I’ll start. I bought my recent horse off an internet add. The horse has been fantastic, but was young so did need training. I did not use a trainer to find the horse, but did find that I needed help with training. My budget was low 5 figures.
Previous horse was also though an internet add and was low 4 figures. He was beyond expectation!
Before that, there was no internet, so bought from the track. Great, great horse (low 4s)
Bought off a FB ad from a sales barn in England (we are west coast US). Never rode the horse. Had it vetted- passed wonderfully. Amazing horse, we love said horse dearly- also probably safe to say we will never do that again! Haha
Same as you, OP. Didn’t use a trainer to purchase but found a great person to help (help is an understatement) as horse was quite green. The dressage background from Europe sure did help, but we had to start from ground zero in terms of bits and boundaries. We got LUCKY. This horse loves to work and is a wonderful partner.
Member of my hunt club sent me a link to a ranch horse auction. From the on-line catalog I picked 5 to consider. Called the auction site --three of the horses were already on property and I was encouraged to come and try them. Went with the hunt club member (I never met a horse I didn’t like) and DH. Tried the three. Settled on two to bid on. Bid on the first horse --at my top limit the bidding stopped and I had a new horse. People look at me strange when I say I “bought my horse at an auction,” but it wasn’t “that” kind of auction --it was a ranch horse auction (yes I was looking for a hunt horse, but needed quiet with good manners in a group --so ranch horse fit the bill --I added jumping to his CV myself). Anyway --he’s been a great horse. FYI the auction gave a 7-day “return for any reason” guarantee --during the 7 days I hunted him and had him vet checked and farrier checked. Wouldn’t have bought him without that guarantee.
Small WB breeding farm practically next door. Bought a baby and they let me handle him at the farm until he was weaned and could come home.
I’ll play. I have 4, the oldest being my WB mare. I bought her from the breeder after having ridden a number of her siblings and working around her (she was unstarted), I started her myself and decided to buy her after backing her. A few years later the same breeder had a lovely colt out of a very lovely mare, which my mother and I bought as an investment. 2 years ago, the mare suffered a tendon injury and needed extended time off. We decided to breed her (that was always something we wanted to do as she has excellent bloodlines and is just the most lovely horse), so I bred her to a stallion a friend had used for my horse’s sister. I got a lovely filly who I am planning on selling, but will happily keep if needed. In the meantime, I had nothing to ride, so I bought an just off the track OTTB off of FB and he’s been absolutely saintly. from day 1. Never touched him and trusted the seller, a week later he showed up and I’ve never regretted it. I definitely got lucky, but there was something about him that spoke to me. Now I’ve got 4 super horses and really only need one LOL. Hoping to get the mare back in work in the spring and then in the summer we plan to get the colt (now a gelding) under saddle.
My gelding I found through a friend. I was told of a starving Thoroughbred, that was with a lady that while she had no bad intentions, simply didn’t know how to feed or care for a horse. I contacted his owner, she sent pictures of a horse slightly on the thin side but nothing like what I saw when I got there. The pictures must have been from when she first got him, because he was skin and bones. I didn’t do anything other than tell the lady I would take him and load him up on the trailer. So far I am very happy with him, and he is coming along beautifully 3 weeks later in regards to weight gain and health. He has a very goofy, puppy dog like personality and he has certainly grown on me. Unless he turns out to be completely bat**** crazy, he has a home for life with me here.
True Story:
Facebook… but not an ad. It was a single picture posted on another woman’s ISO ad in a group based in England. The one lone picture had been posted 4 weeks prior to me seeing it. It took 10 days to make contact with his seller and then get more info, stats, videos etc. It took 7 weeks to get to the point of buying after vacation schedules didn’t line up for a friend of mine in England that could go ride him for me, then vetting, then blood tests for import…yadda yadda.
No one helped me buy him. No one helps me train him regularly. We had a few rough patches our first year together as we were figuring each other out but it’s been great ever since.
Here’s that 1 picture for those who are curious. (Don’t be confused by the backround rail of the area they’re jumping in, look down for the top rail of the jump)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/xctrygirl/49163052128/in/datetaken-public/
Em
What a pretty boy! I can see why you were so taken with him. Lovely, soft expression on him 
My Turn 
:
#1 - TB bought from my at-the-time H/J trainer om the basis of seeing him turned out by himself, running with tail flagged :rolleyes:
He came from a race trainer at Arlington who had been using him as a Pony since he failed his speed test as a 2yo.
