Would you take a LWVTB horse without having seen it?

I'm very torn. It does sound a good offer but I'd really question a seller that was willing to lwvtb a horse to a novice they don't know. Horses that are suitable as first horses, sound and sane should really sell easily without the need for lwvtb.
 
Bellaboo18 said:
I'm very torn. It does sound a good offer but I'd really question a seller that was willing to lwvtb a horse to a novice they don't know. Horses that are suitable as first horses, sound and sane should really sell easily without the need for lwvtb.
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Um I don't know the OP but if the OP is a novice. Absolutely do not do this!
 
I took a risk with an unseen pony for my son. She was a young pony with no miles on the clock. I saw plenty of videos, photos and spoke to the owner for hours on the phone. She came down to meet us as they were moving this way and was happy. Pony arrived and we ran her alongside his old pony whilst bringing her on. Not all plain sailing but so worthwhile as we now have lovely pony who he has a great relationship with. A loan agreement was set up to protect both parties.

Has your friend seen the horse or could they view it for you?
 
Tricky one. I'd probably go and see the horse first, but I did take an unseen horse on a 2 week trial. I hadn't even seen a photo. The horse was well known to several people who's opinion I respect and within 5 days I'd paid the full asking price because he was worth double what they were asking for.
 
The OP is a returnee rider who has been asking quite a few questions on HHO, the nature of which suggest that she is rather inexperienced. There is nothing wrong with being inexperienced, we’ve all been that at one time, but then taking on an untried LWTB from 400 miles away does not seem wise.

I am also surprised that the current owner would even consider offering it as an option.
 
Bellaboo18 said:
OP did a thread titled 'Buying my first horse and nervous I am over horsing'
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That changes everything!

I'd do it, OP, but it's a very, very bad idea for you.

I sold my cob last year as a first horse to a novice. But the first viewer was an experienced owner looking for a replacement horse, and he scared her so that she would not even canter. On the phone, she and he sounded like a match made in heaven. Nervous and Novice people definitely need to try the horse before shelling out £800.
 
Which is kind of why I said what I did as I was nervous and lacking confidence.

I travelled 9 hours on trains to view one horse! I wanted to buy unseen (dont ask!) But the seller said no and I'm glad she did. He was lovely but not for me.
 
Call me suspicious but I would question why the seller is up for this arrangement, never mind the buyer. Presumably because it has been for sale for a while and they haven’t been able to find a buyer closer to home. Is it a dealer or a private sale? Personally I would never load a horse I valued and cared about onto a lorry for a 400 mile trip to be met at the other end by someone that had never ridden it. I just couldn’t do it. For me it’s really important to find the right new owner for the horse and you can’t do that without seeing them ride and interact with the horse.

As the potential buyer you will have spent well over £1000 on vetting, transport and keeping the horse by the end of the months trial so you need to consider how you will feel if you do that and it doesn’t work out.
 
As the OP in inexperienced I'll elaborate on a few thoughts:

bellsinheaven said:
A friend knows the horse and says it is as the ad is and bought a horse from this person and said all was fine.
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How well do you know the friend? How well do they know your riding abilities? How well do they know the seller and their reputation? How well do they both know the horse? How experienced are they both? These are all very very important here. Unless you can answer very to all of them, don't consider it any more at all. If you know your friend very well, take the opportunity to go and visit them and go horse shopping together.

bellsinheaven said:
so if she is difficult then she could end up with no money for her.
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The point is that the expense and risk in a horse is not in the purchase price. It is in the cost of keeping it, the cost of vet's fees if it needs the vet and the heart ache for you if it goes wrong. There is also the safety aspect for you, the wrong horse can seriously injure or kill you or at least seriously knock your confidence and taking one on unseen when you are inexperienced is really not sensible.

bellsinheaven said:
That's the thing, LWVTB only offered because i can't get up. If i go up, it gives all bargaining power away and if there's an issue, it's a £6000 problem, not a £800 one....
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Don't be pressured into considering this horse because of time. This is a tactic as old as the hills. Take as much time as you need to ascertain the horse is right for you, don't feel rushed into anything. Going absolutely doesn't take your bargaining power away, it should put you in a stronger position. If they are willing to consider a trial for someone they have not met, they should certainly consider one for someone they have met and who they have seen to be a good match for the horse and who was interested enough to travel 400 miles to view it.
 
Bellaboo18 said:
I'm very torn. It does sound a good offer but I'd really question a seller that was willing to lwvtb a horse to a novice they don't know. Horses that are suitable as first horses, sound and sane should really sell easily without the need for lwvtb.
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The seller sounds like a dealer. They have absolutely nothing to loose by allowing a trial period. After all they won’t be paying for the transport to the seller (and back again if the trial fails). Obviously you’d have the horse five stage vetted prior to departure, and can stand to loose £1k plus if the horse is returned....

