What would you do if..

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EquestrianFairy

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You found a horse that ticked every box except it was in quite poor condition. Condition scoring I would say it was probably a 2 with a little bit of 3.

It's a fairly expensive horse because it's done exceptionally well in its chosen discipline, for a few reasons it's condition has gone down hill and when you view it your a little shocked to say the least.

Some good food, TLC and the correct work to build the muscle should see it back to normal.

Would you offer significantly less than the asking price based on its condition or would you over look that?

FWIW a lower offer (70% of the asking price) put in and rejected.
 
I'd be worried by condition- have you had a vetting? Are you as sure as you can be that the reasons for loss of condition are genuine? Could be an emerging health problem? Building condition is going to cost you money, so personally I'd walk if price wasn't negotiable. Good luck :-)
 
Hoofing-it said:
Building condition is going to cost you money
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Not necessarily. Barry is a TB and was quite skinny when I got him. All he got was grass and balancer and he piled the condition on :)

If you are certain the poor condition isn't caused by an underlying condition then I would still be interested.
 
Pretty sure the reasons are genuine, lack of turn out, no work, horse stabled 24/7 and very poor quality forage.
I don't think the horse has ever been worked correctly to build up topline either so that's not helped along with tack that quite possibly doesn't fit very well.

No vetting as yet, a trial has been offered though however a price has to be agreed before that can happen and the offer was rejected.
 
EquestrianFairy said:
Pretty sure the reasons are genuine, lack of turn out, no work, horse stabled 24/7 and very poor quality forage.
I don't think the horse has ever been worked correctly to build up topline either so that's not helped along with tack that quite possibly doesn't fit very well.
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I would normally look beyond the current condition but if all the above apply and the horse is expensive I am not sure I would be happy to pay good money to people who have taken so little care of the horse they value highly in monetary terms but not enough to feed it properly or even turn it out.
 
be positive said:
I would normally look beyond the current condition but if all the above apply and the horse is expensive I am not sure I would be happy to pay good money to people who have taken so little care of the horse they value highly in monetary terms but not enough to feed it properly or even turn it out.
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Basically!
 
be positive said:
I would normally look beyond the current condition but if all the above apply and the horse is expensive I am not sure I would be happy to pay good money to people who have taken so little care of the horse they value highly in monetary terms but not enough to feed it properly or even turn it out.
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I don't deny that up to weight, correct work and some TLC the horse would be well worth the price they are asking certainly but in its current condition i can't help but feel the same as you.. Annoyingly though, it's the first horse I've found that finally ticks all my boxes hence why I offered more than I actually felt I should have even though it was rejected anyway.

I'm glad it's not just me that would view it this way. Ho hum.. Back to the drawing board.
 
I cannot understand how, if they want to get good money and care for the horse in any way, someone can keep it shut in on little food and not exercise it properly, all it is going to do is go down in value or worse require veterinary care, they could end up with no horse, no money and a huge bill.
 
It's a buyers market. Leave your offer and your number in case they change their mind and walk away. I would be very surprised if you didn't get a call in January if not before.
 
I can't really answer this question without more information. In some instances the weight wouldn't bother me, I'd just feed the horse to get it back up to weight and I wouldn't really expect to get too much off the purchase price. But this would depend on it's competition success, breeding etc. If it's not got that great a comp history or it's breeding is meh, then I'd probably pass on it.
 
I viewed a horse that was pretty thin for much the same reasons as you say. Behind the poor condition, it was obvious that she was a quality horse, well trained with the right attitude to work.
Something had gone wrong in the last year or so and she was with a dealer.
Although not highly priced she was a fair bit of money and in comparison with similar horses, she was in the same bracket.
I asked if they'd consider an offer but they wouldn't.
I bought her, got her seen by vet, EDT, physio, saddler etc and just fed her as I do the other horses- forage and fibre based feed and turnout.
Once she relaxed and had good grazing and hay, she gained condition and stayed that way without any trouble.

I wouldn't normally buy a working horse that hadn't had good management, but I went with my gut instinct and was glad in this case. She's very easy to keep now.
 
Please bear in mind though some horses are kept in poor condition to keep them sane. A poor horse you feed and fitten can quickly turn into a real handful and show their true colours.
 
