Questions to ask when looking to buy a horse...

Element

Time to take charge!
Mar 4, 2008
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North Wales
Hello everyone, sorry if this has been asked before but I did search and found nothing.

What questions do you ask when speaking to someone over the phone about their horse for sale?

Also how much would you pay for a 7yr old Warmblood with reasonable experience, but still needs work? I know it is hard to say without more information, but around what price mark would you pay?

Hope it makes sense and thanks for any replies! :)
 
about 6k I'd say, depends on breeding though. One of the girls on my yard baught a 6 year old for 20k!!! but cant sell him for that lol!

I would ask about personality, behaviour in different situation eg. shows, traffic, hacking, schooling, open fields, catching etc.

What they came with? vaccinations, teeth, worming, back, saddle. Erm.....

Is he for sale?? lol out of it now, minds blank!
 
What is meant by 'reasonable experience'? Any SJ or DR points? Won any shows? Mare or Gelding? It's hard to give a ballpark price without more info, could be anything from £3000 up to £7000 tbh. I have a friend who's paid £6000 for a dutch warmblood just off the boat (good bloodlines tho ;))

I'd focus on finding out if the horse is suitable for where and how I would be keeping it, what vices (if any), whether it can do the type of work I'd want from it. Would also ask the obv re loading, what tack comes with it, any health worries allergies etc.
 
As well as what flony-pony said i would want to know why he/she is for sale, are they open to the vet? what are they like to catch, shoe, box, dentist, clip etc etc.
What have they done e.g xc, sj or just hacking?
 
id aske about his tempermant, any vices, why he is 4 sale, his quatities, eg jumping, showin, school master/mistress

my pony is a warmblood x n had reasonable experience but lots more of experience potentional n i paid 2.8k
 
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Height, breeding, if registered. If a mare, what she's like when in season, and if she's had a foal before. If they've ever had any bad injuries/ recurring problems/ laminitis etc. which might cause you to have lots of vets bills or not do as much as you'd want with them. Why they're for sale. What the horse is doing right now (is it on very light work, or competition fit?). If you are buying from a stud, when you go to visit make sure you can see mother and/or father/ siblings. If the horse is competing, what level at, and has it won anything? Without knowing things like this, it's hard to guess a price.
Hope this helps
 
Thanks for all replies!

I've emailed and it's a warmblood x selle francias (sp) and a mare. Still don't know about experience etc.

I'm planning to phone tomorrow, so basically just need to know what questions to ask :)
 
i would ask about the history of the horse. i have found that you can change a lot about a horse aftr you buy it including the personality, but the history tells you a lot. vet history as well as training and show history can tell you a lot and help you to understand why the horse is the way it is. about young horses--- on top of how they are to handle you can also tell alot from conformation. i just read an article in a recent Practical Horseman about judging a horses potential from conformation as the bone structure doesn't change much from foal to horse. if you can find it, it was very informative. either in june july or august issue
 
sorryt to barge in on the thread, but similar question - what do you look for when buying a youngster so you cant see what they're like to ride or what they have done competition wise? so far i have got a list of: watch them being caught, see how they react to being groomed & having feet picked up, see how they react to human touch, um, thats all i know. what if they are very young, ie still with their mom so havent been handled much, then what do you go on? just papers & bloodlines & how they behave having people around them generally?

When I went to look at my 3yo unhandled filly - we couldn't even catch her!! She was quite confident and didn't trust people (She'd not been badly treated) - she was keep with a herd of 3yo's who were left to their own devices!!

We chased her about a bit and watched her move - that was about it! I went with my gut instinct, she is very well bred, and I know the breeder very well. I bought her. She has turned out to be an amazing little horse (she's a 16.2hh WB!!).

I tend to listen to my gut feelings on looking at youngsters, - it's never let me down ..... yet. But I wouldn't recommend that as the way to buy a horse!
 
I tend to listen to my gut feelings on looking at youngsters, - it's never let me down ..... yet. But I wouldn't recommend that as the way to buy a horse![/QUOTE]

hahaha my trainer did something very similar. a friend of ours had a 3yr old who was being trained by her husband (who we knew was less than kind to horses) and one day the foxhunt passed by his field and i guess he was tired of his treatment because he jumped the fence and joined the hunt! he followed for a while then found a field of cows and jumped in. noone could touch him after that so he was left alone. she told us he was free if we could catch him so we spent $1500 to hire some people to help us chase him into the trailer. he happened to be the best little 14.3hh horse with the biggest movement. he was also sweet!!! he is now 5 and doing novice eventing very well.
so i gues my point is that you can sometimes never be sure of what your getting but your gut usually turns out to be right!!
 
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