I’ve been seeing more and more websites and dealers popping up on Facebook advertising horses overseas, does anyone have any experience with any of these people or websites, good or bad? What about auctions that breed societies have, does anyone have experience with those? I’m looking for a super low dollar barely broke or lightly started o/f horse obviously sound, to buy sight unseen, work with for a while, and then flip
Why go overseas and pay additional $ for the importing/quarantine/etc costs instead of looking over here? We have a TON of horses that would fit your criteria as a green project horse. If you are in the US you might want to check over in CA (Canada) as the exchange rate will get you more horse for the $$ right now.
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I second rockonxox!
Having bought several horses in Europe, I would not recommend buying off video.
-There are some SLICK pro riders there who are Extremely Good at making difficult, quirky, and greener-than-grass horses look easy, honest and safe. Then when a mere mortal gets on, they find the horse is barely broke on the flat and a fire-breathing dragon over fences. (ask me how I know). It then is a longer project to undo that ‘training’ and turn the horse into an ammie-safe ride in the US.
-Legally, it is Very Difficult to challenge a mis-represented horse (I speak mainly of physical soundness here) purchased from overseas. (again, ask me how I know).
-Even a lightly started or unstarted prospect is going to be an extra $10K in importation costs, no matter how affordable the horse.
I hear a few common complaints about buying domestically:
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horses are spread all over a very large country, making it difficult to see several in a day trip, unlike Germany, for example, where one can try 20 horses in a day easily.
This doesn’t affect you, if you’re planning to purchase sight unseen anyway. You can do that from the opposite coast as easily as overseas, and shipping is still quite a bit less
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European performance bloodlines are hard to find in the US. This is true to some part, however the dedicated sport horse breeders here are using more and more imported horses and bloodlines, and honestly, the top lines in Germany are as expensive (and hard to find as prospects, since they all get retained or sold as foals) as they are here.
Unless you have a very reliable source/friend overseas to act as broker for you (which is sounds like you don’t, based on your question), I would steer away from your plan. You can find some VERY nice young horses in the US, many of whom are bred in the purple and affordable to transport. Even more importantly, you will (presumably) speak the same language as the seller, and the VET!
(and, if you get unlucky enough to get taken in by a shady seller who puts a different horse on the trailer than you saw on the video (look up some of the buying-from-Europe horror stories out there, this actually happens), you have some legal recourse)
Just my thoughts
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Generally speaking I’d agree, however, I don’t care at all if it’s a barely broke wild child, I’m looking to develop something. And for the price, the horses I’ve seen from Europe are much much nicer than anything I have been able to find in my price range from the US. Canada could definitely be a possibility, though same thing, I’m not going to go look at it so I would need someone reputable to buy from.
If you don’ mind some serious fire under your saddle and want quality but good price I know of a few breeders here in my area of Canada that could have something that meets your needs . Do you mind colored British sport horses? Or would hanovarians be more to your liking? Two places come to mind right away because they breed but dont keep anything but the stallions so offer good prices for younger stock they don’t want to put into the program
Disclaimer: I’m a dressage rider, not a H/J rider. so YMMV.
I totally hear what you are saying about the apparent quality that you can get by importing rather than buying domestically. You’ve said that wild child doesn’t worry you, so you’re ahead of the game when it comes to the reality that there is a great business in Europe by being a rider that can make any horse look amazing even if they are barely broke. Since you’re not looking to go see these horses yourself, you’re losing some of the “they are all within a day” advantage in going to Europe, but I feel like breeding is a different, less expensive creature in Europe, so it is less expensive to buy the young stock.
Were I you - looking to buy off video alone - I’d try to find a good source for vetting. You said you can deal with the personality quirks. But you’re stuck with whatever shows up on a PPE. I actually totally agree with you on the personality issues. My super nice upper level dressage horse was VERY misrepresented (I wish I’d drawn a blood panel on the day I tried him - he was likely doped to the gills), but the other side of the coin was that he did not have a bunch of training to “undo”.
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I would love their information if you don’t mind! I’m most likely looking more at Hanoverians or anything Warmbloods with decent jumper lines. No hunters.
OK, couldn’t seem to make them work as links but here are some websites. A really good place to look is Boulder Ridge Ranch , really nice horses and wonderful people to know their stuff. They would be my first choice.
www.boulderridgeranch.com
Another is Misty River Ranch , some are color but most are canadian warmblood or I think they mabey just got a Zangershied stud even. But I prefer their Three Cups Fire line of horses.
www.mistyriverranch.com
And perhaps even WKM stables , or Eastridge Farms ( owners of the fairly well known stallion Kumano )but I’m not sure about the price range of those horses. Super quality breeding and jumping lines throughout.
