Would you buy a former Hireling?

wellsat

wellsat

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I've seen a horse that I really like the look of advertised for sale, good comp record, nice type, experienced hunter and team chaser.

I'm just not sure about him having been a hireling? Is he likely to have been ridden hard and have lots of wear and tear on his joints? I really like the idea of a horse with a bit more experience that will look after me xc but worry that maybe they're selling because he's not up to it any more.
 
Any hunter with alot of experience will have had a fair amount of work on its joints, although I admit most hirelings will have had some rough people on them, go and look at it and if you like it have a thorough vetting, even some xrays of front feet etc might put your mind at rest if its the horse you really want.
 
Thanks. Thats kind of what I was thinking, glad its not just me being cynical. I do like the look of him but he's not cheap and a bit of me thinks there are plenty of horses out there that will probably have less wear and tear on their joints.
 
That may be the question to ask - the answer could decided whether you look at him or not.

If they are selling him genuinely, if you ask the question "why are you selling him at the beginning of the season" they should be able to give an honest answer - it may be as simple as "he's too good to be a hireling - he may have been sent to them for a season for many reasons, owner couldn't ride him for whatever reason, perhaps he was a showjumper who went stale....or, it may be that he's no good and they want rid!

If you like him then ring and give him a chance.

Good luck!
 
We have a lot to sell that work as hirelings and if they sell through the season then even better. Our hirelings are lucky in that most of them have reg. riders who request them, and they hunt 3x every 2 weeks. So not that much work really. A lot of our stayers are now in their late teens and still hunting. If you want a made hunter you can't really go wrong with something thats served as a hireling.
 
If it were me I'd ring up about him. You've nothing to lose.

The yard I livery at has a stream of sour competition horses/ horses the owners want given hunting experience/ horses they've bought in to sell but who in the meantime are ideal hirelings.
Some of them do several seasons and are brought back every year to hunt and have a change of scenery.
Some are sold before they've completed a full season.

So it's possible he's not done much at all. I'd definately want to know how much he's hunted and why he's for sale, but if the answer checks out he'd be worth a visit
 
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