From time to time we receive emails from people who have bought a horse,gotten it home and found it wasn’t the horse they were expecting or wanting. The aim here isto give people an idea of how to go about choosing the horse that is right for them and inthe process minimise the risk of taking home the wrong horse.

In 2007 and 2008 I had the privilege of being a presenter at the RSPCA (Vic) You and YourNew Horse seminars. My role there was to speak to prospective new horse owners about buyingtheir first horse.

Since starting work at HorseYard I have occassionally been contacted by people who havebought a horse, got it home and had immediate trouble. More often than not they claim theywere either duped by the seller or the horse was drugged.

In the first instance, there are some simple rules to buying a horse that can help youensure you get the horse that is right for you.

In the second ... well, I’ll talk about that a bit later.

There are some simple rules to the buying of horses that can help you make a good purchase.These are:

1. Take your time
2. Leave emotion out of the decision
3. If you are not experienced, get professional / experienced advice
4. See the horse in person, or have someone you know look at it
5. Have a “shopping list” that details exactly what you want and stick to it
6. Get a vet check
7. Take responsibility for your decisions

Take Your Time
So you’ve fallen in love with the idea of having a horse and now that you know that is whatyou want you have to get one as soon as possible.

Stop.

Don’t rush.

The first horse you look at is not necessarily the right one for you.

Take your time. Go through all the other points above and make sure that you can tick offevery part of your “check list” before making a purchase. Do not let sellers pressure youinto making the purchase (See Leave Emotion Out Of The Decision).

There are around 2 million horses in Australia so the one you look at today is not the onlyone available. The right horse is out there and waiting for you.

Leave Emotion Out Of The Decision
This is probably one of the hardest parts of this process but equally also one of the mostimportant. As the world’s largest group of pet owners we Aussies really love our animals.

But, when you leave emotion out of your decision making, you will be doing the right thingby your new horse as well as yourself.

Don’t buy a horse because you feel sorry for it, because it is cute, because it is a prettycolour, because it “liked” you, because you have to have a horse today, because the sellersaid they had other people who were desperate to buy it, or because the seller says theywill send it to the doggers if you don’t buy it.

These are all emotional factors. The last two in particular are emotional blackmail tacticsused by some sellers to get rid of the horse as quickly as possible.

My standard answer to pressure like this is usually “Oh, well okay, yes sell it to the otherpeople” or “Well, if that’s what you feel you need to do, then you have to do it”. Moreoften than not they will backtrack in a hurry and start saying “Oh well, okay, if you needmore time” or “Well let me know what price you would like to pay”.

It is an emotional tactic. Don’t fall for it.

Experience Is Everything
When buying a horse experience is everything. Even if you have been having lessons for acouple of years you are not necessarily experienced enough to choose a horse wisely.

If you don’t have at least several horses and years of experience under your belt then makesure you get advice from someone who does. Take a more experienced friend with you (thisdoes not mean someone who has had their own horse for a few months!)

If you don’t have an experienced friend then ask your riding instructor, call the localadult rider’s club or pony club and ask if there is someone who can help, or pay for aprofessional trainer to come and look the horse over for you.

See The Horse In Person
How can you expect to have a long, happy and lasting relationship with a horse if you don’tgo and meet it first?

You need to go and look at the horse, handle it, pick up its feet, tack it up yourself, seeit tied up, lead it, ride it – outside of a yard preferably – and ask lots of questions ofthe owner. Take your experienced friend with you.

It is also a really good idea to see if you can ride the horse several times over a fewdays. See if you can arrange to have a lesson on the horse; or ask the owners if they willtake it to a local riding club so that you can see how the horse behaves in an outsideenvironment.

If you are purchasing a horse from interstate and can’t get there to see it look in theyellow pages or online and contact a local trainer or riding club and ask if you can paythem to go and see the horse for you.

If the sellers won’t let you do these things, walk away. Excuses about why these thingscan’t be done are usually a sign of trouble.

Have A “Shopping List” And Stick To It
When I was teaching at the RSPCA Seminars I used to start by asking people if they knew whatthey wanted their new horse for? Did they know what they wanted it to do?

More often than not maybe only one person out of a group of thirty could answer thequestion.

If you don’t know what you want your horse to do then how can you know what horse to buy?

What do you see yourself doing with your horse? Will you just bum around the paddock? Areyou going trail riding? To Pony Club? Are you planning on jumping? Showing? CarriageDriving?

Do you have a favourite colour? Breed? Height? Sex? Is age important? Temperament? Should ithave done Pony Club? Be able to jump? Is it safe on roads?

Build the picture of your ideal horse in your mind, write a shopping list, and stick toit.

Get A Vet Check
I really can’t emphasize this enough.

Before buying a horse you really need to know if it is fit and healthy and suitable for whatyou want it for.

A vet check by a qualified, experienced veterinarian can sometimes turn up something thateven an experienced horse person might not detect. It can also give you real peace ofmind.

For example is the horse moving freely and without pain, is it the age the owner says (a vetcan tell you for sure by looking at the teeth), are there any unexplained lumps?

A couple of extra hundred dollars spent before purchase can save you a whole lot of pain(and costs) later.

If a seller refuses a vet check, walk away from the sale.

Take Responsibility
If you have done all this you have a much better chance of having a long and happy life withyour new horse.

However, this is not a fool proof method and occasionally things still go wrong.

While there are some shonky horse sellers out there, more often than not most are quitelegitimate.

If you have gone through all or some of the guidelines above and purchased a horse that hasnot ended up being suitable you need to, at some point, accept that it was your decision tomake the purchase and you must now deal with the consequences.

The Drugging Of Horses
A common complaint when people have purchased horses that are not suitable, or who changecharacter when bought to their new home, is that they were “obviously drugged” when theperson originally looked at them.

Dr. Graham Jeffery, of Cranbourne Equine Hospital in Victoria, says the instances ofdrugging are so infrequent that he “can’t remember the last time he came across a horse thathad been drugged prior to sale”.

It’s a familiar story that is almost legendary in status but extremely rarely based infact.

More likely causes of changes in behaviour and character are the fact that a horse is in anew environment.

It has been transported from its old home to somewhere where it does not know its newhandlers, it does not know other horses at the property, it does not know the routines, ifit will be safe, whether it will be fed, or if there are predators lurking about.

For a prey animal that relies on familiarity and social contact with established herdmembers this can be a very frightening and daunting situation to find itself in.

From a physiological point of view “drugging” may occur in the form of painkillers administered to hide lameness or back problems.

If drugging is a concern Dr Jeffery recommends having a simple blood test done as part ofthe pre-purchase exam.

A Final Note On Costs
If you think that you can’t afford a vet check or to pay an expert to look the horse overfor you then we would recommend reconsidering your decision to buy and own a horse.

The purchase of a horse is about the least amount of money you will pay.

If you cannot afford the few hundred extra dollars now (vet check etc) you will not be ableto afford feed, agistment, farrier, worming, equipment and other ongoing costs associatedwith horse ownership.

See Also:
Bringing A New Horse Home

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