If those dont pan out , a good resource for finding horses in canada is on the Canadian Warmblood Registry website . Lots of our breeding farms advertise stock and studs there. Happy horse hunting:yes:
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Not personally, but I’m friends with someone who has interacted with two of the breed auctions - a foal from GOV, and a riding horse from Hanoverian. From being present in both situations as the impartial eyes, I will say that I was very, very impressed with both and would absolutely buy from auction. The society people are very, very easy to work with and have experience with international buyers which makes things like setting up shipping, an absolute breeze. If you go in-person you have the option to test ride horses that are going under saddle (though it sounds like you’re looking at doing sight unseen) and even without going over, you can contact them and they’re very responsive in communication. I’m also a fan of the fact that they do such extensive xrays and make the vet available to speak with (though I still suggest you can send the xrays to your vet, too) and Hanoverian, at least, live streams multiple rides of the horses so you can see how it goes under saddle in more than just an edited clip they post on the auction pages. (Not sure if Westfalen or GOV does the same, I haven’t kept tabs on their auctions for riding horses recently.)
That said, definitely do your research on import and quarantine costs.
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I just imported, and so far couldn’t be happier. (Knock on wood.) I did it sight-unseen and went through the same dealer a friend here bought their horse from. I was originally looking domestically, but the price range was wildly different even when you factored in shipping. The fact is, you can get more bang for your buck overseas even with the weaker dollar and import fees. And for resale, imported tends to market well.
That being said, there are always risks. Other posters have outlined many of them already. I’d also add that most youngsters in Europe that you’ll find in the lower price ranges will have very little flat work in them. They know how to go in a bitting rig and jump big fences. That’s about it. So plan on doing a lot of flatting and basics if you want to market your project to amateurs.
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Ok so my example is recent but not wholly an apples to apples comparison. I just got my new guy myself and he’s 11, not a green horse. I promise that I searched high, low and even underground almost. I had been to europe at the end of 2017 and shopped then but that horse I loved on that trip failed the vet. Core lesion tears in 2 suspensories. Too bad.
So Cudo I found in the most random way. His owner had posted a picture of him as a reply to another woman’s ISO ad on a Facebook Group page for British eventers, showjumpers and dressage. You all would choke if you knew how little I paid. He was certainly less than the price to lease a 15 yr old with a questionable record in the high Adult and some 1.15’s. And thats why I have him. More bang for my buck and the awesome pedigree he came with was just icing on the cake.
I technically bought him off of videos, a friend of mine driving up to ride him and a full vetting. I’d never sat on him when he arrived. And he’s been great, though I agree with the knock wood idea… 
There are MANY more horses, more horse savvy people and the kicker for me, FAR less over lunged and over injected horses for FAR less money.
To be real with everyone… my shipping was from 5 hours north of London to Amsterdam to New York with quarantine for 3 days for a gelding. I used Equijet and paid $7800 all said and done. I picked him up myself (3 hours each way) so to avoid the shippers offer of $300 to drive him to me. And honestly by then I doubt you could have stopped me from getting him. I was too excited.
Had he been in Belgium or closer to Holland/Belgium the price was 5100 Euros all said and done. That’s still not as much as folks will have you believe.
I completely agree that there are nice young horses here… but just as it is there you have to know what you’re looking at and trust the folks who are advising you. And best case buy in low so you can get out if you need to.
You can find the nice ones for not much. You have to be diligent and really good at knowing what your type looks like in pics and videos.
Emily
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Honestly, I think the advantage of buying something barely broke over here vs. over there is pretty slim when you factor in import costs. My sense from having imported three horses and done a few trips overseas, is your value proposition really improves as they get older and they suddenly benefit from the materially cheaper show experience they get overseas vs. here. Especially for a jumper. It is just so much cheaper to produce a young jumper there than over here.
The other thing that matters is your timeline. Buying a three or four year old is so much more risky than something a little older. Their character is so much more confirmed when they’re just year or two older and their quality is a lot easier to ascertain. And more importantly, selling a four year old prospect or even sometimes a five year old prospect is really hard. So I’m not sure what benefit there is unless you’re really DYING to put that first year of mileage on a horse.
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Agree on the front of xrays on neck and back, and not buying strictly off of video because those larger German guys can mask a lot! I’ve had very good experiences with some and a very bad experience with German Horse Center. GHC sent the spookiest, dirty stopper as a “safe amateur horse”. Tried to return the horse and they told me to take him off of his HorseLogic supplement and that he was just unhappy because he was in single turnout versus a group turnout…It was pretty bad, and that’s the first and last time I’ll buy off of video. Go over and try them for sure, and use an agent that has a relationship with barns stateside so that they have an incentive to sell good horses.
