best place to buy a horse from????

[joolie]

I too am considering buying my first horse. I know what I would like, and what I should look out for, but where is the best place to go. A dealers? Through the classified ads in papers? Would it be better to loan with a view to buying?

I am so scared of ending up with something I later regret buying.

Also, do you find the livery first and pre-book it, or find the horse and then panic about where to keep it?.

Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Sarah]

hello!

A good wway to find a suitable horse is to ask your riding teacher if they know of any that would be suitable for you that are for sale. Dealers can be good places to go - but make sure that you go to one that is recommended to you, there are lots of very dodgy horse dealers about! Taking a horse on loan with a view to buy can be a very good idea - as can buying a horse with return period if it isn't suitable.

When i bought my horse, i was enquiring about livery at the same time as looking - it can be hard to find a good livery yard so allow a good amount of time to find one.

Whatever you do, don't neglect to get the horse vetted, and do NOT use the vet that the owner or dealer recommends - call up a local riding stable and ask which vet they use if you don't know one.

Hope that helps.

bye!

 

[Myrmex]

I agree with everything Sarah says - watch out for dodgy dealers, although some are excellent. Maybe your instructor could recommend one, if she/he doesn't know of any suitable horses for sale.

Classified ads are fun, but you'd have to prepared to look at dozens before you found the right one - and it's amazing how the advertised '16.2 hh, 5 y.o. quiet to ride TBx' actually looks more like a 15.2 hh, 15 y.o mongrel and rides like a bucking bronco!

Avoid auctions like the plague unless you can go with someone very experienced. Apart from performance horse auctions, horse sales are often places where people get rid of problem horses (having said that, I bought my mare from an auction and she was a total bargain, but bargains are the exception rather than the rule)

Make sure you know the reason for sale and see if you can have a couple of weeks trial - you might get the horse home and find you're just not suited for some reason. For example, I used to have a big 16 hand thing with a trot so powerful that it made my back ache. It's not exactly why she was sold, but it was a factor.

Oh yes, and vetting! I didn't get my mare vetted and luckily got away with it - but she was an unbroken baby and wasn't likely to have any major physical problems that I hadn't spotted myself, or to be older than she was supposed to be. Plus, she was very cheap. Vetting might be a nuisance expense-wise, but if you don't bother you might end up with all sorts of horrific problems - seriously, a girl I knew bought what she thought was a four year old, which later turned out to be closer to 15 (the horse is still going strong in her thirties though, so it wasn't such a disaster!)

As for livery - I'd look for a place while looking for a horse and try to find somewhere asap. Nothing worse than wanting to buy a horse, but having nowhere to take it - and risking the owners selling to someone else while you find somewhere...

Finally, don't 'fall in love' with a horse and take it on, problems and all. Fatal mistake. I know, I've made it...not with my mare, but with another horse, who in spite of his beautiful looks, sweet nature and so on, is a complete devil to ride!

Best of luck,

Myrmex

 

[Jo]

Hi

I bought my horse through classified ads - but as other respondants have advised I made sure that 1) I had an excellent livery yard to keep her and 2) I took an expert with me. She spotted a lot of things I wouldn't have seen if they'd been pointed out and it's true that ads do misrepresent themselves! One ad describe a horse as perfect for a beginner. When I enquired it hadn't been broken! I've heard of horses being drugged, too, so that they seem placid. Some advice I was given was try not to be precise about the time you view - that way you will see the horse warts and all; make sure there is someone other than you to ride it - it helps to see a horse in action and if there is no-one willing to ride it there may be a good reason!; never show you are very interested - be blase and you'll get it cheaper!

Some dealers offer horses for a trial period which is great but these places tend to be expensive. If you have a good home and a good instructor to vet your horse you won't go far wrong.