What was your horse buying experience like?

Do You Like Horse Shopping?

  • Yes absolutely

    Votes: 13 39.4%

  • No definitely not

    Votes: 13 39.4%

  • I don't mind it

    Votes: 7 21.2%
  • Total voters
    33
Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
9,611
1,492
113
Perthshire, Scotland
I think the fair majority of us are following ladywiththebaby's saga (sorry for calling it that!) looking for a horse, I just wondered what others' experiences were like?
I was chatting to a couple of friends who said they really enjoyed looking for horses - I disagreed, its the most awful decision of your life - I think they only liked it because all of their experience of doing it, was for other people. Its fine when its not for you - but otherwise I think you just get scared you're going to make the wrong decision. You just never know whats going to happen and thats so frightening!
So - anyone willing to tell their story?
And take part in the poll - do you love horse shopping or hate it - and I mean horse shopping for yourself!
 
I love it, I find it really exciting! I have been lucky with my past horses, only one that I bought turned out to not really be what I wanted but I still don't regret buying her as I learnt a lot and I managed to make her life a little better before finding her a nice home. I've never had a horse vetted that I've bought and I don't think I will in the future either if I'm in a position to buy again. I seem to have very good gut instincts, I've known really when to say no. My last horse Star, I would have bought him straight from the advert! I just knew he was going to be mine and I wasn't wrong!

I find selling horses more of a nightmare!!
 
I will be in the position of horse-hunting maybe later this year or next - and I am NOT looking forwards to it! I posted a thread a while ago about honesty and wearing your heart on your sleeve whilst horse-hunting. It was great to read the mixed replies. I didn't really enjoy looking for our pair, but at least they came from people I already knew of and were recommended. This time tis going to be a cold-call and I wonder who I am going to get experience wise to come with me when the time comes!!!!!
I kissed a couple of frogs before buying Storm and Joe, but it wasn't something I'd want to do again. I hate riding in front of other people and last time it was just blind faith that let me geton a few of the horses (think just over from Ireland literally off the boat and rather green to say the least!!)
 
We must have been lucky, with our first when the girls where small, saw advert, I tried him out and we bought him on the spot and never regretted it.
Tess we bought from Brother in Laws stables when the Owner decided to sell her - supposed to be 4 now found out shes a little less than that - but shes brilliant and not going anywhere, when I bought the little man, saw him advertised, went to see him fell in love and that was it - they brought him to us and vetted before they would leave him - think it would have killed me if they had turned round and taken him home. Charlie was the result of someone wanting our old horsebox - failed MOT big time - they suggested a swap for a little sec A they couldn't handle - saw him and the potential and brought him home, hes been hard work as had a rough start but is coming on nicely.
Dutch we bought for our Daughter as a 4year old, he was brilliant unfortunately he dropped dead of a heartattack aged 6 after a severe reaction to an injection.
Josh bless him my Daughter bought to replace Dutch , a TB ex racehorse and a bit of a nightmare as could be unpredictable, a lot of bad history we found out later, an inpulse buy and ended up a very expensive companion he had a lot of happy years with us before PTS - he taught us a lot but don't think we would go that route again through choice.

Not in the Market for anymore - have to keep away from sales as I know what would happen.
 
I fell on my feet with buying my first horse, Joy.

I can say without a shaddow of a doubt that I wouldn't have had the confidence to go horse shopping. I've never had a group lesson as an adult and I'm very self concious. Joy was on working livery at my riding school and my favourite as she was young and full of herself, not your usual RS pony! My RI said she though the owners would be selling her as they never had time for her anymore. The school contacted the owners and I got her on working livery loan for 6 weeks and then bought her.

I'd be better now. I've been with a few friends horse shopping and acted as their crash test dummy but then it's different than searching for yourself because your playing a role and the seller isn't scrutinising you. As confident as I am out hacking, I still don't like riding in a school which trying a horse out for the first time is invariably going to be.
 
I dont enjoy horse hunting as there are too many people willing to lie when selling a horse, but I dont hate it either.

We've seen most things over the years and now know who and what to avoid - i'd already decided last year that any horse would be tried by my RI before we bought him/her and as it was, my RI found me Rocky anyway.

