Horse Shopping Advise

[VivaLaVida119]

Long time horse owner (thanks bank of mom and dad!) but first time horse buyer as an amateur. I’m working with a long time trainer who I trust, but given I was a teenager when my last horse was purchased I’d love some advice for how to go about this process.

We had a meeting where I told her my budget and what I was looking for, but haven’t heard anything since. I’m not sure how much I should be following up or driving the process. I don’t have anything to ride in the mean time so I’m worried about trying horses when I’m out of practice. I’m with a show barn that’s also super busy and I have a much smaller budget than her existing clientele so I know this isn’t a huge priority.

I feel pretty confident in being able to choose the right horse, understand the vetting, etc. but would love any advice you might have on the logistics/process and business side of horse buying.

Thanks!

[NancyM]

It sounds like you have already employed someone who knows you to do this job for you. Since your budget is much smaller than her existing clientele in his/her business, YOU are not a priority for this person. The less money you have to spend, the fewer suitable horses are available for you to consider, and the less your coach will gain in terms of commission. It becomes harder to find such a horse under these conditions, and making time to attempt to find one for less profit for the coach does not make too much financial incentive to spend much time on it. Therefor you may have eliminated yourself from the aid in the search for a suitable horse.
If you are “pretty confident” about being able to choose “the right horse” for yourself, why have you engaged the help of your mentor at all? If you go out on your own, looking at horses offered for sale, and find one that you really like, you can offer to pay your coach a fee to give their opinion on that horse once you have found it, if you feel you need to do that. Otherwise, go a find and buy a horse you like without your coach’s input. It’s not against the LAW to do that. Maybe you will find a diamond in the rough.
Good luck! Choose wisely!

[fivestrideline]

Maybe have a chat with your coach - since your budget is smaller, they aren’t as incentivized to push hard to find you something ASAP. Though I imagine they’d be making more money off of you if you had something to ride… Anyway, ask them if they’d be willing to look at video and help you weed out options that you’ve found yourself. Having someone look at video, go with you to sit on horses, and keep your head on straight so you don’t buy something entirely unsuitable is VERY valuable. They may not have the connections to find you something in your budget, but they can still help you with this.

I don’t love it when this happens - a fully involved client getting less help because they don’t have $200k to spend - because I think it’s unfair. Then the client goes out, frustrated, and buys something on their own and half the time the coach is unhappy with the choice . Whatever. A conversation is due here I think, to get on the same page and maybe discuss maybe a day-fee or hourly fee instead of a commission?

[findeight]

Just ask them, nicely, if they have seen anything lately that might suit you.

Most trainers have extensive networks of contacts and trainer could very well be letting them know what she is looking for but successful trainers are very busy people and it may take them awhile to get the word out. Plus you are looking for a scarce commodity. It will take time.

Touch base with trainer and try to be patient. I have bought what you are looking for through successful trainers but it took time for them to surface. You could suggest the video idea but if trainer has good contacts, they will already know the horses in most of those videos.

You see trainers clumping together talking all the time at shows, what do you think they are doing? Wheeling and dealing and pitching sale horses to each other is the biggest part of it and most good possibilities are going to be through word of mouth concerning known horses…but, again, that takes time.

[Bogie]

@fivestrideline

Anyway, ask them if they’d be willing to look at video and help you weed out options that you’ve found yourself. Having someone look at video, go with you to sit on horses, and keep your head on straight so you don’t buy something entirely unsuitable is VERY valuable. They may not have the connections to find you something in your budget, but they can still help you with this.

I have frequently engaged my coaches at this level. I paid their time, their expertise and their knowledge of what was a good match for me. I wasn’t spending big bucks and they might not have been enthusiastic about going on an extensive search but I very much valued their input and were happy to look at the horses that I found and was interested in.

I always take someone with me when I go try a horse, even if it’s just a horse-knowledgeable friend. Two reasons: I know many people who’ve been injured trying horses, so you need someone who can pick up the pieces and second, sometimes you need someone to say that just because the horse is pretty, the fact that it’s not sound should be more important!

Of course, when I bought a horse last spring, my friend told me seconds after I dismounted that I had to buy her. Luckily, when my coach saw her, she agreed.