He was 6.
Trainer quoted a price, I knew she had added her 20% commission & lowballed her by around that amount.
Offer accepted, probably to keep me in The Program :rolleyes:
I had told her I was looking for Keeper, where her MO was to upsell clients to “better” (read: pricier) horses in a year.
True to form, in his first year showing with me, she told me another Pro had offered 3X his price.
I was having fun & turned down the offer.
2yrs later I was offered - through Trainer - 10X his original price by none other than Diane Carney who saw him ridden in a clinic by my very-novice shareboarder (coincidentally Trainer’s sister).
I almost caved on that, but decided my chances of getting another like him were slim, so kept him.
For the next 20yrs.
We schooled Dressage to 3rd, Evented BNH (schooled to Training) & trailrode.
He was 1 in a million & I miss him to this day :sadsmile:
#2 - was DH’s TWH.
Bought when it was apparent DH was ready for his own after a couple shareboards.
Not much gait, but he was the bravest horse Crosscountry you could want & had natural suspension.
Lost DH, then lost horse to a mysterious wasting lameness 2yrs later & just before I was ready to bring both horses home to my first farm.
He was my intro to TWH & I love the breed for their intelligence & all-around usefulness.
#3 - was another TWH - so large @ 17H my vet called him The Belgian Walking Horse.
This guy was hard-wired to gait, NEVER trotted, not even in pasture.
But I had a Dressage trainer who was able to work with us and I think both me & horse enjoyed the time we had.
Sadly lost both the TB & this horse to a trailering accident.
:o
#4 - Was a COTH Giveaway, Australian WB, another Big Guy at 17H+
Former GP Jumper, he came to me Shot From a Gun at the canter depart. Working with the same Dressage trainer, I was able to get him soft to where it felt like I just thought “Canter” & off we went.
Sadly lost him to an anaerobic infection that would have caused him to slough a hoof. At 19yo I could not put him through that long, painful recovery.
#5 - Hackney Pony, a giveaway from my shoer when I wanted a companion for the WB.
Trained to drive, he crashed with shoer - who has much experience driving & with the breed. But being in his 70s, I imagine Mrs Shoer (who shows ASB) put a foot down.
He was a novelty to me. Never had a horse I could stand eye-to-eye with :winkgrin:
He will ground-drive for me & if I was 20yrs younger, I might try to restart him.
As it is, he is amusing & has been a good companion, first to the WB, now as part of my Herd of 3.
#6 - Another TWH, gifted to me by a friend when I lost the WB.
She had horsecamped/trailrode him for 6yrs, guesstimated his age at ~12 when she gave him to me.
That was 4yrs ago, he now trots and won his Intro A Dressage test a couple years ago.
#7 - Is my mini :love-struck:
A gift to Me from Me when I got through a rough patch in 2016.
I helped a friend clip him & his 1/2 brother for showing Halter at Fair.
Bro we had to put in a headlock. This baby - he was just 2 at the time - stood like a rock - head, ears, face, all Good.
So I bought him, sent him off to Amish Bootcamp for 3mos that turned into 6 due to weather. He came back trained to drive & is my SteadyEddy on trails - 12mi RT drives don’t faze him, he stays right up with the Big Horses.
We’ve done well at Fair in Pleasure classes & he shows a liking for CT - loves Cones & will do water obstacles w/o blinking.
Years ago I inquired about a trainer-owned horse at a PA track that needed a home. The horse had already gone to someone else, and I never thought any more about it. But apparently my name was being passed around at least two different tracks as someone who might be a sucker for a horse that needed to retire. :lol::lol::lol:
The Bowie training center vet emailed me first, about the Storm Cat filly in my profile picture. Never met her, never vetted her, never heard the Storm Cat warnings, just sent a van and was pleasantly surprised to find the perfect ammy horse step out. She’s small, cute, easy and gets along with everyone. Basically a pony wearing a racehorse costume.
Then a trainer at Laurel Park emailed me a year or so later about another Storm Cat filly (no connection). This time I rode along with the shipper and at least saw her in person for 10 minutes before we headed for home. She’s a ginormous chestnut diva who is a hard-keeping delicate flower, but a great mover and another ammy ride. She’s retired now due to permanent damage in one of her legs from recurring cellulitis, and is living a permanent life of leisure on my dime. :lol:
These were my third and fourth OTTBs, and all of them were given to me with no real due diligence done on any of them. I’ve been incredibly lucky, and would be afraid to ever get another horse because my good luck has surely run out by now.