Edt: I’d steer clear. It’s a possible gamble worth taking for an experienced rider and owner, but absolutely not for a novice.
 
It's a no from me. If I were really interested -and I know how "interested" one can be when one is desperate to have one's own horse (!) - I would invest the money for vetting and transport in a quick flight/taxi up there to see and try for myself. No amount of speculative planning can better the chance for eyes on and riding myself. If it is good, carry on with the plan. If it is not, you will not have to dig yourself out of the situation which may turn sour when the current owner becomes difficult about taking the horse back.
 
I have bought 2 unseen but both were unbroken, for an established horse I would always want to ride first as I usually know from the first ride if I like the horse or not. 400 miles isn't that far, you could try him and be back in the same day or book a B&B and make it a week end away. It would still be cheaper and easier than transporting the horse.
 
I would just take a day's leave and go and see the horse. For the amount of time spent thinking about it and even posting on here, you could have gone up and seen it. I assume you have exhausted all closer options? We all have our limits on how far we would be prepared to travel. There was only one horse in my previous search that I would have traveled for but he was snapped up before I could see him. LWVTB is a good option as you get to see the character which is not always there when you try so I might consider both together. Saying that, if I had done a LWVTB on my mare, she would have gone back in the first 2 weeks. Over a year on, nothing could separate us, total diva, but only has eyes for me.
 
I would say no as I like to get know whether I 'like' the horse or not and you can only do that by meeting them. Paying £1,000 and finding that you just don't like each other seems unnecessary when there must be equally or more suitable horse for sale closer to you?
 
I wouldn't, for all the reasons stated above and because I need to meet the horse and know it's the one for me and I for it.

I once spent about three months travelling around and seeing many horses. None of them clicked. Finally found The One.
 
Palindrome said:
400 miles isn't that far, you could try him and be back in the same day
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I'm all for a good drive, but 400 miles is pretty much 7 hours each way, assuming no hold ups. So that's 14 hours driving in one day! There are a lot of potential solutions to the OP's predicament, but I'm not sure that driving a 14hr round trip in one day would be practical for most people.
 
I would definitely go and see this horse if you are interested and not get it down unseen in your position, need to stay overnight somewhere though. I once drove 400 miles with the trailer on to see a horse because I didn't want to have to go twice. I did come home with her and she was a nice mare though travelling 400 miles with a not very handled youngster wasn't ideal and I wouldn't do it now. Got my latest from quite a long way off but went to see him first then paid for a carrier.
 
Gamebird said:
I'm all for a good drive, but 400 miles is pretty much 7 hours each way, assuming no hold ups. So that's 14 hours driving in one day! There are a lot of potential solutions to the OP's predicament, but I'm not sure that driving a 14hr round trip in one day would be practical for most people.
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I got a train when I travelled about that far, but also a Travelodge or similar plus train or petrol would be much cheaper than the 5 stage vetting, transport and care of the horse if it turns out not to be the one. Just a thought really
 
Gamebird said:
I'm all for a good drive, but 400 miles is pretty much 7 hours each way, assuming no hold ups. So that's 14 hours driving in one day! There are a lot of potential solutions to the OP's predicament, but I'm not sure that driving a 14hr round trip in one day would be practical for most people.
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I did over 370miles each way down to Hereford and back the same day during the bad floods/heavy rain in 2007 to see a horse. Eejits still exist! Ha ha

However I'm an experienced (at being an) eejit and do daft, impulsive things regularly. Not to be recommended but it provides me with plenty of antidotes 😬

All the other gubbins aside when you buy a horse and move it to your yard it can be unsettled. A month is no time at all and if it's currently with a dealer it may already be a tad unsettled. Given that it is your first horse and you'll have all sorts to learn as you go a month isnt a great deal of time to get through the teething and settling in period.

As you are buying your first horse absolutely do not buy anything unseen. You need to view a horse at least twice and have someone experienced (ideally not just a friend but a prefessional) with you before getting the horse vetted.

Even experienced people can leave a first viewing and suddenly remember a list of things that they meant to ask. Equally you may have noticed things that arent necessarily a big deal but want to view again to see if they were genuine one offs or regular occurrences.

As a first time buyer it would be advised to try the horse in a safe environment and also see it hacked out alone and then possibly you hack it in company. See it caught, lead, in the stable, tacked up, mounted etc. That can be a lot to take in in a first viewing and as a novice I would insist that you do two viewings/tries of a horse.