If are you scoring out of five I can't see what the problem is .
If you are scoring out of ten and the horse is genuinely a low three perhaps high two that's not good.
But to answer your question would I but a horse that would do the job I was buying for even if it where thin the the answers yes I have done it before and will do it again .
However I would be looking for why the horse was thin and of course it would be one of the things I would be flagging up for the vet when I discussed the vetting with him.
I can't remember how many skinny horses I have bought who have turned into very good doers but it's lots .
 
I don't think it's down to a lack of care in the abusive sense, infact I believe they love the horse very much.

I feel it's a culmination of things, the yard they are on has appalling turnout (mud- no grass) so she keeps her in to save from her going hungry.. The hay provided with the livery is clearly very poor quality and the horse seemed to not really want to eat much of it. The owner works long hours and can't ride, that's why the horse is up for sale as she feels she's being wasted. The horse has been clipped so looked worse in my opinion as it accentuated her poor condition. She was well rugged but obviously very bored and only coming out the stable for 15 mins a day which she's mucked out is not the type of life I would provide my own horses but that's the way the owner has it currently.

She said however she would rather keep her than just give her away for less than the asking price.
She has a proven competition record and whilst not the best conformation by any means, seems a genuine kind mare. I'm aware whether she might change with being up to weight although if this is the case I would have a 3/4 month loan so I would be able to see it by then hopefully.
 
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EquestrianFairy said:
I don't think it's down to a lack of care in the abusive sense, infact I believe they love the horse very much.

I feel it's a culmination of things, the yard they are on has appalling turnout (mud- no grass) so she keeps her in to save from her going hungry.. The hay provided with the livery is clearly very poor quality and the horse seemed to not really want to eat much of it. The owner works long hours and can't ride, that's why the horse is up for sale as she feels she's being wasted. The horse has been clipped so looked worse in my opinion as it accentuated her poor condition. She was well rugged but obviously very bored and only coming out the stable for 15 mins a day which she's mucked out is not the type of life I would provide my own horses but that's the way the owner has it currently.

She said however she would rather keep her than just give her away for less than the asking price.
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The price is your call but,
I would not lose a horse I really wanted just because it was thin if I could see reasons why the horse was not thriving because of the type of yard .
However I bring horses on a yard which is ideal was relaxing horses that have not been doing well elsewhere small settled lots of turnout .
You are making a judgement so you need to think carefully about how you will solve the the things you see that are not suiting her.
Try to check she will eat hard food bad feeders can be difficult to get right but if I liked the horse I would not let it get in the way but I would be wanting the vets view .
In fact I love turning skinny poor looking horses into big musclely strong horses it very satisfying watching them unwind and settle and thrive. I really enjoy that.
 
alainax said:
Please bear in mind though some horses are kept in poor condition to keep them sane. A poor horse you feed and fitten can quickly turn into a real handful and show their true colours.
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This. I'd be a bit wary. It's not that difficult to source decent forage. If it's known locally, ask around for opinions on it's sanity or otherwise!
 
I would take the horse on at a price they will agree on the basis that it passes a vetting and puts on condition and is still suitable for what you want it for.
 
If the horse passed a vetting I would buy it but acknowledge that condition and topline only come with lots and lots of time
 
I can get my vet to look at her but a formal vetting would end up happening after she came on loan- which is ok, except they won't allow the loan to happen until a price is agreed beforehand.

See my predicament.

Maybe I should just walk away, it's a tough one but if it's meant to be and all that.
 
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EquestrianFairy said:
I can get my vet to look at her but a formal vetting would end up happening after she came on loan- which is ok, except they won't allow the loan to happen until a price is agreed beforehand.

See my predicament.

Maybe I should just walk away, it's a tough one but if it's meant to be and all that.
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If you are agreeing a potential purchase price but having the horse on loan first for 3-4 months, most of the risk is with the seller.

You only need buy the horse if after 3-4 months, it:

a) has put on weight and muscle
b) is fit for the purpose you want it
c) passes a vetting

At which point it is likely to be worth the original asking price.

Given you get a long trial first, I think, if you can afford it, probably worth agreeing the asking price.

Not many sellers will give you that length of trial first.
 
bouncing_ball said:
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If you are agreeing a potential purchase price but having the horse on loan first for 3-4 months, most of the risk is with the seller.

You only need buy the horse if after 3-4 months, it:

a) has put on weight and muscle
b) is fit for the purpose you want it
c) passes a vetting

At which point it is likely to be worth the original asking price.

Given you get a long trial first, I think, if you can afford it, probably worth agreeing the asking price.

Not many sellers will give you that length of trial first.
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I completely agree with this.
 
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