A LOT of time & fuel is wasted by buyers and sellers. You'd be amazed how many people don't know how big a horse actually is. I bought a 15.2hds that's actually 14.2hds just the other day. She told me about the timewasters she'd had, yet she was the one dragging people out to look at a horse a hand smaller than they wanted. Actually I was really happy because I got a bargain

Tip number 1 - Ask the rug size - That will give you a good indication of the size of the horse

A lot of sellers only put good things in ads about horses (as you would expect) but horses don't come in perfect so it's up to you to discover the faults and see if they are things you can live with. If you are looking for a horse that's perfect in every way, then you'll never find one and you have to be realistic.

Tip number 2 - Ask for the worst thing about the horse. If a buyer can't think of anything I personally get a bit dubious. If they say things like he can be funny to catch by a stranger in a big field, then you know there's a potential catching problem. They might say he bites the door, or is grumpy in the stable, or doesn't like hacking on his own, scared of buses etc. All these give you good information before you even see the horse

Tip number 3 - Google the phone number. See how long the horse has been advertised. It may have been on a few sites and reduced in price. All good information for bartering later

 

 

 

Good advice mate. I would also add being honest about your ability. If you are after a quiet horse that plods along dont ring up about horses that need experienced riders simply because they are pretty! Dont lie to the seller about your skills as you may well get hurt and whos to blame? There's no shame in being a beginner!

A good horse is never a bad colour! Really Its about what you can do and bonus if you find a pretty pony that suits you but dont turn down a well matched horse just because its "boring and brown" consider all the points of the horse. Alternatly dont rush home with a paint or pally just because you now own a horse like Barbie has.

Dont expect perfection. Horses are not machines. All horses have a quirk and so its best to ask and understand the horse and consider whether you can ride it and how you would cope in any unexpected scenario. Some of the best horses I have ridden have had one or two idisyncrasies that were of no consequence to the final results.

Ask to do as much as you can with the horse within reason and take your own gear to the inspection. Also not all buyers are out to cheat you and so consider this when bargaining/ calling and such. It can be a hard decision to sell a horse and dealing with rude, overbearing bargain hunters can be painful and very wearing on the nerves.

Honesty is by far the best policy!

cheers

I always ask about any bad habits in a horse when buying for people and also it pays to be brutally honest about both animal and owner. I have bought violent/ agressive horses from people who are now nearly pets ( with serious retraining) and so quiet I trust kids with them. So its all about what you want to do and what you can do.

I think its a mine field for both buyer and seller.

The other good thing about this is that it will show you if the person is advertising several horses (possibly even with different seller-ids) but advertising as a private seller... it's how we picked up on a dealer we nearly bought a horse from (it got sold when we mentioned 5 stage vetting)!!

Are there any other points that people can think of to help me along the way and good questions to ask etc? Any horse that i go to see i will be going with a second pair of eyes/ears so they can keep firing questions whilst i am riding etc