Viewing a horse tomorrow

charliehands

charliehands

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Hello - I'm Charlie. I haven't posted much but have been a lurker for a while now. I have been riding since i was 8 and I am nearly 19 now. I had my own pony a few years back but sadly lost him from a serious case of colic. That was 3 years ago.
So I'm sure you can imagine how ecstatic I am right now because I am going to view a horse tomorrow that sounds like he is going to be just the thing for me. I just have a few questions.
The livery yard is DIY which is £30 a week which includes, hay & bedding. I'm trying to think of other monthly costs that will be involved. so far I have
- Livery
- Feed
- Shoes
- Insurance

and then obviously there will be other less frequent things such as dentist, saddle checks.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up just in case but I haven't stopped bouncing off the walls yet...

thanks for reading :)
 
Good luck!
I love viewing horses :)

I brought a cute pony last week for a friend and was just as excited as they were!

To add to your list, don't forget vets - annual jabs, plus have a bit put to the side for those 'just in case' things that can happen :)
 
Good luck! Hope its the right horse for you.

The money will seem a lot at first but then it will even out. Hopefully the saddle and bridle will fit fine so that will save you money!

Livery prices seem pretty good too. And the vet/dentist are only really once a year so thats not too bad,

again, good luck!
 
Annual jabs can vary depending on call out fee, if you can find someone to share the vet with it will reduce the call out fee but i normally end up paying roughly 30, this can vary though depending on how many people are sharing call out fee etc.. also my vet does free teeth check so i only need the dentist when his teeth are bad and i save money on the dentist call out fee just to be told his teeth are fine!

but remember this is only once a year.
 
charliehands said:
Thank you for your replies! Something I also forgot to write - How much is a vetting?
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a full 5 stage vetting including bloods will be around £250 - £350 I think, depending where you live. Price varies practice to practice - and don't forget to add VAT to that.

Good luck with the viewing tomorrow, don't forget to ask loads of questions.
 
Boxers said:
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Good luck with the viewing tomorrow, don't forget to ask loads of questions.
Click to expand...

true! you'd rather ask too much about the horse than leaving feeling you dont know enough about it. ask about vetting/any injuries/ past medical/ past experience e.g competing, hacking, jumping.

ask if you can tack up/hack out/ jump/ school the horse. mind you it depends what you are wanting to do with the horse, if you dont want to do any jumping then its not really important.
 
Vetting varies depending on what you want doing.

If you are wanting to do high end competing or are looking at paying a high price then you are probably best with a 5stage vet check which will often run to a few hundred quid, but with 5 stage you have more protection if the new horse appears to have been drugged for you to view or similar problems.

Also its prob best to pick a vet you trust or one that has been recommended to you, not just the one that sees the horse you are buying regularly / routinely.

You can get more basic checks (not inc blood sample, just basic soundness and state that it is 'fit for purpose') for significantly less but still over 100quid.

I have to admit I was naughty and justified not having my horse vetted when I got him on the basis that he was only 5, barely backed and a cobby type (none of these delicate legs) that only cost £1500 but that is taking a big risk.

As it turns out, he has been lame twice in the 7yrs i've had him (once from a nasty cut behind a fetlock and once from a pulled muscle - the big pansy!!) but def. the proper thing to do is get the check!


GOOD LUCK!

Hope it all works out well for you and you find yourself a long term friend!
 
This is such an exciting time for you! I hope that you manage to get enough sleep tonight!

I thought of a few things regarding the viewing of a horse. I apologise in advance if you know it all already!

A few more expenses:

- unless the horse comes with a 'wardrobe', you'll have to buy rugs (stable, turnout and cooler)
- are the mucking out tools provided by the yard (e.g. shavings/straw fork, broom, shovel, wheelbarrow)?
- are you planning on having regular lessons?
- you may find that your horse needs some supplements added to his hard feed
- how are you getting to the yard (if you're driving and live quite far away from the yard, then the fuel can add up to an awful lot over a period of a month).

The 'running costs' to care for a horse will quickly surpass the initial purchase price...