So in short absolutely do not buy/lwvtb/throw money away on an unseen horse on the word of a friend (also 400miles away? So how do they know in detail your capabilities and if they arent 409 miles away how can they know the horse so well).

View horses, view them again, dont go alone, get them vetted but this for your current situation is a big no from me
 
I would not have a horse without seeing it first .
I am fussy and know what I like the idea of taking on horse in such a random way brings me out in hives .
I could also be very cautious of a owner prepared to send her horse 400 miles to someone she has never seen sitting on it
Someone like that really needs to sell a horse .
The question is why
A decent vetting will help to a certain extent but there’s so much more that could be wrong .
I drove not far short of that distance to see Sky in a day with a friend to split the driving .
 
I've had two unseen now, but I've been riding for most of my life, have a great support network around me and mitigated as much of the risk as is possible when it comes to horses.

The first was initially a permanent loan, although I've since bought him. My trainer had imported him as a youngster though so knew him well and had stayed in touch with the owner over the years. I train weekly with her so trust her implicitly to never overhorse me as she knows me so well so trusted if she said he was perfect for me he would be (and he is!).

The second is my baby horse, bought as a weanling from a reputable agent in Germany and now coming up rising 2. Copious videos, research of his bloodlines and a thorough vetting meant I was as confident as you can be with a youngster that he'd be something I'd like, and so far he's been the easiest youngster I know. I suspect he'll be bigger than I ideally wanted but what's a few inches between friends?!

In your situation I would honestly hold fire until you can view the horse in person. I know how tempting it is to just buy the first horse you see when you're finally in a position to have your own but a bad horse costs just as much as a good one, and particularly when it comes to a first horse your entire experience as an owner will be shaped by this horse. Get the right one and you'll have a fantastic time, whereas the wrong one could at best end up denting your confidence and at worst be a whole lot worse!

ETA - Ultimately I was only prepared to take the risk of buying unseen as I was reasonably confident that both horses were within my capabilities, knew worst case that I had enough support around to help if needs be and ultimately where the youngster is concerned have gone into it knowing that if for whatever reason he doesn't end up being the one for me he'll be sold to a more suitable home (although from what I know of him so far I find that fairly unlikely as he's such a dude).
 
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We have just bought a highland from Dundee unseen - he is an unbroken 4 year old. I suppose it depends what you want. We wanted something we could bring on so 'in the rough' was good. If you want a quiet pony then perhaps asking a local professional to ride it for you might work?
 
Gamebird said:
I'm all for a good drive, but 400 miles is pretty much 7 hours each way, assuming no hold ups. So that's 14 hours driving in one day! There are a lot of potential solutions to the OP's predicament, but I'm not sure that driving a 14hr round trip in one day would be practical for most people.
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If you leave at 5 am, you can be there at 12, then an hour viewing you leave a 1 pm and home by 8 pm. It is not ideal but doable for a horse you could be potentially caring for for 20+ years.
Could be easier if you have a second driver so you can switch half way each time.
 
Palindrome said:
If you leave at 5 am, you can be there at 12, then an hour viewing you leave a 1 pm and home by 8 pm. It is not ideal but doable for a horse you could be potentially caring for for 20+ years.
Could be easier if you have a second driver so you can switch half way each time.
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That presumes a Motorway network most of the way, if you are off down Cornwall or in the Highlands it's a bit different, safer to stop overnight.
 
Appreciate all your advice. I booked the day off and tried him today in the school and on a hack. He is lovely and what i hoped he would be. I took my friend with me who knows horses and he liked him too. We have agreed a 3 month LWVTB with an option to review after 6 months, starting in January which I am pleased at. I do appreciate all your advice, will let you know how I get on.
 
I haven't ever bought unseen, and not sure if I ever would. Maybe if I was buying to sell on, but I have mine with the idea of a home for life so want to be sure. I am experienced enough to know what I want, and be realistic about my ability and the sort of horse I need, there is no way I would recommend buying unseen for a novice or first time buyer. Having ridden a few horses over the years, I know that some that look very nice to ride, aren't my cup of tea when actually on them and vice versa. I also would want to meet the horse, it's so important to get the right fit for horse and rider together.
 
No.
I'd never advise a loan of a ridden animal unseen, untried and tested, despite anything the owner might say, for anyone. Unless v savvy with knowledge and the funding to return said animal in the same condition (or better) than when it arrived.

I've purchased unseen, but had videos and photos, plus knew breeding and had a grand parent in my yard 30 yrs ago. Transport was 500 with a 12 hr journey (had lairage en route) for current mount. I do have a little knowledge tho, not much, but enough.
 
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