'safe' there should be no reason to sell from field imo.

If you're willing to take a gamble and the price is right, go for it.
 
Go with your gut.

If the horse is genuinely meant to be 'safe' there should be no reason to sell from field imo.

If you're willing to take a gamble and the price is right, go for it.

Yes it would now put me off. I had one from the field and on 3 occasions I ended up in hospital and have since heard he was known to be a monkey but he was through friends and I stupidly trusted them.
I now have only a fraction of the confidence I had previously and when my current horse retires/dies or anything that will be it I wont get on any horse again that I don't know wether I see it ridden or not.
I have a horse myself who I just didn't have time for and he'd been out of work for a good while so I loaned him "from the field" however I was still happy to chuck a saddle on and walk and trot a bit out in the field/wander down the road through traffic for the couple of viewers I had because it was a genuine horse. I think with a non- problem horse you should be able to do this.
 
There are lots of variations of 'sold from the field' from the not very fit end of the spectrum to the can only just get a headcollar on it end.

Most genuinely safe horses I'd expect to be able to tack up and have a walk round, few strides of trot - even if he's been off for several months.

Call the sellers and tell them you want to sit on them, if there are 101 reasons why this isn't possible - walk away, if they are fine with you having a brief try given suitable care to lack of fitness - no reason why you shouldn;t treat it as a normal purchase (ie, only believe what you can see with your own eyes and assume everything seller says but can't prove isn't true!)

My boys been off since November (I;m preggers) when I get back on in a couple of months I won't expect him to be perfectly schooled but I do expect him to be able to be sat on.
 
Obviously go with your gut feeling but I did just that last year. trakhener mare advertised sold from field £600 ...
... I saw photos of her ridden and decided to chance it ..she literally was sold from field as we even had to catch her ourselves so as I walked across the field I was thinking what have I done .. she is a little quirky on the ground ut the best horse I have ever ridden .. this is her 8 weeks later doing a novice test ...very proud mum and she will never go anywhere xx

picture.php
 
Amazona it looks like you had a true bargain in your mare - she's lovely :D

Thank you YasandCrystal :-)
Thanks to the world wide web as soon as I got home I found her previous , previous owner who was thrilled to hear we had her ...she was told she had been put down and she helped advise on the tack and how she was trained.... sometimes the horses end up in these circumstances through no fault of the horse.
 
I agree, amazona your horse looks like a great bargain.
The one I really liked was just under 2000, but I will tread with great caution, & yes I don't see why if the horse is as good as made out, It should be able to be tacked up & walked at least, though owners gets on first :0), I like my bones unbroken.
I just automacticly thought this wouldn't even be a option.
Vet reports/med history I will make sure I ask.
Would it be pointless on a 5 stage vetting? For from the field & stick with a 2 as want to limit possibility of problems.
 
In the current market I certainly wouldn't be paying £2k for a sold from the field horse!!!!! That sort of money I'd expect to be able to try properly in full.

For £2k they could pay someone a little to get the horse going again for them, even if the owner is ill/ injured/ preggers/ away etc. - why is it sold from the field for that much?

If you want to only do a 2 stage so you don't find any problems why do a vetting at all? Surely the point of a vetting is to find problems before you've handed over your £2k?
 
I would want to see it tacked up and walked at least. We went to see a gorg big young horse a couple of years ago. He played up big time for the rider and my daughter didn't fare much better. The owner put it down to wolf teeth tht had been removed 6 weeks prior, she was going to ring us when he had settled down. QWe never did get a call and a few months later saw him advertised for a fraction of the price as 'sold from field' due to lack of time - hmmm
 
In the current market I certainly wouldn't be paying £2k for a sold from the field horse!!!!! That sort of money I'd expect to be able to try properly in full.

For £2k they could pay someone a little to get the horse going again for them, even if the owner is ill/ injured/ preggers/ away etc. - why is it sold from the field for that much?

If you want to only do a 2 stage so you don't find any problems why do a vetting at all? Surely the point of a vetting is to find problems before you've handed over your £2k?


This^^^ it is not priced as a sold as seen take your chance horse, at that money it should be able to be shown under saddle even a short trial if unfit will be doing no harm.

As for vetting the point is that any obvious issues are found before you buy even more reason to get a vetting if you cannot properly try it.
 
In the current market I certainly wouldn't be paying £2k for a sold from the field horse!!!!! That sort of money I'd expect to be able to try properly in full.

For £2k they could pay someone a little to get the horse going again for them, even if the owner is ill/ injured/ preggers/ away etc. - why is it sold from the field for that much?

If you want to only do a 2 stage so you don't find any problems why do a vetting at all? Surely the point of a vetting is to find problems before you've handed over your £2k?

Totally agree ..this price is not "sold from field" price ...
 
I sold a horse from field but gave the interested buyer a few weeks to decide (to be honest I was so happy to have found a buyer!). I knew mare was sane, but why should they trust me lol. I told them to have her on a sort of trial at my yard where they did a week of "playing" - lunging, getting to know her - then they sat on her, rode her out a few times and decided she was I said she was. They whisked her away, for she was a real bargain - 13yo papered kwpn priced to sell!
 
I effectively bought from field, he wasn't advertised as such but had been out on loan, checked over summer & fine, checked in winter & he'd been neglected, they bought him back, fed him up for 2 weeks & advertised him, we bought him the day after the ad went up.
Travelled 200 odd miles to see him and there wasn't much to see, a hairy hat rack really! Even so they plonked tack on & we ambled around the menage (2 laps in walk, he wasn't complete skin & bone but very poor) just enough to tell he was sound really & wasn't objecting to being ridden at all. Totally different horse once fat & fit of course & far too much for a teenagers first horse but we persevered and he was worth it.
We bought him on the basis of, he was cheap, we'd seen pics & vids of him competing & hacking so should essentially be a nice horse, if he's not suitable we get him rideable & sell at a 'profit' with a bigger budget for a more suitable horse, if he turns out a good 'un then we got a bargain.
Would do it again but only if it was at the right price & the reason they're sold from field can be verified & horse/owner doesn't object to a quick lunge or amble up the lane to check it's sane.
 
I sold a horse from the field as I was 8.5 months pregnant. Purchaser was able to view countless videos of her at shows and view results online. I tacked her up and lunged her, offered the girl a chance to sit on her and walk/trot but she declined. I also facilitated a vetting. She was delighted with her purchase. So it depends on why its being sold from the field! If they refuse to tack it up, give it a quick lunge and then sit up on it then I would assume its not quiet at the very least
 
I once bought a horse sold from the field, she was supposed to have been safe to hack, x country etc etc. Turned out she was backed at 9, had broken a girls arm. She blew her brains out if she so much as saw a coloured pole on the ground, let alone if you asked her to get within 20ft of it.
I bought her as a companion for my horse with the hope that my friend could ride her, friend fell in love and they lived happily ever after, but she was not easy, still isn't, I wouldn't get on her if you paid me :D
 
I would expect to be able to sit on it tbh. I went to oz for 10 months, and although my mare had been lunged a few times that was it. I hopped on and there were absolutly no problems, and I would expect that to be similar with pretty much any horse. If its too sharp to sit on when it has done nothing for a while, then you have to consider if there is something else going on.
 
Top