Your assessment of the horse should start from the very first moment you see him. What is his behaviour like in the stable? Or if he is still in the field, is he easy to catch?

If you can, take an experienced horsey person along with you, ideally someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind. Even if you are very knowledgeable yourself, this person may think of something to ask/say which you've not thought of.

Hopefully the seller is honest and will give you honest answers to all your questions. But remember, they're probably not going to volunteer information that they think would put you off from buying their horse. You therefore have to make sure that you DO ask everything you want to know. Buyer beware! There's nothing wrong with taking a little notepad or something with you so that you remember to ask everything.

Also, repeat any questions that you've already asked over the phone so that you can look at their body language when they answer it. Take your time and ask as much as you want. Don't feel rushed.

When it comes to the trying out the horse, do ask when the horse was last exercised. If the horse can be fizzy sometimes, then it would be wrong of them to try and make him tired before a viewing.

I would suggest that you first see the horse either loose schooled (or being lunged) by someone at the yard. If you like what you see, then also ask them to ride him and then ask them to do a bit of jumping. If you still like him, then try him out yourself.

I can't remember how much I paid for a vetting, but a five stage vetting is a must if you plan to enter competitions or if the purchase price is very costly.

Also, try and find a equine vet to do the vetting (as apposed to a small animal vet) as they will have more experience with this. And don't use a vet that is normally used by the seller, just to be absolutely sure that you get an objective opinion.

Enjoy the viewing and I hope you find the perfect horse for you!
 
Thank you all for your help! I never thought about taking a notepad. The yard where he is at is only 2 mins drive from my house so tomorrow I am going to watch him be ridden by his regular rider and then based on what he's like I can easily go back and ride him myself at a later time.

I am probably only going to use him for hacking, schooling and the odd local show so would the full vetting be needed? Personally would you have the full one or the basic one for a horse that was going to be used for these things?
 
I would personally always have a five stage vetting done. Even if you are familiar with the yard and they've got a good reputation, then at least you've got the confirmation from a vet that the horse will be fit for your purposes. The 5 stage vetting is very thorough, takes well over an hour and is money well spent.

Try and get a good idea of a realistic price for the horse you're looking at. Do searches on the internet (e.g. horsemart/horsedeals/and horse and hound of course!). Bear in mind his age, breeding lines, what he's done in the past and his achievements in different disciplines, potential to achieve even more, etc.

Once you've decided that this horse is the one for you, the seller may ask you to pay a deposit in order to secure him for you.

Ask them if the deposit will be refunded to you if the horse fails his vetting. Get it in writing from them!! Also, you must get some sort of basic receipt from them for any money paid to them (include your name and address and signature, their name and address and signature, the date and amount of money paid, and the horse's name and brief description of him).

Oh yes, another thing - every horse must now have a passport. This will be another expense for you if he hasn't got one. If he's already got one, then carefully look at his vaccination history to make sure that the initial set of jabs were given to him at the correct intervals and thereafter that it was done in time annually. (Even if you enter him for small local shows, then the organisers could very possibly check the vaccination record.)
 
In contrast i'd probably not bother with the 5 stage but as npage123 says, it does give you the most 'cover'.
If you are very confident in your own assessment (see horse trotted up, feel his legs, check conformation etc) then consider not having full 5 stage but bear in mind the worst case scenario risk of getting stuck with a horse that breaks down and is hard to sell as a result.

Anyway - just came back to comment about the idea of getting the vet to check teeth to save money that someone made earlier ... all a fine idea but a vet is a vet and trained to be a specialist medical person whereas a dentist is a dentist (providing you get a qualified and good one as there is no necessary qualifications to practice equine dentistry in the uk as far as i know) and as such is a specialist in being a dentist !!!!

Obviously vets are good at being vets and i'm sure there are some that are good with teeth but my regular dentist is 35quid once a year and will let you feel the work she has done and explain what needed doing and why. With my first pony, i had the vet to do teeth initially and upon getting them done properly later, most of the back teeth had been untouched by the vet so effectively the cheaper price of the vet was very much false economy!!!
 
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