I would always have a vetting done too - maybe just a 2 stage one but with bloods to be on the safe side. I dont envy anyone looking for a horse - can cause a lot of heartache
 
Not been too bad for me, I was too young to know what I was doing when I bought my first pony, 2nd one I bought from an auction, didn't ride her or anything just fell in love with her, 3rd one I got given by my boss, 4th one I followed his saga on the net and just traveled miles with my horse box to pick him up, 5th one we phoned up viewed her that day and said yes that night on the phone (she was a foal so had to wait till she was weaned to bring her home). I did view one horse but didn't think she was the one, but got offered a job by the person selling her instead. :giggle:

With my mum I searched a lot on the net till I found one that sounded right, she viewed Murf herself, we went to a dealer once and the horse wasn't at all suitable, viewed one for loan that wasn't suitable and then saw an unbacked brood mare who she decided she wanted. I still don't think we have found mums perfect horse (well we own her but she is only 12hh, we need a bigger one) but she has her eye on my youngster:ninja:
 
Both times it was plain sailing for me... first time I made a lot of phone calls, and looked at two ponies, second time I bought from the YO!
 
My first horse was one that I already knew and had ridden and then she was being sold on so bought her. There wasn't any shopping involved...

My second and current horse was the frist horse I actually went to see when looking. I had my mare for sale, looked at Ben, then sold my mare on a Friday, saw Ben again on the Saturday, gave a deposit and he was delivered the following Friday. A very easy and smooth transition between horses.

I wouldn't change Ben for the world, but with hindsight, I should have looked at more horses and not just bought the first one I saw - despite falling in love with him and him being absolutely perfect for me! :D
 
I have put yes as I actually do love the looking at ads,dreaming about what I might get,and the general excitement of trying to find your new equine friend.

However I do not like the dishonesty of sellers,the worry about getting it wrong,and the downhearted feeling when nothing goes like you thought it would.

So I guess it's a bit of a double edged sword really,but if I had to choose I would say I liked it rather than disliked it.

I have been generally lucky in the past with 'horse shopping',but that's a lot to do with either buying youngsters so no-one has messed them up,and/or having an eyes wide open approach with older 'ready made' horses,also a healthy dose of research and asking around,not to mention googling every seller and their phone number and any other relevant info I have,be amazed what that turns up as a rule:wink:
 
First pony was a long, drawn out process (i was only 9 however so maybe had a warped sense of time!). Every horse i rode i fell in love with. There was Tiara, the 15hh TB who sloshed around in knee deep mud at our trial, clyde a welshie who we were going to buy til we went to see him at a local show and he double barelled a spectator in the back!! Then there was the lovely chestnut arab i adored but RI didn't like. Good instincts there coz she'd liver damage and was dead a year later. Bonnie was probably my least favourite but was by far the best choice for us :)

We spent months and months looking for my first horse. Tried lots from scruffy cobs to RC eventers. Bought a stunning IDxTB who was doped to the eyeballs :( so it was hot foot back down the road to a dealer with the skills and time to deal with her and i had to take what he had which was most suitable but more importantly in our price bracket. Again, not love at first sight but i'd never ever sell toby now.

Third time was a doddle! go horse shopping when you are grief stricken and having your heart ripped out by the loss of a beloved pony. Saw kezzie, he fitted my broad brief of being a welsh D, vetted a week later, home a few weeks after that! a cracking buy, totally laid back, loves work and such a character.
 
I found it all a fairly nice experience when i brought finn, i guess i was lucky!

Its probs because i didnt really care what i got?? As bad as that sounds LOL!
It was more me deciding on which photo drew my attention :giggle:
Saw his photo, booked a viewing and thought 'yeah why not'

Gosh i was care free back then...whats happened to me LOL! :wub:

Although i do feel its going to be a nightmare when i started horsey shopping for OH, as im going to have to be very picky about what we end up buying.
:frown:
 
Same here, saw a couple of horses that either weren't suitable or as described and then found Rio, who was exactly what we wanted (but also not quite as described either :D ). Tess was even easier as I found and bought her off this forum.
 
I found looking for my first horse very exciting, i was actually going to be an owner. I only looked at 6 horses and she was the first out of those i rode. The others were wrong - wrongly advertised in some way, one was sick!

After that I came home with Jack, he was a sort of not thought this through pony. What is a youngster, your going to find out the hard way. He was a pony to fill a hole, which i filled quickly after 3 weeks.

I didn't look for my cob who i have now. I was devastated at the loss of Jack after surgery, and my brain had no way of knowing where to start as he was everything i had worked so hard to get where we were. She found me, so i guess it depends on the circumstances.
 
JustJas said:
I think horse shopping is a misnomer. Horse shopping is rugs/saddle/bridle/etc. Horse "shopping" to me trivialises it all. To me buying a horse is a fated. I found a horse was yes/no and instinct kicks in. You know if the horse is right.
Click to expand...

