Viewing a horse that has been out of work

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silverstar

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Would it bother you, say if the horse was just turning 5 and it was due to weather? Most of the horses Ive seen so far have been unfit so I suppose its quite normal?
 
Can you view it ridden or see video of it being ridden as a four year old (not just photos!)?

I would be very wary of a laid-off five year old, after two months of perfect spring weather, without seeing someone on its back - it smacks too much of someone having messed up breaking it in at four and passing it on to avoid having to sort out the mess.
 
My hunters re-started hunting mid January, I'd be wary of anyone using the weather as an excuse now its mid April... I don't see any reason why an unfit horse can't be ridden lightly anyway, if they don't want to get on I'd be wanting to know why.
 
I have my youngster advertised and she has been out of work since October, just being brought back into work. Not because of the weather (seems an odd reason??) or because of problems backing her (it went perfectly!) but because I broke her last year and turned her away for the winter with the plan of putting her in foal this spring, which I will continue with if she doesnt sell. She is a slow maturing breed (friesian) so i'd be more concerned if a rising 5 year old had done too much. I tend to prefer buying horses that are blank cavases as much as possible anyway so no, not having been in work wouldnt bother me. A good viewing can tell you if the horse has any issues from being poorly backed anyway.
 
ive brought a few out of work horses, most at first are fine, but something deep rooted always pops up at some point.
The ones that buck and play about at first means that its just freshness so workable.
Ive only had a 2 that have been honest, so take care. The weather has been lovely the past few weeks so why hasnt it been sat on?
 
I bought Andy from the field, pretty much anyway he had been doing 3 weeks work when we got him but I never saw him being ridden.

Just look for a kind eye and a nice attitude.
 
I have 3 horses, 2 Thoroughbreds and 1 Draught. The draught has worked everyday except 3 overthe whole winter and the Thoroughbreds have worked all bar 7 days. I know I am lucky to have an indoor school to use but even if I stripped this usage out I would still be looking at between a 10 and 19 day lay-off over the whole winter here in North Yorkshire.

Anybody using the weather conditions as an excuse by now, simply looks like they are trying to cover something else. The only thing I can say is that if you do look at it, ask the owner to get on and demonstrate 1st and don't pre-arrange a time so that you can make sure you see the horse being brought in etc. Then go a second time un-announced to see the horse ( just to avoid any calmer being used to mask anything)
 
What if they quite simply didn't have time to bring it back into work and that is why they are selling it? Maybe it was too immature to do any more work after breaking. Or maybe it didn't winter as well as they had hoped and wanted to get weight on it before asking it to work. There are many reasons why a horse would still be out of work. I have just brought a 5yo home that hasn't been ridden since New Year as he sustained an injury that put him box rest for a while.

Not everything is as sinister as people seem to make out. If the horse sounds good and looks good and you are prepared to bring a young horse back into work then I should see no reason why you should by pass it for that reason.
 
My boy was 5 and out of work when I saw him. The owner said she was pregnant but it was early on so she wasn't showing, not saying she was lying but it was possible. Another girl got on and had a quick walk trot and canter then I got on. Admittedly he was tired and nothing like he is now but I got a feel of what he would become from the short bits I did with him. So no it wouldn't put me off as long as they had clean legs but using the weather as an excuse??? I would want a better explanation.
 
Defo think the explanation rather than the lack of work would ring alarm bells... go in with your eyes wide open and see if there are any other inconsistencies with his/her story?
 
I to would be careful. It could be horse had an injury and they don't want to bring it back into work as it goes lame again.
 
Agree with the others - be careful.

I bought a horse out of work, owner said at the time it was due to her work commitments. After about 6 months he was not the horse I viewed, turned out to be very dangerous so I sold him at a huge loss. I was very upfront and honest, man bought him as a stage 4 horse for students.
 
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