would u buy a horse that had killed rider?

It would depend on how the incident had occurred. If it had gone up and over with previous rider then I wouldn't touch it. If rider had fallen off jumping, say, and broken neck then I probably would.
 
Probably completely wrong but for me personally no I wouldn't, whatever the reason the death of the rider occurred. But that is not to say the horse wouldn't be fine, just that I am quite superstitious!
 
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I had thought that I was superstitious, but during my motorcycle wheeling and dealing days I was asked by a father to dispose of a bike that his son had died on. He didn't want it scrapped but he wanted it sold out of the area. It was a bit of a bloody mess but after I cleaned it up it was a good little bike and I sold it to an acquaintance several hundred miles away who was very happy with it. It had no bad vibes or anything about it which I thought it might have had. The only bike I refused to buy on superstitious grounds was HEX 666. Now, of course, the number would be worth a fortune.
 
Personnay I'd want to know the ins and outs of why a rider had been killed by a particular horse, there could be a 101 reasons why it happened, it could have been a complete freak accident where the horse or the rider really isnt to blame.

But it would be safer to know before/ if you decided to get on it.
 
If it was the horses 'fault' then no. (Such as an awful rear, a bad buck, bolting..)
If it was rider error or something neither could have helped, then probably!
 
No, There are so many horses out there why risk it?!
unless i suppose, the accident had happened jumping and you were only going to hack/dressage, so I suppose in certain circumstances..?!
 
If it was the horses fault then no, ESP if it was a rear, or a bolt. Bucking it depends if the rider fell awarkly or if it was nasty, broncing, then leaping on the rider

If it was a trip, fall or stumble then yes.

I'd would ask for a long trail though, if they didn't agree I would walk away.
 
We helped to look after a horse on a yard we were on & my daughter used to ride him. There wasn't much history known about him but the more he was riden the more we realised that he was highly schooled & knew how to do things that my daughter didn't know about at that time. He was an incredible horse.

We did some work on finding out his history & found that a previous owner had been killed riding him. He had evented at a high level & unfortunately they had fallen & the rider was killed. The parents of the rider sold the horse through an auction to get rid of him. They were obviously very upset about what had happened & wanted the horse gone. He had done nothing wrong, it was a pure accident.

The horse was fantastic but certainly not a novice ride. He went through several homes & ended up on a yard we were on with a girl who basically wanted a pretty horse but hadn't a lot of ability or knowledge. She eventually sold him to another person on our yard who was a retired professional showjumper (retired through severe injury). He with our help began getting the horse right. His back, his teeth, his immune system etc were all sorted. We gained his trust & he was great. He was so friendly & a great ride with fantastic ability. After about 12 months of working with his he was sold on to a knowledgeable home & they are enjoying him now. We were sad to see him go but it was best for him.

In short though, yes I'd buy one but would need to know what had happened. If it was an accident & the horse did nothing dangerous or malicious & wasn't his fault then why not? :)
 
OP you obviously have a reason for asking this question here?

IF the death was a genuine accident, i.e. happened whilst eventing and it was for example a rotational fall, then there's no way that's the horse's fault.

BUT if it was a rearer, or bolted, or kicked someone, or the accident was due to any other "vice", then I would be very cautious.

I would need to know, either way.
 
If I had tried it and it felt sane I would buy it. If I thought it was right for me. Just because one person dies on it doesn't mean it should end up in the glue factory. I used to ride a horse that was considered dangerouse had put a few people in hospital and was given to a dealer I worked for I got on great with it. He ended up winning classes all over Europe and was sold to a really good young rider in Belgium. he was just young and silly and didnt realise his strength. I would have bought him if I was in the right circumstances at the time. I think you get a feeeling, if you "click" that is what we are all looking for isn't it?? Also if a horse reared came over backwards and killed someone you might think AAAAH! but what if a snake had bitten it, or something freaky like that, its not the horses fault, he might have given a wee rear and the rider clung on to the reins and pulled it backwards.
 
Lady La La said:
...and also, I imagine you to be a bit like Del boy when you say things like this

in my motorcycle wheeling and dealing days
:D :D :p
Click to expand...

