So you’re looking at a new horse. You and your trainer have ridden it twice and it meets your needs. How long after an extensive PPE (physical exam, flexions, lungeing, 30-40 x-rays, and bloodwork) do you wait to tell seller “yes” or “no”? What is a reasonable period of time to get back to the seller?
I always pull blood for drugs. That usually takes a few days for results. However, I will inform the seller within 24 hours of the results of the examination whether I’m moving forward pending bloodwork. I never make it a surprise that i intend to wait on blood
As soon as I am sure (are you waiting for the bloodwork or just holding it in reserve?)
However as mentioned else-thread, my purchases have been long distance and are contingent on insurance being in place, so I offer a non-refundable deposit to compensate the seller for the uncertainty. (At that point I am sure or I wouldn’t be writing a check for insurance, but the seller doesn’t have their $$ yet so, I get it.)
I also would not object to them continuing to show the horse, since the purchase is not final, and if it gets bought out from under me after a PPE and a deposit, well… that’s life but I would cross that seller off my list for the future.
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I do the same. I’ll put a deposit down if I am super interested and the info from the vet is taking forever to get.
I should have been more clear: In this case, I am the seller. Luckily, I have a lot of interest in my horse. A trainer and student came 2 days in a row to try my horse, told me they were very interested and got a PPE scheduled within 36 hours. Vetting was extensive with vet calling/updating trainer during the entire process. I haven’t heard from buyer since the vetting. They may be awaiting blood test results, etc., but I expected an update from them vs nothing -we’ve had prompt communications from the beginning. I think the buyer is serious since they traveled here, brought trainer, did a PPE. But when I’ve been the buying party, I’ve let the seller know what’s happening day by day out of courtesy - knowing what’s it’s like to feel “in the dark”. I don’t know if I should make trial appts with others or potentially lose them by stalling!
advise the people who have done the PPE that due to their non-communication you are going to continue to show the horse with the first $ offer in hand, will be the taker.
If you have the information, make sure you communicate to both the trainer / agent and the person who is trying / buying
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Were there any findings during the vetting?
If not I would expect an answer within a day or two. I would let them know I was going to start showing the horse to other people. And I would.
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De ja vu, I swear there was a thread with this same question in the last few weeks?
Ah, here it is:
As a buyer, I would expect to give the seller a decision within 48 hours, and as the seller, I would expect to receive an answer within 48 hours. Unless other arrangements were discussed prior to the PPE.
If they have not made any payment/deposit towards the horse, I would continue scheduling showings.
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@fordtraktor, I don’t know if there were any findings. The vet is there on behalf of the buyer, so isn’t allowed to discuss with the seller (me). I assume there wasn’t anything major as the vetting continued on after calls to inform trainer/agent about next phase. It was a 3 hour vetting. Last step was a blood draw for CBC and Coggins. I don’t think they’d pull blood unless they were planning to move ahead? Now that it’s the weekend, labwork results won’t come in until at least Monday. The suspense is killing me…
@mmeqcenter, thanks for sharing the link to a similar discussion from the buyer’s point of view. I will try and be patient as it hasn’t been 48 hours yet. I haven’t sold many horses, but I’ve heard back from the buyer within hours of their completed PPE.
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Same on getting an answer within hours, have even gotten several confirmed purchases while vet was still there, but some people just take a bit more time.
It would be nice if they’d give you some kind of like “just waiting on blood results” or “getting a second opinion on xx issue” but 
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Sounds like you didn’t discuss timeline with them or give them your expectations when they did the vetting? Did they put down a deposit?
If I were you, I would reach out to the potential buyer and ask how the vetting went and if they’re ready to make a decision. If they tell you what they’re waiting for (bloodwork, written report, etc.) and how long they expect it to take, you can decide whether you’re willing to wait that long or want to go ahead and make other appointments.
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If I am doing a PPE, I am planning to buy the horse barring the vet finding something that makes the horse unable to do his job. So once I get the findings, I would expect I can give my final answer within 24-48 hours of mulling the information.
He either can do the job or can’t… is a risk you can take or not… and horses like to attempt suicide even when perfect so in the end it is all if it is money you are willing to burn. Or not. 
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I bought long distance off video recently. I was ready to move forward after speaking with the vet that performed the PPE, but I did wait a couple of days so she could compile her report, send it to my regular vet, before moving forward with the exchange of money.
I still communicated that with the seller. I had also made a deposit.
My other horse was purchased locally. The vet hadn’t even left the driveway when we called the seller to make payment arrangements.
If there’s no deposit, and they haven’t communicated with you or return your messages, I’d keep showing the horse.
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Thank all for letting me vent here. Problem solved…buyer contacted me yesterday evening to proceed with the sale. They were waiting to get rads read by their local vet. While I certainly understand wanting to have all the facts before making a decision, it just would have been nice (as a private seller) to be kept in the loop. When I buy I make sure I do that as well. Maybe pros/trainers/breeders who sell for a living don’t get as worked up over each transaction anymore, but us single horse owners have our lives, emotions and substantial portion of our finances wrapped up in our babies. Thanks for everyone’s feedback!
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Same! I actually drop a deposit prior to the PPE. Is this different than others have done? Maybe, but usually if I’m that interested, I’m not worried about the seller knowing I’m that interested - the horse, the price point, all other things check my yes-boxes, so pending something horrible on a PPE, I do plan on buying it. Why the secrecy? If the seller is suddenly going to bump the price, I don’t want to do business with that seller.
Just went through this! The PPE vet clinic was slow getting me final paperwork and for some reason my vet didn’t get the xrays via email (her address was correct but never showed up, so we had to meet so she could see them on my device), and then there was a VERY bad important typo on the PPE from the people who type the reports from the vet’s notes saying the filly had OCD, when it was the dam (obviously lame in videos, I asked the vet to see if the seller would say why), so I had to call and be like “wtf Dr X said nothing remarkable on rads” and get a huge apology and corrected copy. The seller and I were messaging several times a day with updates, ie “still haven’t gotten the full report yet,” “I’ll text him and see what the holdup is,” etc.