I really hope this is true as I am terrible at making decisions since having children! I would love to 'feel' the right answer.

My fear is that as I am such a worrier and a fairly negative person (I always think bad things will happen to me, and so whichever horse I buy I am going to be convinced it will all go horribly wrong when I get it home) that I won't feel that? I REALLY hope I do though as then I wouldn't have to keep asking the world and his wife what they think! :giggle:

And do I enjoy horse shopping? Well no not at this moment in time! But it's like car shopping. I love it to start with as its all very exciting: you're going to get a lovely new car, but fast forward a few weeks when you can't find what you want in your price bracket and you've been to see lots which were described as pristine but actually turn out to be scratched and dented to pieces, and suddenly it's no fun any more!!

Add a nervous disposition into the equation and it just gets worse!!
 
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I had a HORRENDOUS first experience of horsey shopping, I wanted a 14.2-15hh registered welsh gelding....I got one who we suspect was doped when we tried him, but got him home and he would start rodeo broncing before you could even get on. I was thrown half the width of the school in some cases. The poor lad had some serious issues that as 16yr old I couldn't even attempt to fix! We had to send him back, my poor parents got so stressed and lost a bit of money over it. Needless to say I was devastated!!!!!

Then one day, about 6 months later, a 14.1hh scruffy, fat, grumpy little mare who resembled a cow turned up on the yard (RS where I worked/practically lived)! From the minute she stepped off the trailer the YO said that I would want her, everyone else said "oh no, she's not big enough, not reg welsh and not a gelding. Of course she won't want her!" She was allocated to me to test to see if she was ok for the riding school...which she wasn't, but I loved her, so I paid her livery for a month and had her on trial, passed the vetting at the end of it and she was mine!!

Now it has been no easy time owning her over the last seven years, she needed totally re-breaking as someone hadn't done a great job and she was very confused! But she has always been suuuuper in traffic.

Over the years I've had her, I've learnt SUCH a lot and when we went horsey shopping for my sister it was much less stressful. So I think whenever you're buying your first it's always a lottery but the right one will find you in the end, the more experienced you are the easier it is to be objective and not so easily bullied by those that try to con everyone in sight! although even experienced people can be taken in by these people!!!!

I think the way you're feeling at the moment is actually pretty normal, it's such a big responsibility and it doesn't help when people take advantage of that. Trust me, when you find the right one, you will just think "yes" and won't feel so reliant on the input of others.
 
JustJas said:
To me buying a horse is a fated. I found a horse was yes/no and instinct kicks in. You know if the horse is right.
Click to expand...

Funny I have been pondering on this very subject tonight after reading an interesting article about attraction between horses and people - the author was saying that horses can be attracted to certain people just as we are to certain horses and so the horse chooses the owner as much as the other way round.

http://www.horseconnection.com/site/archive/story-may07.html
 
Yes Justjas I agree that the experience of 'horse shopping' might be trivilising it when we're talking about some sort of destiny but the process of finding out if he is the perfect horse for you, kissing frogs along the way and then negotiating the purchase of said horse is extremely nerve racking imo.

We are all so aware of the many scams, the concern over what he/ she will turn out like once they are home, the uncomfortable conversations about money, riding infront of the owner. Its all pretty difficult.

I saw three horses in total. 1 & 2 were at a RS. 3 was really the only other option out there for me at the time, I didn't ride the 3rd purely because the dealer was an ar$e. I heard him whisper under his breath to his mate that I wouldn't understand being on the right leg at trot. I'd said about two words to him so the judgement was totally unfounded and I just turned and said 'no thanks' and walked off. I was damned if I was giving my money to him.
Horse 2 I went back for two further rides on. I had him vetted and the vet very kindly told me that he wasn't worth as much as she was selling him for, so if I wanted him then I should really negotiate the price down. This worried me as its not nice hearing that your potential horse isn't worth that much. I told the RS lady that we thought the horse was a bit too much moneywise and she immediately launched into a tyrade - the vet nearly lost her job as she shouldn't have given that advice as part of the vetting and the dealer put in a complaint. I was mortified and nearly walked away. But I didn't.

So what I'm trying to say is the worry associated with negotiating prices, trying out horses to see if they are 'the one' is part of the horse shopping experience that i hate. I agree, its lovely to look at ads - thats the nice part. The stress of waiting to see if they pass the vetting and you can get them for the right money and how they will be once they are home is what I'm referring to when I say I hate it! Bloody glad that when all of it is done and dusted, the result is well and truelly worth it.....a bit like child birth I imagine!
 
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