Well I did have an OH with a Reliant! I met lots of interesting people, made a reasonable living, and it sure beat working 9 to 5. Oh, and I never got bored with my transport!
 
A horse that has killed a rider , and a rider that has been killed falling from a horse , are two different things...if it's rider error or a third party is involved i.e someone / something has scared the horse into a reaction that has led to the death of the rider , then it's clearly not the horses fault..
 
Sometimes things just happen, and it's nobody's fault. As I was told a long time ago, the only sure way to avoid falling off a horse is to avoid getting on in the first place. I would want to know what happened, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

It could have been anything that happened - I mean, surely everyone who has been riding a decent length of time will have had the odd experience where you look back and think '****, that was a close one, could have ended very badly...' - perhaps this poor person just didn't have luck on their side when they had theirs:(
 
We bought one we were told had killed someone, only to find out it hadn't. No difference int he way we treated it either way, lovely horse.
 
It would depend on the circumstances of how the rider came to be killed. Does the horse have a box of tricks that makes it 'dangerous', or, was it an unlucky fall?
Many years ago, a lady I vaguely knew died after falling from her horse whilst riding hatless through the forest. Her horse shied at something, according to her riding partner, and she slipped out of the side door and landed awkwardly enough to be fatal. Sadly, that horse was PTS within the week even though he was usually a schoolmaster type. Seemed such a shame, a hat may have saved her life, and the horse's as well.
 
I think it would also depend on potential. if the horse was just what I was looking for to compete to a higher level then if I clicked and the price was right I'd go for it, especially if it was a bargain. If it was just to hack out I would probably look for something as sane as possible, but I can't see myself personally looking for something just to hack, if I was looking at it for someone else i would keep looking and come back to it if both parties were happy. I have this annoying habbit of thinking-if its meant to be... so if I cant find anything else and I am meant/someone is meant for the horse it will still be for sale when I cant find anything else. (I am not a gypsie or superstitious but I do think things happen for a reason)
 
I think it also depends on what the horse was doing - not sure I would be to take a horse XC that had, had a rotational fall previously where the rider was killed. Again as another poster has said any horse that has reared over backwards under saddle , or has bolted (true bolt not just taken off!) would be a definite no go.
 
Without knowing what exactly had occurred, I wouldn't even consider it - there are far too many other horses about at the moment and it's a buyer's market.

If you could find out more - ability of rider, circumstances, temperament of horse, etc., then you'd be in a better position to make a careful judgment - otherwise I'm afraid I'd be counselling you to move on.

P
 
I definately wouldnt touch a horse that had reared, bolted, bucked or kicked someone that had resulted in a death but I wouldnt touch a horse that was confirmed as having any of these traits anyway (with the exception of the odd excited buck).

When you consider the amount of deaths there are in eventing http://www.eventing.zzn.com/ I imagine there must be a fair few horses who have been involved in a fatality (and vice versa for that matter - would you let someone ride your horse who had a crashing fall which resulted in a horse death - just being provocative!:))
 
I think it might help if you expand on how the horse "killed" it's rider.
Years ago my friend brought a horse who had come home on his own, and his rider had been found dead out where they had been hacking. It wasn't clear if the rider had come off due to a heart attack, or had a heart attack due to something that happened when they were out. Anyway, the horse was an absolute saint, a kind gentleman of a horse, and he gave my friend many happy years. So I'd buy one like that.
The horse I met who used to get riders off anyhow he could and then kick them, no, I wouldn't buy him even though he hadn't killed anyone yet.
There probably aren't many horses about that have deliberately set out to kill their rider.
 
All i am being told at the moment is that, the rider died, and that this is all the know as the people he was purchased from where so "raw" they refused to expand on it and said if he wasnt purchased he'd go to meat man.

I think i will leave well alone but i just wondered who else would x
 
maybe if you can search the name of the previous owner/horses name and the area where it came from (registered name if it has one) then you can possibly find the incident on the internet.
Does sound like you should be awary if you dont know the story i would be keeping my distance. But atleast the person selling it to you actaully said it had killed its rider.
 
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