Pets

10 rules for buying horses

Buying a new horse is never an easy task, in part because there are always a myriad of options to choose from. You may have narrowed down your details considerably, but there will always be more horses on the market than you have time to look at.

Strategy is important, whether you’re buying horses for competition or pleasure. You will have different criteria if you are looking for a child or an adult, just as the experience and skills of the rider will make a huge difference. So what is the Correct strategy to buy horses?

1- Never buy the first horse you see

I know all about love at first sight. It happened to me when I was a senior in high school, and the horse’s name was Bella. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: a perfect match, eyes wide apart, a slightly sloping forehead. Riding her was like sitting on a cloud, and he knew he had to have her.

It worked well with Bella, but it’s not always like that. If you’re in the market for horses, be sure to see as many as possible. You can always go back and see if that first horse is still available, and most horses don’t leave the market that quickly anyway.

I always tell my clients to look at ten horses or more before making a decision. This will give you an idea of ​​what the market has to offer and delay your decision until you can think about it. You may find that the horse you really love has some dark problem that you don’t want to deal with.

2- Buy locally

If you are buying horses that currently live on the other side of the world, you have enough to travel in the future. It’s never a good idea to buy unseen horses, and most of us don’t have time to go from town to town looking for the perfect animal.

Unless you have very specific criteria for an Olympic level horse, you can find a suitable animal practically in your own backyard. Depending on where you live, you may be able to limit your search to a 100-mile radius with no problem.

You will also find that buying horses locally means there is less chance of running into a scam. People are much more wary of scamming customers who live around the corner.

3- Request a Drug Test

You may be the most honest person in the world, but not everyone is so scrupulous. Some horse breeders drug their horses before showing them to keep them calm and flexible. This means a serious shock when you bring the horse home and end up in the dirt. Take a drug test and have the horse examined by a qualified veterinarian before you write that check.

4- Take the horse home

Buying horses, as mentioned above, can be a nasty business. If you really want to protect yourself, insist on a trial horse before your purchase goes solid. Pay for the horse and take it home for a week with the option to sell it if it doesn’t work out. This gives you the chance to try it out on your own turf without pressure.

This is particularly useful when purchasing school horses for a lesson program. Since school horses must possess a very specific set of qualities, a trial reduces the chances of buying a flop. Just be sure to make it clear in your paperwork that you have the option of a full refund if the horse isn’t what you thought it would be.

5- Grow slowly

If you have a horse business, you will buy horses left and right. Just don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Your equine inventory is your greatest asset as a horse business owner. Whether you are raising horses or giving lessons, a large part of your income is in the hands of those animals. Making quick purchases at once is a mistake.

The same is true if you are a serious competitor hoping to amass a stable of high-performance horses. His greatest asset in the ring is the diversity of his animals. Buying several horses at once doesn’t give you a chance to get to know each horse’s personality before choosing the next one.

6- Request X-rays

Depending on where you live, a typical veterinary checkup for buying horses may not include full X-rays. An X-ray of the horse’s navicular bone, for example, will illustrate whether or not the horse has experienced significant changes in the navicular that could lead to lameness in the future.

In addition to the aforementioned X-rays and drug test, your veterinarian should examine the horse for:

  • general health
  • Medical history
  • hooves
  • teeth and gums
  • Fur, mane and tail
  • dietary health

When buying horses, your veterinarian’s recommendation is just a starting point. You may realize that you can live with your horse’s poor eating habits or changes in the navicular, but at least you know about them. And health discoveries can become currency in the purchase of a horse.

7- Horseback riding

You’d think this would be a given, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard of someone buying horses without really riding them first. This is a big mistake, not least because you won’t know what you’re getting.

All horses move differently and respond to different commands. You won’t know if the horse is a match for your training, experience, and abilities unless you actually sit on the horse’s back. Riding horses before you buy them should be a priority, no matter what the owner says.

8- Horseback riding in your discipline

Let’s say you are a three-day eventer. Before buying horses, you must try them in dressage, stadium jumping Y cross country before you write that check. If you don’t test the horse in its specific discipline, you could make a mistake. Maybe he’s great on the dressage arena, but he rejects every jump you point at him.

9- Buy from someone you trust

Why should you resort to buying horses online? Or through classified ads in Canada? You don’t realize how many people you know until you start going over their names: your friend knows someone who knows someone who owns a stable and has hundreds of horses for sale.

It’s that easy. You may want to think about buying horses from the farm where you take riding lessons or from someone your trainer has done business with in the past. Buying from someone you know (or someone you’ve met through a personal vine) is the safest way to buy horses.

10- Bring a Trainer

Unless you’re a professional rider yourself, you shouldn’t even think about buying horses without a trainer present. He or she will look out for your best interests and be able to spot dark details you would never have noticed. Regardless of how independent you are, a coach is essential throughout this process.

People will always make mistakes when buying horses, but you can eliminate most of them if you have a plan before you start looking. Write down your criteria and decide exactly what you want before you start calling the classifieds numbers.

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