Who would you say is a good trainer for when you buy a horse?

[Crazyhorse45]

The reason i'm asking is because me,my,friend,her father,and my mother are going up to virgina on saturday to look at a summer camp and while were there we may look at a few horses. And if the price is good we may buy one the same day.But if we do i have to find a trainer that doesn't charge that much.
By the way my name is Alisa. Thanx for all your help i really needed it.
xoxox :)

[Tangle]

Are you asking for a trainer for you or the horse? How old/experienced a horse are you thinking of buying?

I would say a good trainer is one who:
- you get on with on a personal level,
- you can talk to and ask lots of questions without getting embarassed,
- can explain what they're doing and why they're doing it,
- treats your horse in a manner you consider appropriate,
- gets the kind of results you want from your horse,
- uses methods that you are comfortable with.

Do you have an instructor at the moment? Is there any reason why you wouldn't use them? Could you ask them for a recomendation?

Would you be keeping the horse at a barn or at home? If it's at a barn, would there be a problem with you bringing in an outside trainer?

If I were looking for a trainer, I would start by asking someone I trusted for a recomendation. Whoever I was thinking of using (recommended or not), I'd want to see them working so that I could form my own opinion of them.

Hope that helps :)

[Bay Mare]

The reason i'm asking is because me,my,friend,her father,and my mother are going up to virgina on saturday to look at a summer camp and while were there we may look at a few horses. And if the price is good we may buy one the same day.But if we do i have to find a trainer that doesn't charge that much.
By the way my name is Alisa. Thanx for all your help i really needed it.
xoxox :)

Unfortunately there are very few trainers that don't charge that much and if they do you need to ask why they are so cheap! Ok, there are some good trainers that are 'cheap' in the general scheme of things but you would be better looking for a 'good' trainer than a 'cheap' one. Does that make sense?

As Tangle said you need to be able to get on with them and their teaching style and they need to be able to work with you and your horse as individuals so that they can sort out your particular problems rather than giving you the stock instructions/corrections that they give everyone else. Ask your instructor for recommendations or if they do freelance. What about the yard that you will keep it at? Do they have any instructors that come in to teach?

How much experience do you have? Do you, your mother, friend or her father have a lot of experience with horses? If you don't I would be careful about just going out and buying a horse without checking it out thoroughly first (seeing it being ridden, riding it yourself, getting it vetted etc). I have heard too many horror stories about people buying horses and then having problems later because it was doped or ridden into the ground when they viewed it. It's better to take your time and save yourself a lot of money and heartache.

Good luck.