How to horse shop

I am in a place that I cannnot quite believe - like I am regularly pinching myself - ready to shop for a horse. I have moved from lessons to leasing and showing, and I have found a great program with wonderful trainers. I have a very good idea of what I am looking for, and a realistic (gulp) budget.

Here is what I am struggling with - the logistics of horse-shopping. How do people do it? I have started looking (with trainer’s guidance) at ads for horses up and down the east coast. But, I work full-time, and while I am willing to travel to look at a horse, I want to do it smartly and strategically.

What do people do? Limit yourself to your local area? Try to line up several horses to try in one (plane-ride-away) destination? I have some great IRL resources, but thought (as always) that I would also turn to COTH for advice.

5 Likes

Following.

Also, how exciting! Congrats on your new journey.

4 Likes

Start locally, or at least within a few hours drive. If you don’t find anything close, widen to anywhere you could drive. If you have to fly, try to see several and/or to see a horse you are fairly sure you will buy if no surprises when you see him/her in person. Once I made a deposit and did a vet check before making an expensive trip (unfortunately that one didn’t pass, so no trip). I know people who have bought sight unseen, especially during the pandemic, but I would really hesitate to do this myself.

2 Likes

There are so many approaches but this is my method.

I make an ISO in a regional or state level Facebook group and identify my cornerstone horse. This is one I think could really meet my parameters and has me super excited. From there, I use the search feature and look for existing comments/posts for that same geographic area. For example, I find a horse I like in Ocala, FL, I am going to search the large cities in a 60 minute radius. If I can find enough to justify a trip, I move quickly to set up a schedule to see horses at 2/3 hour intervals for as many as I can fit in. I may add in a few that are on the cusp of my parameters in terms of age or height but not price unless I confirm my budget with the seller first.

My last round of shopping I saw 3-12 horses in a weekend depending on travel distance and whether it was a sale barn with multiple options. Anywhere I was willing to travel I did some leg work to identify at least one, ideally two, potentially vets for a PPE.

I sat on just over 40 horses in a three month period. If I felt a no within a few minutes of sitting on a horse, I called the ride. I did my best to be a considerate shopper and truly only scheduled horses that seemed viable. I was working with a tiny tiny budget so I had to really look for hidden gems. However, when I found the one I did two rides within 24 hours, put down a deposit, and had a PPE booked for their soonest opening.

6 Likes

This is super helpful and exactly the help I was looking for - thank you!

1 Like

How exciting! Have fun.

If I were in your boots, I would talk with my trainer about what sort of horse I want and what sort I need. Then go from there to talking about what’s available locally, or not too far away. Something whose history the trainer knows, or at least knows a little about; something that my trainer’s vet knows about as well.
And then take my trainer with me to look at him/her.

That’s such exciting news! Make sure to flood us with pictures of your new critter. Will keep fingers and toes crossed that your process is (relatively) smooth and easy.

2 Likes

Just remember…

You will never miss out on the horse you’re meant to have.

If something sells before you can see it/vet it…it wasn’t yours.

Take the time you need. Do the work to see the ones you want to try. Make sure that all the right people (trainer, budget maker, vet, seller) have the right percentages of decision making for you.

Enjoy the moment and learn from every stride along the way.

The right horse makes you LONG for the next ride. Do not buy anything that makes you feel less than this.

There is no right or wrong way to find the best horse for you. All sorts of crazy stories exist that turned out well.

Happy Hunting.

Em

21 Likes

@Xctrygirl this is beautiful - thank you!

1 Like

Trust me when I say I have some truly weird stories about how the best horses fell into my lap.

Over the years the best horses showed up when I wasn’t looking or when I had all but given up.

Em

1 Like

My most recent search went as follows:

  1. Look at everything locally, connect to all trainers, put the word out, sit on anything in the ballpark to get an idea for your bottom line requirements.
  2. Plan a trip somewhere and line up 2-3 stops in your rental car per day to try as many horses as you can.
  3. Start to get desperate - look at horses online only but in the USA
  4. Even more desperate - expand search to global market
  5. Find an agent… who finally sent me pics of The One.

At this stage, after 4 failed vettings and 7 months, I saw a couple photos and videos, noted the horse had 4 legs, and was ready to vet it after a 45 min call w seller. Earlier in the process I’d have needed 2 rides and a lot more in depth work.

