Too fussy Am I wrong???

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indie999

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ok went to view another horse and although apparently I looked fine size wise when I was on board, I just felt the trial viewing was not enough time to decide. I was unsure??

I thought I felt too big(but I did take someone who said I looked fine). Horse didnt do anything wrong at all. But I just didnt feel they were the one.

Asked to see recent 2 stage vetting(six week previously) which was refused and we were told to get our own done....when i got my last horse the owner agreed for me to have a computer printout from his vets ie for vaccinations etc anything that he had done(which was not a lot). This Horse has only been on yard a few weeks.

Anyhow i had my doubts and due to others coming for second viewings I felt pressurised.....so am now thinking I am too fussy?? Was told I wouldnt find anything more bombproof so came away thinking its me???

£3k is a lot to spend to make a rash decision...! No tack etc
 
No you aren't too fussy!

It is a big decision and making it after one trial is tough. Keep looking, there are honest sellers who are happy for you to have multiple trials. We were very lucky we had three visits to ride, one for the vetting and one to see her with the farrier, and a months trial before we finally purchased ours!

Our sellers were exceptional but most will be happy for you to view a couple of times as they want their horse to be happy in their new home.

Our lovely sellers have asked to keep in touch and want first refusal if we ever decide to sell.

Our mare was well worth the wait (we'd been looking for over a year) we are thrilled with her!
 
You can never been to fussy....

Don't rush in! The right one is out there somewhere within your budget!

Something must be wrong, if you didn't think it was the one and if the sellers would not let you see the vet cert.

I have always sold my horses with the previous vet cert etc.... regardless of how old it is.... This way the purchasers can see exactly what I bought and if they want to get it vetted, they can then see if I have been truthful with any problems I have or haven't had with the horse.

Too many people are dishonest when selling horses - I have never been like that - Just can't see the point in lying....???? Surely if the horse has a problem or habit etc, you will find out when you take the horse home, then complain or want to return the horse! I certainly would!
 
It's got to feel right - I saw plenty of horses that should have been fine on paper and did nothing wrong at all but I just didn't feel they were right.

It's a lot of money to spend if you're not sure... the one I ended up buying I saw and really liked, tried again and loved. Went away to think and got major cold feet, saw another one and rode a friends horse but kept thinking about the one I'd turned down.

Phoned them back and made an offer.

My cold feet were massively about the money - spending £7k on a horse when the kitchen of our first house really needs doing was a big commitment!!! OH would not have been happy if I'd got it wrong!
 
Thanks we got told that her vet wont let us see the 2 stage vetting as they dont want any comeback?? I know its only a vetting at that moment in time BUT its good to see what opinions were given of the horse OR they have something to hide.

The seller did quite rightly advise us to get our own vetting done..but I found this strange not to see such a recent report(6 weeks previously).

I am fed up looking but thanks for the responses. Just not my type! Again!
 
If it did not feel right, then it was not the right one for you.
Walk away and keep looking. You will know when you have found the right one.
 
I don't think you can be too fussy as a buyer, presumably you intend to keep this horse for a while?
Actually I wonder if you are not fussy enough at the reading the advert stage.
I have bought 2 horses fairly recently. The first one was the 3rd I looked at. The first was mis-represented by the seller, the 2nd was at a dealer's yard and wasn't as chunky as I'd been hoping for. I tried my mare twice, once in the school and then a week later on a hack. The vendor was quite happy for me to do this. She has kept in touch and has been to visit the mare since. We saw the 5 stage vetting that had been done a year previously.
The more recent one, I also viewed twice and then the vendor kept her for a fortnight until we built a new stable. She was the first I viewed this time.
I think that you need to be absolutely sure in your own mind about your criteria. What you absolutely need, what you are prepared to be flexible on and what you don't really care about and only view horses which meet these criteria. I know that some sellers will almost tell you that a black horse is white but I am very careful to only view horses which appear to be exactly what I am looking for. I also refuse to travel more than about 50 miles - just in case I find that my time has been wasted!
Good luck in your search.
 
Yes I am scaling down my search area.

Look locally and look for something definately bigger now pr a more boned horse. Yes right home is home for life with my family, anything that retires will become a pet!