I got my OTTB off a bulletin board pic at the local tack shop. The lady who owned him got him off a slaughter truck at an auction and had had him for a couple of months. He was skinny and awful looking, he didn’t know anything, but he was very sweet-natured and sound. I took one look at him being ridden by a 12 year old and knew that he was coming home with me.
The vet loved his temper, my trainer thought I was crazy, and so did my husband. The barn owner nearly fainted when she thought of all the feed it was going to take. But 23 years and many, many shows, trail rides, and adventures later, I’ve never ever regretted doing it. He’s 29 now and can still gallop right past the warmbloods although he hasn’t been ridden for several years. He’s still the sweet, goofy guy he’s always been and I’m happy to keep him as long as he can stick around.
I had just completed my first year at an equine college and my parents decided I could have a horse. We had been living on some acreage for about a yea, and our neighbor to the right was a farrier, so my mom called him up to ask if he knew of any horses for sale. He had a 10 year old Thoroughbred gelding, competing in the 3’ hunters. Next day mom and I went next door, watched his current rider on him, then I hopped on. He was hotter and more sensitive then what I was used to, but there was still something there. I rode him a couple more times, then one day neighbor called and said there was someone who wanted to take him on trial, and if we wanted him, now was our chance. Mom said yes, and that was that. Mid - high four figures.
That was 14 years ago, and Matt is still in my life, still going strong.
I bought my current (and only) horse off a CANTER ad, when I wasn’t supposed to be looking (isn’t that how it always happens…). He came off the track at the beginning of March (after showing zero interest in racing and only having two incredibly slow workouts, because he clearly didn’t get the memo that he’s got a sire and grandsire who won multiple graded stakes/the Kentucky Derby), I saw his ad when I was clicking around the day he was listed, and I just got a feeling (helped out by the fact that he has no glaring conformational issues, which usually dissuades me from most OTTBs (I love them, but there are some wonky creatures out there), aside from some slightly long pasterns).
I tried telling myself that I wasn’t supposed to be looking for a horse until ~July, but I shared him with a few friends anyway, and after a lot of ooo-ing and ahh-ing over him, my barn owner telling me all the ways that she could open up a stall for me (since we were full at that point, I was riding her pony), one of said friends being a terrible influence, and that feeling I got when I saw his ad not going away, I reached out to his trainer. He passed his (very basic) vetting in mid-April and my barn owner went and picked him up on cross-country day while I was down in Lexington for not-Rolex.
I didn’t ride him for ~a month after he got home because he wasn’t even three yet and had some track soreness, and it also turns out that he has a slightly sticky stifle on his left hind, so we did a lot of long, slow walk/hill work over the summer, but he/it responds really well to being in even moderately consistent work now that he has some basic fitness (I’m talking like, two rides a week is more than enough to keep him non-sticky back there) and we’re trucking along now taking semi-regular lessons from my trainer and building him up nice and easy.
All things considered, long pasterns and sticky stifle included, I’m very happy with him. He’s got the best brain I’ve ever encountered in a baby, he can take a joke for days, and, as I’ve said to a number of people, the stifle is clearly an issue just because I’m not allowed to have a perfect horse :lol: I spent literally three times what I paid for him to buy his saddle, so he was definitely low four figures and honestly worth every penny and probably a good deal more. His racing connections went through and turned down a number of offers because he was the assistant trainer’s favorite and they were determined to keep him until they found what they felt was the right home for him, so I feel very lucky to have him.
Sounds exactly like my boy! I was browsing on CANTER and saw this 3 year old, who was pony sized, long pasterns, plain old bay. I thought no one would want him. After like a year long rehab (haaaaa) an another year in a pasture he’s 15.2, I use him to move cattle, elk hunt. He was suppose to be my new jumper but he has a bum knee. I also look silly since I’m 5’7.
I also got another really fancy TB from canter for 700, turns out he likes to try to flip. He’s really fancy and showed good form o/f. He just has a pea brain.
When I had a fancy warmblood, we found him word of mouth.