So to your question “how do people do it” I say “how keen are you to buy?” :wink:

4 Likes

I can reiterate that.
This is purely anecdotal, but illustrates the variety of shopping experiences.
The last two horses came out of discussions here on COTH.

The most recent one, I was looking for a horse with some specific bloodlines, and mentioned on a related thread the difficulty I was having finding an appropriate horse. Someone replied that she had such a horse, and she wasn’t marketing her, but she really did need to sell her. I looked at videos, and then drove 8 hours to look at her. I sent a deposit in couple of days, and scheduled a vetting. I didn’t go up there for the vetting, but was on the phone with the vet during the vetting. Then I went up there to pick her up.

The one before that was a weanllng bred by someone on the COTH forum, living in Alabama. Hurricane Katrina had destroyed her fencing and part of her barn, and she needed to sell her two weanlings NOW, at a reduced price. I contacted her, she sent photos and videos. I scheduled a vetting. I am in Virginia, and the other weanling was sold to someone in Maryland. The Maryland buyer (and her husband) and I drove her rig to a rest area on the Interstate in Camden SC, where we met the seller with her trailer, and transferred the weanlings from one trailer to the other, handed over the payments, and drove back up to Virginia and Maryland.

The one before that was a yearling TB that had been bred by my dressage instructor’s uncle, who had died suddenly from a heart attack. As she was the only other “horsey” person in the family, she was in charge of selling his horses. She was anxious for them to go to good homes, and asked if I knew anyone who might want the yearling. I wasn’t actively looking for another horse, but decided to buy him.

The one before that, I was looking through all the local ads, for a teenager who had been leasing my horse, but was ready to buy a horse of her own. I found a horse that jumped out at me (but was too green for the teenager), and was quite local (within 20 miles). I told the seller that I wasn’t really in the market, but I wanted to see her. I bought her, and she is currently my primary horse.

The before that, I got a call on Wednesday from someone saying that the full brother of a horse my sister had recently bought ( and was doing really well with), who had fallen on hard times, and was about to be sent to the Thurmont action (foot sore and not trained under saddle (the owner had worked him on the lunge, but couldn’t get him to move a single step under saddle) even though he was 10) unless someone bought him by Friday. I took a day of work (he was about an hour away) to see him, decided the “footsore” was due to overdue shoeing, and losing a shoe, and that he had a very trainable attitude. He came home in the trailer with me. He was not as athletic or brave as his sister, but became a nice lower level horse, and was the one being leased by the teenager who was ready to buy a horse of her own in the above case.

The one before that took 2 years of searching (though I was leasing another horse, so I had something to ride and compete), from central Virginia to Pennsylvania, and I ended up buying a horse belonging to a client of my vet, who said “this is the perfect horse for you”, even though I was looking for a 3 or 4 year old, and she was a late yearling.

7 Likes

Thank you, @Janet. Your account gives me hope!

Well well not too much time later and I think I am finding myself in a similar boat as you! Knowing how the market is right now it is a little daunting - I know I am not in any rush to find the right one but at the same time I don’t think I have the time or resources to be conducting a nationwide search. So trying to get an idea of what is in the area that might fit what I would like and also my budget may be interesting.

How is your shopping coming along, @SadieRidingHorses ?

Just want to give everyone an update, and thank you again for your advice and support. Meet my new girl, who I have had about a month now. I found her by searching FB ads - she was only about 90 minutes away. Did two trial rides and a PPE, then brought her home. We are still getting to know each other but very, very happy. :blush:

37 Likes

Oh she is stunning!! You guys look great together too. Congrats!!

1 Like

Congrats! Horse ownership (guardianship?) is truly something special.

2 Likes

Gorgeous! You two look great together!

1 Like

First thing I tell people, tell as few people as possible that you are looking for a horse. If you broadcast it you will get inundated with all kinds of inappropriate horses.

Second, figure out what kind of horse you to ride and can ride well. I’m not talking breeds but rather characteristics of horses. For example, I hate riding a horse that I have to kick. I hate dealing with mares. So over time I’ve decided that I ride TB geldings that I don’t have to kick. I know to ride them and I can ride them well. So I basically keep buying the same horse over and over.

Third, once you know what you want get in contact with people you trust, who know what you like to do and what kind of horse you like to ride. Also, deal with people who understand your discipline. It does no good to talk to a dressage trainer about what horse would be good for the hunt field.

1 Like

Home Depot. I usually just make my own. They have all the tools and parts.

8 Likes