I am basing my previous experience 13 years ago buying my old boy and just knew that I wasnt spun a yarn and to back it up then the owner gave their consent for me to speak to their vet and get a printout of the horses treatments...They were totally genuine and this was very reassuring.

Tonight we got from the seller that she was very qualified(as if we didnt know what we were talking about....). But thank you just started to think I was not being decisive enough.

As i say £3k is a lot of money for me to hand over in half an hour(took me a lot longer to earn it)!

cheers
 
The vet is quite within his rights to insist the vet report is only given to the one who paid for it. It is to do with his professional liability/indemnity insurance.

Any professional is the same, you do not want liability potentially arising to any tom dick or harry who feels that they can rely on a report done for someone else, probably for a specific stated purpose at another time, for what a few hundred pounds.

But do take your time, sure you may miss out on the odd horse, but from what I hear it is a buyers market over there, if you take your time and get it right, you have a horse for life, not worth the heartbreak of a rushed decision you regret later.
 
You will know for sure when its the one. My first horse I knew when she napped and I just went Oi move it and she went and I wasn't crapping myself! This was unheard of! It probably made me more sure than if she hadn't put a foot wrong! The second was when I was riding a then 4 yr old up a road, hadn't seen anyone ride it (crazy I know!) and a crisp packet blew out the hedge straight under her nose! She tipped her head slightly to look at it and proceeded on. I'll have this I thought! Both the right descisions!
 
Also why was there a vetting done only 6 weeks ago, did it not pass and thats why you can't see it and therefore horse still for sale? Seems a bit odd in light of not being able to see it. Agree with everyone else, you are right to follow your instincts and also its wise to try twice at least before making an offer, you can really tell how you feel after going back again and compare attitude and how horse feels compared to first time to check for consistency. Don't despair, we all know how difficult it is but so very important to get it right. Very best of luck in your search x
 
You'll know when you meet 'the one'. Both mine were the first ones I seen. With purchasing my second horse I seen another two afterwards but couldn't stop thinking of her. She was at a dealers and didn't cost very much to buy so it was less of a gamble.

I find it abit odd that someone liked the horse enough to get it vetted but didn't purchase. I know peoples circumstances change but it raises questions as to if there were any issues noted during vetting.

Good luck on your search :)
 
You will spend a lot of time with the horse you buy & it will consume a large part of you income so you do need to click with it. When I started to look for my current horse I decided to go to a dealer first off as I suspected I might be cautious about buying the 1st 1 or 2 I saw & was concious of raising a private sellers hopes in vain. I thought that by going to a dealer I could see a few straight off & help me refine my search quicker. At the dealers I looked at 6 horses & much to my surprise clicked straight off with one of them & bought him. I must admit I have the odd day I look him in the eye & wonder what the hell I was thinking of buying a youngster though, especially with the current bruising on my bum!
 
always get the horse independantly vetted and never use the vet that the owner uses. This should be professional practice for vets anyway.

NEVER EVER TRUST A VETTING CERTIFICATE THAT THE OWNER HAS HAD DONE. They could have had a vetting and it passed and then something has gone wrong with the horse or its had an accident and they decide to sell.

and the vetting informaton is only given to the person who has paid for it as others have said above.

So anyway walk away something is not right, and to say you will never find anything else for that money is pressure. Ignore it.
 
Yep up early to scour the adverts!

The seller did say we couldnt see the vet report due to the vet professionalism etc and that my vet could find something that did not exist 6 weeks previously BUT then as I say its a slot in time, so of course something could change. My personal view is that she should have written on a sale receipt that buyer advised to re vet horse but declined etc(If i had bought said horse). Not saying I will do that but.....

For me as a buyer I immediately thought she had something to hide.

I thought perhaps I was being over cautious! Strange but even before I got on my old boy years ago as soon as we saw him knew that was the type and if he rode well that was it! He was by no means perfect(I always fell off him in walk when he reversed at 100miles an hour)...fortunately this only happened a few times. I know perfect horse doesnt exist.

But thanks for all the posts they are enlightening of peoples buying experiences etc and doing the right thing too
 
So where you going to buy the horse on the strength of their vets certficiate? Not sure I understand about what she would write on the receipt.
 