My first horse was a 5 year old Arabian mare that we found on a paper ad at the local tack shop. I was like 8 years old as well…
My first horse I stumbled upon just walking around at the Ohio State Fair. She had a For Sale sign on her stall door. She was an adorable APHA yearling I started myself and sold after a few years.
Then I bought online, Dreamhorse. Still have this guy, retired now, he’s my Mr Perfect.
Got one at a slaughter auction. Eventually figured out who he was (OTTB). I’d bought him at the auction the day after his one and only race. Placed dead-last and subsequently was dumped. Sold him to a low-level home. He was a stellar hunter.
My current mare I bought off a Facebook post sight-unseen. She’s my precious princess, I just adore her. Have had her almost six years and she’ll also retire with me.
Got a mustang pony off Facebook as well, for free, not even halter broke, about three years ago. Sold her last year started under saddle.
well… mine was off a facebook post. Trainer and I got drunk on Sangria and were lamenting how hard it was going to be to sell my current horse. (Handsome but super sensitive to the aids and emotional). I said that I wish the woman who owned the cute palomino cross would trade my horse for hers. Drunk me thought it would be a good idea to offer. So I made an offer Trade + cash on a horse I had never seen. Next day, we made the trip out to that farm. Dropped one horse off, Rode the other horse, wrote a check, and put her on the trailer. It’s been nearly 5 years, and it’s been the most fun I have ever had.
Extreme Mustang Makeover auction. I had bought tickets to attend the finals, and started following the trainers on FB to get a better feel for the process and form a “connection” to make it more interesting when I went. I wasn’t planning on even trying to bring one home, at least not that year, but my lease horse at the time wasn’t a good fit and there was something about “Cinch” that just called to me. Glad I took the chance and bid, he’s worked out so well for me. Also, he sold for well under my top budget, and every other Makeover horse I’ve really liked since then has gone for way over, or had a trainer that made it clear they wanted to keep the horse.
My current riding horse I found on the Eventing Nation classifieds. There was a single blurry picture and no video available from the seller, who is not very tech savvy. I googled the horse and found a professional video on YouTube from an event (dressage, XC, FEI jog, and stadium). His dressage test was not great but I loved his obvious bravery and great form over fences. My dressage coach agreed he was worth a try. Thankfully he was only 2.5 hours away. First ride (in a saddle that really really didn’t fit me) didn’t convince me but a few weeks later I returned for two more rides, was much more comfortable on him in my own saddles, vetted him the second afternoon, and brought him home the next weekend. His dressage has already improved a lot with better, more consistent work. We have lots more to work on but I enjoy the challenge. He is just what I wanted over fences, a brave and athletic jumping machine.
Others I’ve found through trainers (e.g., a breeder they know/trust, a horse being sold or given away by a former student), Facebook (OTTB), and Craigslist (mini-donkey companion and most adorable project pony ever).
Horse #1 was my woe-is-me, I’m an empty nester gift to myself. Found him on CraigsList, paid $300 for him in kind of a pity buy. While he can be a special snowflake under saddle, he is sweet and kind and I did dressage, CT, trail riding, show trail, sport horse under saddle, you name it. He is also patient #1 at OSU for Oncept (melanoma vaccine) and his current role is king of the pasture. Figure he gave me 10 years of putting up with whatever crazy thing I wanted to try, so he is retired.
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Horse #2 was my “I have a windfall, going to buy a serious show horse for once in my life” purchase. I have known him since he was born as he was bred and raised at the place where I board #1. I have had a lot of fun watching the trainer show him (2018) and showing him myself this year. We even qualified for Arabian Sport Horse Nationals and went, even though we didn’t make the cut it was still the realization of a life time dream. Can’t wait to be a little more serious about dressage in 2020 and do more show trail with him.
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My most recent hunter purchase was unplanned and unexpected. My lease on another horse was ending, and my young prospect was injured, and I was planning to take a break and regroup. But then I was trolling the FB ads – you know, as one does when they are not shopping :lol: – and I came across an ad for a horse I had seen showing locally and had liked since he’d started out in the baby greens. I’d basically liked him for 8 years, and decided I had to go try him because I had to know!! And sure enough, he was exactly the confidence builder I needed to get back in the show ring. So, I tried him on a Sunday, made an offer on Monday, vetted him on Thursday and bought him on Friday! And fortunately I knew the selling trainer and was able to leave him at her farm for a few weeks, because I bought this horse having no idea where I was going to keep him!!!
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