Kaylum said:
So where you going to buy the horse on the strength of their vets certficiate? Not sure I understand about what she would write on the receipt.
Click to expand...


no I was not going to buy without a vetting. But I suppose as I am in HUMAN healthcare a patients notes can be accessed for that individual by them under freedom of information so I just find it strange that someone would not show a potential buyer of said Horse a medical report?? Depsite claiming the vets professionalism etc could be compromised in some way or litigation?

Yes I still think bought as seen would still stand. And any healthcare check is done at that moment in time which means inbetween six weeks later anything could have happened....even me transporting a horse home.

So just say that I bought without a vetting and the seller clearly stated on a receipt of sale that I was advised to get a vetting but declined and bought as seen. She would have covered herself.
Out of interest to throw the spanner in the works the person I took with me is a solicitor!!
 
I would have thought that if the owner had the vet's cert in her possession, it was hers to do with as she pleased.
Someone who had not paid for the vet's service and indeed had not even met the horse on the date that the vetting took place would NOT be able to hold the vet liable for anything that was or was not on the certificate.
I think that you were very wise to walk away from this horse and its owner.
 
You will find the right one! I agree on viewings I struggle to decide in the short time that I have viewed it!

I see it that if I have ridden horse for half an hour and dont have to um and ah then he/she is the one!

Java was the only One I tried I didnt want to get off
Owners also invited me back and I went on a 2 and a half hour hack through roads fields, beside traintracks etc

Another horse I liked my mum mentioned to owners about a vetting they weren't too keen and said he past a 5 stage 5 weeks ago....

The horse could have done anything to itself in 9 weeks it's over two months

If there was nothing to hide then they would have let us have a vetting

Needless to say we walked away ...

Good luck with the search!
 
I really feel for you looking for a new horse I had an awful time looking!

There are two issues in your post (well 3 really)

1) you felt big on him. Friends can be too nice sometimes so I always take photos so I can see what the combination looks like when I get home. I am not a small lady (14-16) BUT I like to know that I don't look silly either

2)I would be put off that she didn't let you see the vetting as she should have paper copy she could show you

3) you didn't click. I would not be put off by the fact I didn't click with a horse first time!

The first 2 horse I bought I did click with straight away, one before I even rode him. He was a pain in the ar*e. I had him 8yrs but he was the most difficult horse to train you can imagine he had read all the books and nothing in the worked with him.

However with my latest one I did not. I left first viewing thinking he is not for me, a bit plain to look at no 'presence', and very wobbly and green and as I was recovering from a badly fractured ankle thought it wasn't a good idea
However on the way home my friend said yes he is green but what did he do wrong? You have had green horses before!

I thought about what she had said and he didn't do a thing wrong

So I went back the next day and tried him in more situations and bought him, even though he did not do anything for me AT ALL. But he ticked the right boxes and was more of a quality horse than I had previously seen

18 months on he is the best horse I EVER EVER had and now he sparkles and has loads of presence. He was just low and unsure, not loved!
he hasn't read the books, and what ever it says it works!!

My god what a pleasure it is to have him to train :D
 
Thank you all so much for your posts it has made me feel hopeful again..what a rollercoaster this all is(have been here before)!!But not for many years thank good ness.

Too many ?? and IFs but I now feel I did do the right thing as I know I would have had a sleepless night if I had said yes!

When I bought the last horse I couldnt wait to get him home, I got him NFU covered as soon as their office was open!

But I had too many doubts yesterday niggles. I hope this post has been helpful to anyone else that is looking and dont be bullied into anything either or be made to feel incompetent. The lady I took with me is fortunately more experienced than she lets on too.

Brilliant cheers. I will be back!
 
Indie999 .... Why can't you be looking for a 16.2 :( you sound like exactly the home I want for my girlie

P.s. I also would always get a horse vetted for myself... And would wonder why the horse had been vetted 6 weeks previously ...

Xx
 
There are a lot of us on here who ended up buying the wrong sex, the wrong colour, the wrong type and on paper, absolutely the wrong horse!

But then there is just this something that grabs you and then they are not the wrong horse at all, but the perfect one for you! I guess it's got to feel right before you buy:)

Good luck in your search OP.
 
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